Sick, sick, sick

Well, we have been hit with the flu bug. While I was down at Duke last weekend my Dad was sick the whole weekend. We thought he had food poisoning, well no he didn't, not unless food poisoning is contagious and last I checked it's not. My Mom and Grandfather were hit with it on Monday and I got it Monday night. Rusty got it Tuesday. We all received the flu shot, but as we know the shot doesn't cover all strains of the flu just the top 3. This must have been #4 because it has been just awful. Why is it that men are always sicker than women? I love my husband but sometimes he drives me absolutely crazy. I can be dying, he's already died twice and is on the third go around. This is the man who had a total knee replacement and I don't know how he lived through the physical therapy of that, but being sick completely does him in. Go figure. My Dad has been taking care of my Mom and Grandfather and he is such a nazi about making sure everyone takes their medicine they have started calling him nurse Betty.

My Grandmother is doing better everyday, they took the ventilator out of her mouth and throat yesterday and put it in through her neck in a trach. They said the longer you leave it in the throat the more damage it can do to the vocal cords. She is awake and trying to communicate which is such a blessing. The Dr's have said that everything from the waist up is working and doing exactly what it is supposed to do but from the waist down it's not so good. But I feel everything in it's own time, I have faith that that problem will be fixed also. We have come so far in just the last couple days, there is so much to be thankful for. The hospital has been incredible, the nursing staff is awesome. Each patient in the ICU has their own nurse with a desk in the room with the patient. They are so caring and really treat the patients like they are someones family, not just another patient.

Ashleigh gets her drivers license in 5 days, pray for me. She really is a good driver but the other drivers concern me. I now know what my parents were talking about.

Did anyone watch American Idol? I was so glad that Kevin was finally gone. He just really got on my nerves, it's not that he was that bad a singer, but there was just something about him that annoyed me. I love that show but it's starting to really cut into Lost and my remote is starting to smoke on Wednesday nights flipping back and forth between the 2 shows. I think they schedule the commercials at the same time just to drive you crazy.

Well, I better get some work done, have a great day and please pray for my Grandmother and her continued healing.
Bridget

A little catching up

I don't even know where to begin, I haven't blogged in so long. There has been so much going on here. First off, my brother rebuild my computer, everything good there, it's working great no problem, boom the modem dies. I give up, what did I do to deserve this punishment. So, after calling my DSL provider and talking to them they tell me our warranty is gone on the modem and it will be $99.99 for a new DSL modem through them. WHAT!!!! I got the last one for free from them when I signed up for the service in 2004. So what do I do? I do what I always do when I need a good deal and I really don't have a clue what I am looking for, I call my brother. My brother can find a deal from 500 miles away. He's one of those people that walk into the store and sale items throw themselves on the floor at his feet. It's amazing. So he goes to trusty e-Bay, gotta love e-Bay and finds me one for $13.50 including shipping. So now I am waiting for it to come in then finally I will be back up and running at home. I can't wait. People keep coming into my office and interrupting me all day, oh yeah I am at work, I forgot.

The weekend of the 11th was so wonderful weatherwise around here. It was absolutely beautiful. Rusty and I got up that Saturday and he suggested we pack a picnic and after baseball practice (it was at 8:30 in the morning) head up to Skyline drive. We had a great time. The picnic areas aren't open yet but we took 2 blankets and spread them on the ground and just had a great time. After we all stuffed ourselves we packed everything back up and went on a little hike. The kids really enjoyed that. Blake and Wayne both found walking sticks and climbed on every rock and fallen tree they could find. I tried to convince them if they were maybe a little quiet we just might see some animals. That didn't happen, Rusty is the biggest kid of them all and he constantly eggs them on. After we left Skyline Drive we headed to Luray and went into the used book store, bought some books and then had ice cream at Tasty Freeze. We haven't just taken off like that in a long time, it was so nice. You get to where you are constantly running around and doing things all the time and trying to keep up on laundry and housework and sometimes you just have to throw it all up in the air and spend some nice quality time with your family. The kids are still talking about it. These are the memories they are going to take with them into adulthood not whether the stereo had dust on it. (Thank God for that, I hate to dust)

My Grandmother had surgery on March 14 and until this morning she had been in a coma. We have all been praying hard for her recovery and for her to come out of this. Wayne and I went down to Duke University Hospital this past weekend and spent that time with my parents and my Grandfather. My Mom said she wasn't coming home until her Mom woke up and talked to her. This morning at 7:00 she woke up, she is responding, she will squeeze your hand and smile at you.

School is going good for the kids. Baseball started and Blake is having a good time with that. Wayne broke my heart and didn't play this year but I told him it was his decision. Ashleigh is still loving her job and is doing good in everything else. Work has been unreal, but I guess working for 6 pediatricians is not an easy job at this time of year. We have seen more confirmed cases of influenza this year than I think we have ever seen. It has been crazy in this office and I am counting the days down until my cruise, only 30 days left and I so need a vacation.

Well, I better go, hope everyone is doing well.
Have a great day.
Bridget

It's a boy!

Well, we already knew it was a boy, but I just like saying that. Mason Dean was born March 1, 2006 at around 5:30. He weighed in at 6lbs. 14 oz and 19 inches long. I haven't seen him yet but I hear he is, of course, absolutely beautiful. They took him by c-section because Mom was in hard labor but was not dilating at all. His heart beat kept dropping and they were worried about him being in distress, better to be safe than sorry. His Daddy put the first diaper on him and cried like a baby himself. If anyone deserves this happy time it sure is him. Everyone is doing great and the baby is perfect and healthy. Thanks for the prayers, God surely has blessed this family.
Have a great day!!!!!
Bridget

SO EXCITING!!!!!

I just got an email from my sister in law that my nephew (my husband is 8 years younger than his middle brother, and his middle brother's wife is 12 years older than the brother) and his wife are at the hospital in labor. YEA!!!!! Say a prayer that everything will go good and my great nephew is born healthy and safe. We haven't had a new baby in the family since Blake and that was 7 1/2 years ago. She was due on March 15 which was kind of strange because onMarch 15, 2001 Michael (my nephew) was in a horrible accident, a parking garage fell on the moving truck he was in, and he almost died. He was in UVA rehab for a long time and now you never would know. God really was with him that day and all the days after through all the pain he endured. Misty and Michael weren't even married at that time and she was there with him every step of the way, she truly is a gift from God to him and now they are getting ready to have their first child. I will keep you posted.
Bridget

Thanks Emily, this was really cute

My pirate name is:

Iron Bess Cash

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. You're musical, and you've got a certain style if not flair. You'll do just fine. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Computer down

My computer is on the blitz again so I won't be posting everyday, (Like I'm an everyday blogger anyway) but I do try. My brother is out of town this weekend so he will hopefully work on it next week. I need to break down and get a new one but with only 56 days left until we leave for the cruise I really don't want to spend the money. So, hopefully I can get a band aid slapped on it once again and make it last a little longer.
There hasn't been a whole lot going on here, which can be very nice. Ashleigh is still loving her job and I'm not sure if it's the job, the money, or all the guys she is getting to meet. I'm not so sure I like the job that much, the phone does not stop ringing. It is nice that she is making some new friends instead of only having the same ones that she has known since she was 7. Wayne has decided he doesn't want to play baseball this year. I'm not sure why and it does break my heart. He is really good and I love to watch the games. But I told him I didn't want him to play just because I wanted him to, he had to want it also. Blake is playing and Rusty is coaching again. They both love it. Their first practice is tomorrow and I think they are going to freeze.
I was reading on Melissa's blog about her neighber and the my space incident. We have been through all the "teen" websites with Ashleigh and I don't think they are anything but trouble. Ashleigh is not allowed to have AOL instant messenger either. That is a huge problem. She had some of her "friends" go on under her name and cause a lot of problems. Not that I'm saying she couldn't have done it herself but this time when it happened she was with me and I know she wasn't on the computer. She does have a blog on my space but she knows that at any time I will check her friend list (she can only have people on it that I know) and I will read her blog. Kids do not realize that there are some really bad people out there that go onto these sites and hunt kids down. Teenagers know everything and parents were born this age not knowing anything.
Well, there isn't a lot going on here which can really be nice, but I will try to check in and blog from work some. sshhh, don't tell
Have a great day!!!
Bridget

Birthday, sick child and SNOW!!

Ashleigh turned 17 on the 9th, I can't believe I have a child that is 17. 16 didn't sound quite that horrible but 17 really makes me feel kind of old. Kind of old, but not real old. She took her test for behind the wheel on her birthday and passed with flying colors so on March 28 she will be able to make that trip to DMV and get her license. AGGGHHHH. I don't know if I am ready for that, but ready or not here she comes.
We got up yesterday to snow. I love to watch it snow. It was falling pretty heavy but not accumulating to much until around 11. Then it really got going good. By this morning we had 12 inches. Blake couldn't wait to get outside. Two of his friends came by and they were outside for a long time running from one yard to the next. Thank God for water proof boots and clothes. Today they were right back at it again until Rusty decided to give me a little break and take Blake to his Mom's for the afternoon.
I was woke up at 2:30 this morning to a little person standing by the bed saying "Mom, Mom please don't be mad, I pooped in my bed." Anyone else ever been woke up like that? It was a new one on me, I can tell you that. I jumped out of bed, "What do you mean you pooped in your bed?" I don't think I believed what I was hearing. He said he woke up and didn't feel real good, his stomach hurt. He starting to get out of bed and then he lost all control. Those weren't his exact words but that is what he meant. He tried to run to the bathroom but wasn't having a whole lot of luck so needless to say I not only had a very dirty kid to toss into the tub and a bed to strip and clean, I also had floor from the bedroom to the bathroom to scrub. This definitely makes me rethink the idea of carpet, hardwood floors would have been so much easier to clean. He kept saying he was sorry and I kept saying I wasn't mad, he couldn't help what had happened. So after all the cleaning and scrubbing of the child I tucked him into bed on the couch and finished up the rest of the mess. In all I was up about 2 hours. This morning Rusty said "I slept through the whole thing, how did I sleep through all that?" Well, those of you who don't know my husband, a bomb could go off in the house and he would sleep through the whole thing. By this morning, Blake was feeling better and ready to head back outside. Kids are so much more resilant than adults.
Well, I am headed out the door, those of you who got snow enjoy it, it sure is beautiful here in the Shenandoah Valley, our deck has this incredible view of the mountains, and those who didn't, sorry about your bad luck.
Have a great day!!!
Bridget

Prayers please

Please pray for my Grandmother, she is 75 and she is going to be having surgery in about 2 weeks at Duke University. She had heart surgery last year and they also removed an aneurysm (I'm not sure if that is spelled right but hopefully you will get the idea). She now has 2 more of them in her back and they have grown alot, so much that the Doctor said he wants them gone. Basically, she is in great health but this is really scary for our family. I am very lucky at 37 to still have 3 grandparents. Rusty reminds me of that all them time by the time he was 24 he had lost all of his grandparents and his father. I have been very blessed and my children have been also to have been able to grow up with great-grandparents who are just awesome. No one tells a story like my Pawpaw, he will be 81 in May and he has to be the smartest person I have ever met. He can answer any question you give him about the Bible and he always has time for us, just to talk or just spend time together. My kids love being with them.
There's not alot going on around here, everyone is in bed and I am waiting up for Ashleigh to get home from work. We had bacon, mushroom burgers with french fries for dinner. It's kind of boring but everyone loves it and I can get Blake to eat it.
We picked up our chairs on Saturday and they are great. They are solid oak and show a little wear but nothing other than normal wear. They look great in the dining room. I love eBay. My Dad went and picked up their new dining room in York, PA and it is absolutely beautiful. Another wonderful eBay find. My Mom told me last night she was looking at either a new living room set or a new pair of shoes. My Dad was in the background voting for the shoes. I told her that was because he wouldn't have to go and pick up the shoes. My Mom and her shoes is a big family joke, my Mom could rival Imelda Marcos for shoes and my husband runs a close second. They both obsess about them. Rusty has shoes for every occasion and multiples of them. We give him a hard time about it all the time.
Blake and I are starting to read The Chronicles of Narnia. I read the series probably 100 times when I was a kid, so now I am going to share them with him. Ashleigh likes to read but Blake is my reader out of the 3 of them.
Ashleigh will be home soon so I am getting ready to head to bed. Have a great night!
Bridget

Date Night

Rusty and I had a deal that once a month we would go out, just the 2 of us, to dinner and a movie. We call it date night. We get to talk about adult things (as much "adult" as you can get with my husband who is like a 5 year old in an adult body) and just spend time together. Over the last few months we had gotten away from that with all the chaos in our family and with the holidays it just wasn't happening. Today he called me at work and asked me out on a date. He said we needed to get back our together time. So we raced home from work to get an early start. Wayne had gone to my parents and Ashleigh was going to watch Blake. Now, with us it's always a major decision where to go to eat. That's a very important decision. We finally decided on Glory Days Grill, we've never been there and we like to try out new places on date night. We got there and there wasn't a parking spot to be had. We drove around and around and still nothing. So, we decided to go to old faithful, Chili's. It was wonderful, as usual. Rusty is really boring about his food, he's not into trying anything new. So as usual, he ordered a steak. I had fajitas. We were going to go to the movies, but there isn't anything playing that we could go to without feeling guilty because the kids want to see the same movies. So we went window shopping, bought a couple things because what good is window shopping if you don't buy at least one thing. We did make a stop at the Books A Million to pick up a couple books, Linens and Things (Rusty is into anything that is a kitchen gadget, so it is very dangerous to take him in there, he is always finding one more "As Seen On TV" item that he just has to have), bought some baby things for my nephew's wife's baby shower on Sunday and Rusty found a new Under Armour shirt at T.J. Maxx. He loves that material and wears it all the time. If you can find them at T.J. Maxx you can get them for $20.00 verses the $50.00 they normally cost, so I consider that a good deal. We had a good time just being together. When we got home Ashleigh was watching The Princess Diaries. I love that movie.
We are making our trip to Waldorf, MD. tomorrow to pick up the dining room chairs I bought off e-bay. I can't wait to get them.
I'm glad this week is over, the last 2 weeks have been horrible at work and I am hoping next week will start out better. I guess it has to, it couldn't get much worse.
Have a great night.
Bridget

Men

What is it about men that the thought of going to the dentist turns them into whining little boys? Rusty hates the dentist, I mean absolutely loathes the dentist. I don't understand it, it has never bothered me, but when you mention the "d" word to him his voice gets high and it's "Whyyyyy, I don't need to go to the dentist." Now, Rusty had a total knee replacement in December 2004 and he has to go to the dentist every 6 months (like he's supposed to anyway) because if he gets any kind of infection it could go to his replacement and cause him alot of problems. This is my 6'1" husband who kills my spiders for me (I hate spiders), takes me to scary movies so I can watch through my fingers, even though he hates scary movies but he doesn't have to do that much anymore because my brother and my 2 older kids go with me, he will walk the dog in the rain, drive 2 hours, 1 way, to pick up chairs I bought on ebay (I got a great deal) but he has to be beat to make him go to the dentist. I don't think I will ever understand that.
There's not alot going on around here right now. Ashleigh and Wayne had exams the last 2 days but they both thought they did really good so now they have the next 2 days off. They are both looking forward to that. Blake is just looking forward to sleeping in. Ashleigh is in the middle of begging me to let her take Blake with her and her friend Candace tomorrow to pick up their paychecks, get their hair trimmed and go out to lunch. That child drives me crazy sometimes, but this crazy is much better than the crazy from 4 months ago. 4 months doesn't sound like a long time but to me it seems like forever ago. It truly is "but for the grace of God" that we are at this place in our lives with her now. I thank God everyday for his blessings and love. We have found another church to try. It's not that far from our house and we had talked about trying it but we never had. Ashleigh went there last Sunday with a friend and loved it. She said we absolutely have to go there this Sunday. So, we will try it. We have tried a bunch of churches around here but just couldn't find one that felt like home. Maybe this will be "our" church. I hope so, I really miss being part of a church family. We had found a church that we liked but it just didn't have that home feeling we were looking for. The kids liked it, they had an early service 8:00 (which I loved) and it was a contemporary service with a band. That was different than what I grew up with. We were very involved with church, visitation (teen and bus) and we were there every day the doors were open. But it was so strict, sometimes I think that was good but it was also very bad (your convictions should be yours and you should not force them onto other people). So....maybe this will be that home church we are both longing for. Rusty grew up in a church just like I did and he wants a preacher that is going to scare him into being good. ha ha Pray for us and our renewed search for our church.
Well, I am headed to bed, good night and have a great day.
Bridget

Help

I think I am going to be buried under all of the stuff that we have pulled from Ashleigh's room. How did one person get so much stuff in one room? You can't even get to our dining room. Rusty is sanding the walls and getting white dust on everything. Actually, he looks quite cute covered in dust. He worked on her room most of the day. We bought the paint last night, if you happen to be in Home Depot (Rusty's toy store, he is only allowed in there if I am there to guard the credit card), take a trip over to the paint samples and look at "Sleeping Beauty Pink", "Tigger's tummy", and "Orange Blast". It is going to be quite colorful. The pink is on top, then chair rail with the yellow (Tiggers tummy), and then the orange on the bottom. We went and she picked out her new furniture. She wants white so she picked out a bed with the storage drawers under it and an entertainment center that also holds clothes. When we get it done it will look really good. At least I will continue to tell Rusty how good it looks because he is really against all the colors.
Before we went to get paint we went to Texas for dinner. That is a trip in it's own on a Friday night. There was a wait of about 30 minutes, which wasn't actually too bad, but what amazes me is that people, with children, waiting for their tables will take their children into the bar area to wait. Why would you take a child into a bar? I really do not understand that. We finally get seated, we order our food and we are just sitting there talking and having a good time. All of a sudden, Blake says "I'm not going to do it." We look at him and ask him what is he talking about. He says "Toot, I have to but I'm not going to." (We don't say fart in our house, Rusty absolutely hates that word, that was a bad word in his house when he was growing up, it doesn't stop him from doing it just calling it that.) I thought Rusty and Ashleigh were going to fall off their chairs laughing. I kept looking around trying to figure out if anyone had heard him.
Ashleigh and I escaped all the dust today and hit Kohl's for a little shopping. She needed some new pants for work and I still had some money left on my gift cards I got for Christmas. I picked up a great skirt and sweater, $5.00 for the skirt and $12.00 for the sweater. There were having a great sale.
Tomorrow it will be more painting and sanding and lots and lots of laundry, I have fallen behind on that this week. Oh well, we haven't run out of clean clothes yet so we are still good.
Have a great night.
Bridget

American Idol

Is anyone else as addicted to American Idol as I am? I am ashamed to admit it but I can't move from in front of the tv when it is on. I love Simon, he is so mean but he makes me laugh so much. I'm not quite sure what that says about me, but it is funny.
Ashleigh went out Friday night with the "hot" guy from Wal-Mart. He is a really cute boy and he's very polite. That's a plus to me, he could be butt kissing but that's ok I like a kid that is going to at least try to make me like him. He is home schooled which, while mine aren't, I consider that a plus. He is 18, but according to Rusty he looks older. I told Rusty he looked older when he was 18 also and he needed to remember that. I can't believe she is going on dates with an 18 year old, but she is going to be 17 in February. I can't believe I have a child that old, I can't be that much older than 18 myself. ha ha ha Ok, you can stop laughing, it's not that funny. They went to a basketball game at Ashleigh's school, he took her out to dinner and then she came home. Her curfew was 11 and she was home by 9:30. I think that is incredible considering all that we have gone through the past 5 months. God really does answer your prayers and even when you think you are at the darkest point He is always there leading you out.
My parents and brother came over Saturday to watch the Redskins game. They lost, it was a sad time at our house. We had a horrible wind storm during the game and ........ the electricity went out, right after halftime. Now you have to know my husband, I thought the man was going to cry. It was off for 4 hours, so needless to say we missed the last half of the game. He kept running out, in the 60 mile an hour wind, to the car to listen to his satallite radio. We did have good food though before the electricity went out, homemade chili, cornbread and chicken wings.
Friday night Wayne and I went to see the movie Hostel. If you like scary movies, it's scary. But, it's "real" scary, if you know what I mean. It wasn't alot of blood and guts, it was based on true events so that made it "real". I have never had a movie affect me the way this one did and I have seen them all. I've been watching scary movies for as long as I can remember and I have raised all 3 kids on scary movies. I know I am a bad parent for that but I do have to say they love them. Ashleigh, Steven and I went to see Wolf Creek the week before and that was pretty good too.
Sunday was nice, Ashleigh was at work, Wayne was with Steven and Rusty took Blake and went to visit his Mom for the day. I was home by myself and that doesn't happen very often. I did some laundry, read a book and played a game on the computer. Alot of nothing but it was nice nothing.
Well, I am headed to bed, have a great night.
Bridget

10 items or less

Can anyone tell me what 10 items or less means? Does it mean 10 carts full of stuff or less? NNNOOOOO. Does it mean 1 cart full of stuff? Again, NNOOOOOOO. It means 10 physical items in your cart or less. What is so hard about the meaning of this statement and what makes some people so incredible stupid, ignorant or just plain indifferent to the fact that they have way too many items in their cart for this line? Also, why does Wal-Mart (and I love Wal-Mart) make the 1 10 items or less aisle open tonight the only aisle you can buy tobacco products? I go in, drop Ashleigh off to work and get the things I need. I had a full cart so of course I used common sense and went through the correct line. Stupid me, I forgot something and did not remember until I was loading the car. So I run back in, grab it and get in line. I swear to you they had 4 lines open, they are all forever long with people that look like they have been standing there since yesterday (and I know they weren't there when I checked out, so I am still trying to figure out where they came from), so I head to the "10 items or less with my 1 item and there are 4 people in front of me and 2 of them have carts that I am not sure how they pushed them through the store. I stand there for a few minutes glancing at the sign stating these 2 people are clearing in the wrong line and the woman 2 people in front of me sees me looking at the sign, she looks at the woman in front of her and says "I didn't realize this was a 10 item or less line". The woman looks at her and says "I did but I want cigarettes." The 1 woman says "I don't think the people behind us are very happy with us" to which the 2nd woman answers "I really don't care what they aren't happy with, they are going to have to wait." WHAT???!!!! How rude is that?! I gave her the evil eye, and ask Rusty I am really good at that, and I turned and walked away. I really do not understand people and bad behavior. Be couteous to people around you and treat people the way you want them to treat you.
Well, it's almost time for baseball signups. The boys are getting excited and digging their equipment out. It has been a nice break from all the running but I have missed seeing the other parents at practice and games. This will be Wayne's 7th year playing and some of the boys he has been with since the beginning. It really is a lot of fun.
We are starting to really get geared up for our cruise. The plans have changed a little because of the hurricanes that hit out there. We are going to Mexico. This will be our 2nd cruise, the first with my parents and brother. We went almost 2 years ago with Rusty's 2 brothers and their wives. We went to Nassau, Key West (been there before it wasn't that big a deal but Rusty hadn't been there so he enjoyed it) and Freeport. We swam with dolphins, snorkeled with stingrays and went parasailing. The parasailing was incredible. We had so much fun, I can't wait to go on this one. We will be going in April. We have to get passports, something we've never had to do before, so that will be a new experience. If you have never been on a cruise, go, run, book one as fast as you can. It it an awesome experience. The casino was incredible. The first day we were at sea everyone I was traveling with was laid up in bed sick. Rusty's middle brother wasn't quite as sick but he wasn't feeling well. I was the only one that was not affected by sea sickness, so I spent the better part of the day in the casino. I had a great day and won over $100. I thought that was pretty good, I didn't fair quite as good the rest of the week, but I had a great time playing. I'm a small time gambler, quarter slots. Big spender, huh? Oh, and the drinks, oh the drinks. They are constantly walking around serving you drinks and you don't hand them any money, you just give them your "fun card" and they charge it to that. It's like not spending money at all, right? WRONG!!!! You can check your account on the interactive tv in your room and you would be surprised to find how fast that sweet little drinks add up. But anyway, it is a great vacation and it comes highly recommended.
Well, I think I am headed to bed. Have a great night.
Bridget

Kids rooms

Rusty has started the long tedious ordeal of painting Ashleigh's room. This is quite the undertaking as Ashleigh has had probably thousands of posters, pictures and other things taped, thumb tacked and stuck to the wall by any means possible. We made her take all of that down but we had to get a huge bucket of mud to cover the walls with. Rusty said he came across glow in the dark stickers that spelled out her name and the name of one of her friends. You couldn't see them until you touched the wall in that spot. I just stood there, laughed at him and ducked as he threw things at me. She wants the room painted pink on the top half of the wall, orange on the bottom and chair rail painted yellow in the middle. It is going to be very colorful but I guess it could be worse. I did get a new digital camera for Christmas (I love it, it's wonderful) but our computer has a problem and it won't load the pictures. We are looking into a new computer in the next couple weeks so hopefully I will be able to post some pictures of the progress or at least the end result.
I work in an extremely busy 6 doctor pediatrician office. Please, if you have little children who have just gotten shots and are crying, please, please pick them up, hug them and love them. I walked by an exam room the other day and I could hear the baby crying in there. I glanced in as I walked by (I always look it, I love the little babies) and the baby was lying on the exam table with the mom standing by just looking at the baby. She was just standing there staring at the baby. I wanted to go in, push her aside and pick that baby up. It was a 2 month old who had just gotten shots for the first time. How a parent could stand there and watch a little baby just cry is beyond me. But I don't understand alot of the things some of the parents in our office do to their children. People are really mean to children and the way they yell at them and talk to them is unbelievable. I really just don't get it.
I need prayers for a friend of mine at work. Her granddaughter is in the hospital, she has asthma really bad, and she needs all the prayers she can get. She has a really bad home life also.
Well, I am headed to bed, have a great evening.
Bridget

Back to the grind

Christmas and New year's are over and it's back to a regular work week. You know, does anyone find that depressing? I feel like the holidays, sometimes, are a let down when it is all over. There is such a build up, and now before Halloween there are Christmas decorations, and everyone is so excited and then it's over. We have such a wonderful holiday season with family and friends and then it's over. People have forgotten what Christmas is all about and the true meaning. Some of the stores this year changed signs so they didn't read "Merry Christmas" because they don't want to offend anyone. Why isn't anyone concerned with the fact that they might be offending Christians by doing that? It really makes me angry.
We have an incredibly busy Christmas day. We get up at the crack of dawn (even if we didn't have anywhere to be we would be up early, Rusty is the worst of the kids), have Christmas at home, load up the car and go to my parents to have Christmas with them. My Grandparents were here this year so that was really nice, my Grandfather is 80 and my Grandmother is 75 so they don't do alot of traveling. We really enjoyed visiting with them. Then we all piled into the cars and went to Steven's. Normally, Steven is at my parents but he had to work Christmas Eve and then go back to work Christmas night so we went to his house. After leaving Steven's we came home, unloaded the car, reloaded it with presents for Rusty's side of the family and headed to his Mom's. When you get all of us there the house is bursting at the seams but we wouldn't have it any other way. She makes a huge breakfast, eggs, bacon, sausage, gravy and papa bread (this is fried bread that Rusty's Grandfather ate everyday of his life), fresh fruit, country ham and fried oysters. YUCK The fried oysters are tradition for them, I just can't stomach them. We got Blake to try one this year and he liked it. He's the only one of my 3 kids that we have been able to con into trying one and he actually liked it. Everyone then gathers in the living room and dining room and we open presents. It's alot of fun. We then load the car again, go back to our house and unload and head back to my Mom and Dad's to have dinner. It is a very long day but what would a holiday be without family.
New year's eve is fun, my parents and brother come over, once again there is lots of food and we play games. This year we got my Dad to play Twister. That was quite a sight. There was alot of laughing and falling down.
We have had 1 sick kid after another in this house. Last Thursday it was Blake, Friday it was Wayne and then today was Ashleigh. Thank God there was no vomiting. Ashleigh was the only one that really had it bother her stomach, the other 2 had the fever, headache and sore throat. I think everyone is healthy and on the mend.
Ashleigh started her new job last weekend and she loves it. She is working at Wal-Mart and that is the perfect job for her. She is such a people person and loves to talk. I wonder where she got that from? (grin) She has already picked out the "hot" guys and she is having a great time. It is so nice to see her acting like a teenager and not some pod person that I thought had taken her place a couple months ago.
Melissa, sorry I've been gone for a little while, I promise not to let that happen again. ha ha
Have a great evening.
Bridget

Birthdays, Christmas shopping, etc

Let's see, since I last blogged I turned 37. I can't believe I am 37. I guess it's not so bad, does it seem like time is just going so fast? When I was a kid I remember it seemed like forever before Christmas got here but now it's like "What?! It's Christmas again?" I love this time of the year. I love to decorate and shop. I usually do alot of baking but so far I haven't really gotten any of that done. I'm running out of time. Anyway, back to the birthday. It was really wonderful. We went to Rusty's brother's house and celebrated 4 at 1 time. Rusty is the 3rd, I'm the 11th, his Mom is the 17th and his oldest brother is the 19th. So because of this month being so busy we celebrate all together. The food was great and we had a really good time. Then the next day we went to my parents and celebrated with them and my brother. Again we had wonderful food and a great time. Everything seems to revolve around food with us.
My Mom and I met this morning and shopped all day. We had a great time. I'm really pretty much done with presents but of course there's the last minute things to get, stocking stuffers things like that. I brought home bagels and cream cheese from Panera Bread. If you've never had bread from there you absolutely have to go. They have these bagels that are to die for. They are called Cinnamon Crunch and they have this crust of cinnamon on the top of them. There's nothing like them.
Of course this past Sunday we were at the only place you will find my husband during a home Redskins game, at the game. How about them skins?!!! 35-7 over the Cowboys, it couldn't of been a better day. We were both hoarse from screaming and cheering. They set a record for attendance and there were so many people there that when everyone was screaming and jumping up and down you could feel the stadium moving. It was kind of unsettling but there is nothing like it. The last home game is this Saturday and Blake is going with Rusty. I'm not sure who is more excited, Rusty or Blake. Blake is counting down to Christmas and the game.
We now have a kitten and oh my gosh if the Christmas tree makes it through Christmas it will be a miracle. At first all she wanted to do was lay under it but now she has discovered that she can climb it. We have had to pull her out of it more times than I care to count. Ashleigh puts her in time out. Everyone thinks that is so funny. She puts her in the bathroom and leaves her in there for a few minutes. We laugh about it but she does seem to stay away from the tree for a little while after, so maybe it is starting to work. I guess we will have to wait and see.
Well, I am headed to bed, have a great evening.
Bridget

Wednesday

Well, Ashleigh and Rusty had a great time at the basketball game. The Vols won and Ashleigh got to see her idol, Pat Summit, the Lady Vols coach. After they got to Smith Arena they were standing in the hall and Pat Summit walked right past them with 2 of the players. Ashleigh thought she had died and gone to heaven. After the game was over they went to where the players go off the court and Ashleigh got a bunch of autographs of the players along with a lot of pictures. She was so excited. They are on their way home now, Rusty let Ashleigh drive so lets everyone pray for a safe trip home. Ashleigh is a really good driver, she's had a great teacher, my Dad, but driving in the city is a completely different experience after driving around our small town. My Dad let her drive to Dulles airport, in the dark, in the rain, so I think they will be fine. They took the metro from Vienna to the arena.
Steven came over tonight and I made chicken Alfredo. After dinner we sat down and played video games with the kids. As I have said before I am an addict. Before Steven came over Wayne made brownies and oh were they good. All 3 of my kids like to cook.
Well, I guess I am going to head to bed, have a great evening.
Bridget

Now let's see....

Let's see what has happened since the last time I blogged.
Friday we went to Woodstock for the Christmas parade. My mom is the manager for Bank of America, they were handing out free hot chocolate during the parade so she asked me if I would come down and help her. Ashleigh walked with their float handing out candy, Blake rode in it, my Dad drove and Rusty and I helped with the hot chocolate. It was a real family affair. It was COLD!!!! I wanted to dip my hands down into the hot water. I've talked before about small town parades, you know fire trucks, 2 Santas, Miss Shenandoah, the whole works. They have it at night, which I still haven't figured out except for the fact that they light the town Christmas tree after the parade. It was fun though and the kids enjoyed it.
Saturday was Rusty's birthday, the big 37. We went to dinner at Outback and then did some Christmas shopping. We had a really good time. They sang Happy Birthday to Rusty at Outback which completely embarrassed him. It was great.
Sunday we went to visit Rusty's mom, she has pneumonia. We also watched the Redskins kick some long over due butt. It was a good game, great weekend, Redskins won and the Cowboys lost, you couldn't ask for more.
Last night we got about 4 1/2 inches of beautiful snow. I love to watch it fall, hate to drive in it. The kids were very excited, school was closed today.
Tomorrow, Rusty and Ashleigh are going to see the Lady Vols (University of Tennessee lady basketball) play George Washington University. They are both really excited about the game. Basketball is Ashleigh's sport, but like her father she will watch just about anything. They are both obsessed with UT.
I don't know what Christmas is like at your house but at ours you have to be really good at hiding presents. Rusty is the biggest kid I have. He loves Christmas and can't wait to open his presents. He gets really excited about the presents he buys for other people also. This year the present he is the most excited about is the one he insisted Blake has to have . We bought (more like he bought) a Cricket rifle. It is Blake's first gun, now Blake is only 7 and I really didn't think he needed one yet but I think Rusty is more excited than Blake will be on Christmas morning. I have the admit the box it comes in is really cute. There's a picture of a cricket in camo holding a gun on the box and it says "My first rifle." Oh, well, that's what I get for marrying a man who has 2 gun safes and more guns than they will hold.
Well, I better get moving and start getting ready for tomorrow. Have a great evening.
Bridget

Cooking

I have to say my husband is incredible. He is one of the best cooks. He cooks almost every night for our lunch the next day. A lot of times he will grill chicken and make us salads, but last night he took boneless, skinless chicken breasts and simmered them on the stove in his secret sauce with mushrooms. It was to die for. I'm always telling him he should open a restaurant. The only problem is his secret sauce is never the same from one day to the next. I've gotten to where I don't ask him what's in it, you really don't want to know. I know the one thing he was looking for last night was the Louisiana Hot Sauce. It was hot, I can tell you that.
I was so happy when I came home today, they were finally here putting the new siding on our house. We had wind damage (it tore the siding off one side of the house) and it has been this incredible nightmare. Our homeowners is paying to replace the whole house (which has been a blessing) but to get anyone out here has been horrible. It is what people call a "small job" and no one wants to do that. We finally found this incredible guy and he came right out the same day I called him, he gave us an estimate and promised they would start the following Monday. He told us he would take money off the estimate because Rusty told him we would take the siding off ourselves. So last weekend Rusty, my Dad and Rusty's brother took all the siding off. Well, the following Monday was last Monday and it rained all day. Then Tuesday it rained all day, then it was the day before Thanksgiving and of course no one works on that day, they hunt. So my house has sat naked since last weekend. This Monday it poured, yesterday it was like a hurricane and today finally it was nice and they got so much of it done. I wanted to hug and kiss all of them. I did refrain though, I'm not sure they could speak alot of english. My house has now gone from tan with green shutters to yellow with green shutters. It's like getting a new house but without all the packing.
Well, I am going to go watch Lost, I am totally and helplessly addicted to that show.
Have a great night.
Bridget

The North Pole

Well, as Ashleigh said today "It looks like the North Pole threw up in here." As you may be able to figure out I started to decorate for Christmas today. I love Christmas. I love the shopping, the decorations, the good spirits people seem to have at this time of the year more than any other. I start to decorate as soon as my family will let me. There are Snowmen and Gingerbread men from one end of the house to the other. Up until last year we have always had a real tree, but when Rusty had his knee replacement on December 6 last year that kind of put a damper on the tree hunt, so we used a fake tree. I grew up with a fake tree except for maybe the last 2 years I was living at home, so a fake tree doesn't bother me at all. I love the smell of the real tree but I hate the needles, the ones that lay on the carpet just waiting to stab you in the foot and the ones on the tree that poke you as you try to decorate it. With a fake tree you don't have the pain and I just burn a candle so you still get the smell. Rusty grew up always having real trees so last year was a new experience for him. So this year I was a little worried that he might put up a fight over the tree, but I think he liked it better than he might admit. He brought up the subject and had no problem with using our last year tree. Ashleigh and I pulled it up from the basement today and I spent 3 hours putting that together, but now I get to enjoy it longer. Another advantage of the fake tree. Rusty and Wayne were at the Redskins game so we waited for them to get home to decorate it, I did put the lights on though. It's one of our family traditions about the tree, the kids and I put the ornaments on the tree and Rusty unwraps them, makes sure they have hangers and then hands them out. There are a couple that he hangs up, his football ones, his hunting ones, his Buzz lightyear (yes his Buzz, he loves that movie) and the one we got our first Christmas together. He always has insisted on hanging that one. We have Christmas music playing and it's just alot of fun.
Well, I am headed to bed, I will be back tomorrow.
Bridget

I'm back

Well, I am back. We have had some major things going on with our family and every time I sit down to blog I just don't know what to say. Ashleigh has been living with my parents since September 8 and Rusty was staying with his mom until about a month ago. It has been a very trying time for us but needless to say we are working on things and bringing out family back together.
We had a really nice Thanksgiving but it is so hectic. First we went to my Mom and Dad's and then after eating ourselves silly we get in the car and drive to Rusty's Mom's and eat again. I don't know how I make it out to the car to go home. I always say that I'm not going to eat as much at each place but everything is so good that I just can't help myself. Are there any other crazies like me who get up at 3:30 in the morning on black friday to get to the stores before they open to get the "early bird specials"? Ashleigh and I were at Wal-Mart Friday morning before 5:00. They had lines inside the store for all the different specials and everything was covered in plastic. At least they didn't make everyone wait outside in the cold like they have done in the past. And was it ever cold. When 5:00 hit they made an announcement over the intercom "Attention Wal-Mart associates, you may now remove the plastic... and get out of the way." People act like they have never seen a sale before, it's truly amazing. We hadn't gone there for anything in particular so it was fun just to walk up and down the aisles, watching people act completely stupid and just having a good time. We then went to Kohl's and spent just enough time in there to decide that there wasn't 1 thing in there worth standing in that line for. We then decided to hit Cracker Barrel and get some breakfast. We had a great day, did get some good deals and were exhausted when we finally got home.
Today we didn't do a whole lot, we did have big plans of decorating for Christmas but we couldn't work up the energy to go down into the basement and drag it all up. Rusty and Wayne spent yesterday and today hunting. Rusty got a 6 point buck yesterday but today all they got were cold hands and feet.
Everyone have a great evening and I will be back tomorrow.
Bridget

School

Well, we are back up and running for school has started again. Actually, I think the kids were looking forward to going back. Wayne is now in high school and he came home excited yesterday that they didn't have to go directly to a class when they get there, they can hang out in the hall and talk to their friends. I remember that feeling having gone from the strict, rigid Christian school to a public school in my junior year where they really didn't care what you were doing as long as you made it to class by the last bell. I couldn't believe that people actually hung out in the parking lot and didn't have to go into the building. gasp You didn't have someone telling you what to do every second of your day. Ashleigh was excited about school because she was looking forward to seeing the friends that she missed over the summer. Now, we live in a very small town that has 1 high school, how she has not seen some of her friends over the summer is beyond me because I know she wasn't home alot. Blake was just excited about going back as only a second grader can be. Every year I have taken pictures of them on the first day. Last year Ashleigh acted like I had asked her to go to school naked when I wanted to take that picture, this year I told them I was going to come to work early but that I would call to make sure they were up. Once again, she acted like I had asked her to go to school naked except this year it was "What?! You're not going to take pictures, but you always take pictures!!" As only a teenager can say it. So needless to say work waited and I took the annual first day of school pictures.

We spend the holiday weekend destroying the bedroom so we could make it better. Rusty painted (purple, he says a guy can only have a purple room if he's married), and we finally, after 12 years took down and got rid of the waterbed. I thought he was going to sit on the floor and cry. I guess I am getting old but it makes my back hurt so bad, I just couldn't sleep on it anymore. Also, it was a king size bed in a room that was not build for a king size waterbed. So, while he's curled up on the bed as the water drains out, enjoying the last few minutes of water, I am dancing through the house just waiting to get the monstrosity out of there. Now, everything that I didn't know what to do with is in the closet or on the floor in front of our bathroom. I need a magic wand to make it all go away. How did we accumulate that much stuff? I don't even know where we got some of it or why it has been kept for so long. I found a gun magazine from 1998 and as I was throwing it in the trash I was informed "Don't throw that away, I want to look at it first." FROM 1998??? He's says I'm just as bad with books, wellllll maybe. But books are so much more important than some stupid gun magazine. I can only say that because my computer at home is still not working and I know he won't be able to read this.

We did take a break on Saturday evening to get together with Rusty's family for my nephew's 17th birthday. I was there when he was born and now he's a senior this year, I can't believe it. We had a really good time with them, it just takes so long to get to their house. They live in the southern end of Fauquier, next to the Stafford line, so that is about an hour and a half travel time one way for us. It wouldn't be so bad except we don't normally leave to come home until around midnight, so I am exhausted by the time we get home. Oh well, we are lucky to have family to visit.

Melissa, I was reading Emily's blog and tell her that we trick Blake when we run out of ham (he will only eat ham and cheese sandwiches). I will give him turkey and tell him it's ham. And the peas and ketchup thing (makes me gag thinking about it) but it's the only way Rusty will eat peas. We make him eat in another room when we have peas.

Have a great day!!!
Bridget

Confessions

Ok, I confess I have an addiction. I am completely and totally addicted to video games. I've always loved them and I also confess my children have all but maybe 2 of the video systems out as of this date. Waste of money I know, but I just can't help myself. I sat up until 11:30 Tuesday night playing Mario Golf with Blake. I had played it before with my brother but we just got it over the weekend and I am on a mission to beat the tournaments and open new courses. This addiction started a long time ago and sorry Melissa but I do have to name you as one of the people in my past who contributed to my problem. Ms. Pac Man is still my favorite game and I don't know how much money I spent playing that game at Austin Farms Restuarant. Wonderful memories of childhood. (laugh) I guess some of us never grow up in certain areas.
Well, now that I've gotten that off my chest, Steven and I went to the Shenandoah County Fair last night. My mom is the branch manager for Bank of America and they have a booth set up there so Steven called and wanted to know if I wanted to go with him and see her. I don't get many nights by myself like that, Blake and Rusty were at football practice, Wayne is with his Grandma in Sterling and Ashleigh has spent alot of time there already and decided to stay home. It was very nice, we petted all the animals, ate fair food and watched people. You know you are in a red neck county fair when the rules on the bumper cars read "1. No bumping (they are bumper cars what else are you supposed to do on them?) 2. No smoking. No smoking?! On a ride? Who would be smoking on the bumper cars? But you know they wouldn't have it posted if it hadn't been a problem. Sometimes you just have to wonder.
Today we go to meet Blake's teacher, he's really excited about that. Why do they do these things in the middle of the day? Not everyone is able to take off from work. I'm lucky that I work for wonderful people who really don't care as long as your job is done, but there are alot of factories around here where it almost takes an act of God to take time from work.
We need to all pray for the poor people in LA, FL, Al, and MS. My heart breaks everytime I see the pictures and hear the stories on the news. It's hard to comprehend what they are going through. My mom and dad were taking Ashleigh to New Orleans for a week in October and they had rented an apartment in the French Quarter, well that trip has been canceled. They are now looking at other options, Ashleigh told my Dad she wanted to go to New York City and he vetoed that idea real fast. He told her he wasn't stepping foot there, she's been dying to get there for some reason. Mom said last night that he was talking about going to the grand canyon possibly. I want to go on that trip.
My nephew's wife is pregnant and due in March and we are all really looking forward to that. We haven't had a baby in the family since Blake and he's 7. It's going to be fun to buy baby things again.
Not much else going on here, we are starting to work on the bedroom now and what a job that is going to be. Please pray we don't kill each other.
Have a great day!!
Bridget

Football is back

Well, another season of The Redskins, lets all hope they do better this year than last year. We were at the game last week (lets not talk about that one) and here on another Friday, in the middle of rush hour traffic we will begin our trek once again up the beltway. God give me strength. You would think, when they make these schedules, they would take into consideration the fact that they are scheduling games on Fridays and people have to leave their homes at 1:00 in the afternoon for an 8:00 game because you have to get their early for all the tailgating in the parking lot. Last week it was just the 2 of us, this week there will be 8 of us. One of Rusty's friends from work is following us up there and they had an extra ticket so I am taking one of my friends that I work with. We are having ribs, hotdogs, hamburgers, chips and I'm not sure what else they are bringing. I told Rusty it looked like we were having a party for 25 people in our kitchen last night, but he never does anything little. I am leaving work at noon today so that is a plus.
There was a horrible fire out our way last night. There is a recycling place right down the road from us that makes mulch and I don't know if it was the pallets they use or the actual building but the flames were a couple hundred feet in the air. It was really kind of spooky. You know you live in a small town when your 16 year old wants to go with her friends down to watch the fire. So yes, the little red neck daughter I have hopped into a car and ran down there to watch. She said there was alot of people down there just watching. Life in a small town, I guess. I did take some pictures of it from our deck, it was around 10:30 last night so I should have some interesting pictures in the dark. I just said a prayer that none of the firefighters got hurt and thanked God that it wasn't someone home.
The kids are getting geared back up for school. They go back to school on the 6th and I was so thankful they were home until then, both Blake and Wayne have had strep throat all week. I am very blessed all of my kids are very healthy and don't get sick very often. Blake kept saying he had a sore in his throat. Thank God for pennicillian everyone is on the mend and back to their old selves.
I can't believe that September is almost here but that just brings me a little closer to April and the cruise. The countdown is on and I can't wait.
Have a great day!!
Bridget

Can you hear the weeping?

Well, we are home again. We had a great time and really hated to come home, but as all good things do, vacation had to end. We had alot of fun at Myrtle Beach, I had never been there so that was a new experience for me. If you've never been to the Aquarium there, you have to go. It's incredible!! It is the Ripley's Aquarium and it is at Broadway at the Beach, which by the way Margaritaville is also at Broadway at the Beach and they have great food and wonderful margaritas. Anyway, back on the subject, the Aquarium is a must see. Steven, Wayne, Ashleigh and I also went to the Haunted Adventure (Blake and Rusty went to the beach, Rusty wanted to go with us but I knew we would be sleeping with Blake for months if he went through the haunted adventure). That was alot of fun, Steven was the only one that didn't get scared, the rest of us were scared out of our mind. Ashleigh and Blake did the build a bear and that was alot of fun also. We went back to my Grandparents on Tuesday and then went out to a seafood buffet that night. They had all you can eat crab legs and my husband absolutely loves crab legs, so the kids were calling him Edward Sissorhands all night. I don't think he stops to breathe. Wednesday we spent the day at the beach, it was really nice, it's a part of the beach that you can drive out on with a 4x4 and you are allowed to cook out, so we did that. Then Thursday morning we pulled out and headed home around 5 am. Steven had to be back to work Friday morning at 5:30 so we wanted to get home. Luckily, Rusty and I didn't have to come back until today. Friday night was the first home Redskins game (preseason) and they lost. We have season tickets so we schedule vacation and everything else around games. We had a good time though, we grill out and tailgate and it's just alot of fun.
Well, I better get to work, after being gone for over a week there's alot to do.
Have a great day!!
Bridget

Vacation part 2...

Well, we will be heading out early tomorrow morning to Myrtle Beach for the next couple days. We have great plans of seeing the Ripley's Aquarium (so Blake can see the sharks), the Ripley's Haunted Adventure (so Steven, Ashleigh, Wayne and I can be scared to death, I went on their web site and I'm a little worried) and then to the Ripley's 4-D theatre which I thought sounded like fun. We also have to hit Broadway on the Beach for Build a Bear, Ashleigh is 16 but she can't wait to build her own bear, Hard Rock Cafe so Rusty can add to his collection and anything else there that we can get into. Steven and Wayne are dying to do the Nascar go-carts. Steven looked at me today and said "Are you sure we have enough time for everything you have planned?" I told him of course we do, stick with me and you won't have 1 minute of spare time. I'm a planner and I drive everyone crazy by trying to have everything planned down to the minute. Sorry, just one of my annoying habits.

Today, Rusty went to the beach by himself now that's what I call die hard beach loving. Ashleigh laid around and didn't do much of anything and Blake hung out with her. Steven, Wayne and I went out driving around to Wrightsville Beach and then just a lot of nothing. It was a very relaxing day.

Do any of you watch Extreme Home Makeover? I've never really sat down and watched it but tonight I did with my Grandmother and cried through the whole show. I don't think I want to watch this every week, I don't know if I can take the emotions. One of my sister in laws watches it every week and I don't know how she does it. It just about killed me.

Well, I am off to bed, got to get my beauty sleep, we are getting up early to head out. I will talk to you when we get back.

Have a great day!!
Bridget

Vacation

Well, we made it to the beach about 1:30 Friday morning. We are having a great time!! I've read 2 books and gotten a sun burn. It's wonderful. We spent the last 2 days laying on the beach and trying not to drown in the ocean. We have gotten to spend some much needed time with my Grandparents also, my PawPaw is 80 and my MawMaw is 75 so I like to spend as much time with them as possible. They are both is good health and we are really lucky to still have them. My children have 3 great grandparents, not many 16 year olds can say that. My mom and dad are babysitting our dog and my dad said she is driving him crazy, she follows him around constantly. She is really a people dog and she doesn't like to be by herself a whole lot except during the day when she gets on the couch (which she is not allowed to) and takes her afternoon nap.

I will write more as I get time, I think I am taking a break from the beach today to give my skin a little break from the sun. Oh, what shall I do, I think I will read some more.

Have a great day!!
Bridget

Wednesday

Well, we leave in 2 days for vacation and I desperately need one. I've been coming into work extra early every day so I can get everything ahead so when I come back it won't be behind. I need sleep!!!! ..............Oh, sorry, I nodded off there for a minute. I get into such a panic when we are getting ready for vacation, I want everything to be perfect, everyone to be happy and have a good time, I worry myself into an ulcer every time we go away. I think I need to be medicated to go on vacation, it would make me and everyone around me alot happier.

My computer is still not fixed, I haven't had time to get it to Steven and he hasn't had time to work on it right now anyway. I guess it will wait until we get back. I have 4 books and 2 magazines packed, I plan on doing alot of lying on the beach and doing nothing.

Please keep praying for Ashleigh. She is really struggling right now, and that in turn is driving me crazy. We have a really great relationship and we can talk about anything (and believe me she has made my hair stand on end with some of the things she has asked me or told me, I think she does it for shock value) but right now it's like she just won't talk to me and that is driving me crazy. She did tell me that the friends she used to hang out with are all drinking all the time and that's why she's not hanging out with them. These were the "nice" girls that I really liked. I just don't know what to do for her except pray.

Blake is still loving football and he found out on Monday that he is on the starting team. I think Rusty was more excited than Blake. Pray for no broken bones.

Wayne has been down at my Dad's for the last 2 days trying to help him paint the front porch but mother nature had other ideas and they have spent the last 2 days watching movies.

Have a great day!!
Bridget

Just a quick note

Do I hear a YEA!!!, the dishwasher is fixed and I didn't have to buy a new one. I am so excited. Now..... the computer is broke. Will the insanity never end? I don't know what I am going to do without my computer, lucky for me I have a brother that can make a computer out of a tin can so it will be getting fixed, I just may not be writing very much for the next couple weeks (I'm at work right now, sshhhh don't tell). He will have to fit me in with his work and we are going on vacation the end of this week for a week, but since we are going to my grandparents and they do have a computer, I will try to keep you updated as much as possible.
We have a pretty uneventful weekend, which is nice, it was just really busy. Blake had a birthday party to go to, Rusty worked on Saturday, the never ending mound of laundry had to be washed so we will have clean clothes for vacation, you know all the regular life stuff.
Have a great day and it's only 4 days to vacation.
Bridget

Help!

My dishwasher has died, I think. Wayne called me yesterday, said he started it and water started coming out of it. Now it won't drain. I am hoping that MAYBE it is clogged, but with my luck it won't be that easy or that cheap. Pray for the dishwasher.

On a more serious note, please pray for Ashleigh. I'm not sure what is going on with her but she has this whole "new" group of friends that she is hanging out with and she's only talking to maybe 1 or 2 of her old friends. I saw Devin in my office yesterday and it was like she didn't want to even talk to me. This is the kid that runs up, hugs me and calls me Momma. I don't understant what is going on. I don't know if it is something that they are doing or if it's something Ashleigh is doing they don't like. Ashleigh has always been such a great kid, she has the teenage attitude sometimes, but on the whole she is a great kid. I wish I could get her to talk to me about what is going on.

We made it through Chuck E. cheese, a little poorer, but the kids had a great time. Even the older 2 had fun with the little guys. My brother couldn't believe that we actually planned to go there and it wasn't something that Blake had asked for. Now Blake can't wait to go back.

Ashleigh has been gone all week, I will be glad to have her home again. She has been baby sitting for the 11 week old granddaughter of one of the girls I work with. They live in West Virginia so she stayed with them for the week. I've talked to her everyday and she's been having a really good time. My office manager has a daughter Ashleigh's age so she picked Ashleigh up last night and took her to a yard party with them. I talked to Ashleigh last night around 11 and they were on their way home, she said she had a great time with Kathy and her daughter Kristen.

Football is off and running, I'm not sure if it's Blake or Rusty having the better time. Blake is just so excited, I guess it's because he is such a busy child and doesn't sit still for long so this works really good for him. He likes baseball but he gets bored with it too easy, I think.

We all need to make sure we pray for the soldiers in Iraq and for the families of the soldiers that just lost their lives. My husband and I adopted a soldier in January and we send him care packages. Every time I hear of a soldier dying it really scares me. We have never met him and we have only recieved one email from him but we feel like he belongs to us. The National Guard from our area returned from Iraq this weekend and there was such a turnout to celebrate. We are just so thankful they are home safely.

Have a great day!
Bridget

Chuck E. Cheese

We are off to spend a fun filled evening at Chuck E. Cheese. Blake is taking 2 of his best friends with him. It will be the 3 little ones, Ashleigh (who is just thrilled to be going to Chuck E. Cheese, not), Wayne, my parents, my brother, me and Rusty. Say a prayer for us we are headed to Manassas. I hate Manassas.
Tomorrow Rusty's family will be here for the third birthday party for Blake. We have been rushing around trying to get the last minute finishing touches done to the house from all the painting and redecorating. If I ever figure out how to post pictures from my digital camera I will show you my finished results. I am really happy with it. It has taken a little longer than we thought but Rusty has worked so much overtime lately that we haven't had the time to finish. But we are getting there.
I will write more later and let you know how Chucky is doing.
Bridget

Birthdays

Oh, and Melissa wish your Dad happy birthday for me. I hope you all have a great time with your parents. Like our children we also have to enjoy our parents and make the most of the time we get to see them.
Have a great day!!!!
Bridget

Happy Birthday Blake!!

I can't believe my baby is 7 today. I now know what my Dad meant when he said to enjoy everything about your kids because they grow up way too fast. I enjoy so many different things about each one of them. It seems like yesterday Ashleigh was born ans she's 16. Time really does fly. We will start the celebration tonight at home, then move it to Chuckie Cheese on Saturday with my family and one of Blake's friends and then we will conclude the celebration on Sunday back at our house with Rusty's family. It will be quite the occasion.
I will be back later.
Bridget

Football

Well, we have made it through the first practice of football, Blake loves it, Rusty is relieved and I'm glad he wants to go back for another practice on Wednesday. Blake came running in the house wanting to show me everything they did today. He is really excited. I was so worried Rusty was going to be disappointed, he loves football so much and he wants Blake to love it just as much. I don't know if that is possible because Rusty is a fanatic but we did make it through the first practice. Oh, and by the way, Blake thinks wearing the cup is really cool, aren't boys fun?

I am letting Ashleigh drive more and more. Tonight she drove from my brother's to the Subway in our town. It it about a 15 minute drive and she did really good. For those of you who don't have teenagers driving yet, just you wait.

I am off to bed, I am going into work early tomorrow.
Bridget

Sunday

Well, here I am, I made it out of the boys bedroom and I am still alive and kicking. It always amazes me what I find in there, it's actually kind of scary sometimes.

Wayne is having a good time in North Carolina with my parents. My Dad took him out of a boat that belongs to a friend of his to fish on the ocean today. My Dad doesn't haul his boat back and forth when they go down there, he used to use it alot when they lived down there but there isn't alot of places to use that kind of boat around here. We have taken it on vacation and had a blast with it. They have one of those double floats that Dad pulls behind the boat and it is so much fun. Last year we rented a house on Lake Gaston with it's own dock and we didn't do anything but rest and play in the water. Ashleigh said she was bored but the rest of us had a great time.

Rusty worked today, I think it's been around a month since he's had a day off, he's asleep right now. Rusty's mom brought Ashleigh home today, that was nice that I didn't have to pick her up. Rusty cooked on the grill while she was here. Ashleigh and her Granny went shopping and guess what Ashleigh came home with?!!!!! A pair of coullottes (spelling??) that she called capris with big legs!!!! I couldn't believe it, she loved them. I swore my daughter would never wear them and she went and picked them out.

Blake and his friend Corey are playing Game Cube in the bedroom, I threatened them with their lives if that room gets messed up. I am probably making a huge mistake letting them play in there but oh well.

I'm off to check the dryer and fold the 100th load of laundry.

Bridget

Birthdays and such...

Blake's birthday is coming up on the 26th and I am having the worst time trying to decide what to get him. We bought him some clothes but we haven't bought any toys yet. My brother bought him a new bike, other than that he's not getting anything so I guess I better get on the ball. Blake and I went grocery shopping to Wal-Mart today and I took him (or rather he took me) over to the toys to show me what he would like to have. Actually, I was quite surprised. The thing he really got excited about was the small hand held Leap Pad. He loves his big one and he was excited that he could take that one in the car. I think that is what we will probably get him.

It's has been pretty quiet around him again today and tonight. Ashleigh is spending the weekend with her Granny and Wayne went with my parents to North Carolina to my Grandparents until Wednesday. It's just me, Blake and Rusty and Rusty is working all weekend, so Blake and I are having a weekend of scary movies ( I know, I know bad mother, bad mother, he loves them as much as I do) and cleaning. Rusty brought home the new fan for the dining room today. He put it up tonight and I am so happy with it.

We went to my brother-in-laws last night for my niece and nephew's birthdays, Kelly is 34 and Jacob is 19. We had a really nice time, lots of really good food and we watched the video of the band from the night they opened for Deana Carter. We got home around 11:30.

Tomorrow I think I will tackle the boys room. I've been putting it off because I'm afraid once I go in there I may never be seen again. That room is a never ending battle.

This has been a pretty boring blog tonight, but it has been a couple of days since I've blogged and I figured I better write something. My life has been pretty boring lately but I guess that can be a good thing.

Bridget

Quiet evening

Well, it is really quiet in my house tonight. My brother came and took Blake and Wayne home with him for a night of junk food, video games and cigars. Well, maybe not cigars but it will be a night of junk food and video games. Steven does alot of stuff with the kids, he's a really good uncle. Ashleigh was going to a friend's house but they ended up here, so I have a night of giggling and phone use to look forward to. Rusty has escaped to his shed in the backyard, I think I may head out there myself.

I am headed to get the coffee pot set, the clothes ironed and the lunches packed for tomorrow. It has been a pretty non eventful day. I guess that's a good thing.
Bridget

6 year old and the bathtub

Why is it when you go to get a 6 year old out of the tub the conversation alwasys goes something like this?
Me: Did you wash?
Blake:Well, the soap is wet.
Me: Did you wash?
Blake: Oh, ok I need a few more minutes.
You would think after all this time he would figured out that he's going to be asked and he might as well go ahead and wash. I think he's hoping that one night I will forget to ask and he will have escaped the washing part of a bath.
Go figure.
Bridget

Beauty shop

I have finally found the ultimate beautician. Did anyone see the movie "Beauty Shop" with Queen Latifa (did I spell that right?)? It was so funny and I said I wanted to find a shop like that. My mom has been looking for someone new to do her hair and a girl she works with recommended this lady. I met with Mom after work tonight and we went over there for Mom to get her hair cut. This girl is hilarious and so were the other 2 people in there. I like her already and she did a great job on Mom's hair. We then went to dinner and to Jo Anne's Fabric. My Mom is going to make some Roman Shades for her living room. She spent alot of money having someone else make them for her library and after getting them she thought they looked pretty easy so she is going to try her hand at making them. I'll let you know how they turn out.

I went and saw Dark Water with my brother and my son Wayne on Friday. I love scary movies, but don't waste your money on this one. Steven looked at me and said "Is this going to be one of those movies where you keep waiting for it to get scary?" It was. Then last night Mom, Dad, Steven, me, Rusty and Wayne went to see War of the Worlds. Great movie. It is definitely a must see.

We are planning our vacation to the beach for August. Steven found out today he was able to take off and go with us, so we were happy about that. I think my Mom and Dad are going to maybe make it down for the weekend. We are going to my Grandparents at Carolina Beach in North Carolina. We will be able to visit them and go to the beach. It's also cheap, it's free, which really fits in with our budget right now. Rusty had knee replacement in December and was out of work from December to May, so that really put a crimp in our vacation plans for this summer. But, that's ok, because it's always good to visit my Grandparents and they like having us.

Melissa, I love the story about the little old lady in the store. Working in a Dr's office people always feel like they can tell you anything. I've never really understood that. When they call to tell you why they haven't been paying on their bill they have no problem telling you that the father has run out of them or that the mom or dad is in jail. That would be the last thing I would be telling anyone, but it's such a way of life for some people.
A thought for the day:
It's that little extra that makes ordinary extraordinary.
Bridget

Sorry

I know, I know I've been lazy, I'm being chastised long distance. This could turn out to be a long blog to grab a cup of coffee and settle in for some stimulating reading. Well, I'm not sure how stimulating it may be but we shall see.
Baseball is over and now we are on to football. My baby is officially signed up to have his little body beat up and he is so excited. I'm not sure who is more excited, Rusty or Blake. Rusty is planning on living out his dreams through the baby and I hope he doesn't get disappointed. Blake is very excited and he has tried all of his stuff on and wants you to hit the pads in his pants so he can tell you it doesn't hurt, but once practice starts I'm wondering how he is going to manage. He's only 6 almost 7 so being out in the heat doesn't bother him, maybe he will do ok.
My Dad's birthday was the 12th but because of schedules we didn't get to celebrate until yesterday. It was really nice and the food was wonderful. My brother is an excellent cook and I am always telling him he will make someone a wonderful wife some day. I made a homemake ice cream cake but other than that my mom and brother made the rest of the food. We had grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, grilled kilbasa (and Steven marinates it in his secret sauce that is to die for), homemade potato salad, deviled eggs, homemade BBQ baked beans and corn on the cob. I'm not sure how many people they thought were going to be there but there was enough for all of us to have left overs today.
Rusty's brother Bobby has a southern rock band called Southern Xcess, www.southernxcess.com, and Thursday night they were in a battle of the bands. They won, and on top of the money they won, they got to open for Deana Carter Saturday night at the Fauquier County Fair. They were all on top of the world. If you go to their web site, in the picture on the home page, Rusty's brother Bobby is in the middle with the white hat, and the one with the goatee is my nephew R.J.
It seems I've been tagged. I will do my best:
10 years ago
Rusty and I were planning our second wedding and spending way more money than I ever thought possible. We have been married to each other twice, once when we were young and stupid and then the second time when we weren't quite so young and maybe not quite as stupid. We had a "period" wedding the second time, it was a civil war wedding. It was alot of fun and everyone in the family got involved and got dressed up also. We made trips to Gettysburg every weekend for months. Ashleigh was 6 and Wayne was 4. I was driving a Pontiac Transport mini van and working for a dentist office.
5 years ago
We were living in this house, Ashleigh was 11, Wayne was 9 and Blake was 1. I had been working for the Dr's I currently work for, for about 8 months. My parents were living in North Carolina and my brother was living in Florida. We were in the middle of saving for our vacation we were planning to Florida for the coming year.
1 year ago
I was crying about the fact that the cruise we had been planning for a year had come and gone in April. We had so much fun and are now planning another one for next April 2006. I was working at home for my office and loving that. My kids really loved that also. Life was good.
yesterday
I signed Blake up for football and celebrated my Dad's birthday, but I already wrote about that above.
today
I have cleaned house, done a mountain of laundry and tackled cleaning my bathroom off our bedroom. I also let Ashleigh drive me around our neighborhood and then to her friend's house down the street. She's doing pretty good, but I am some what of a control freak so it makes me nervous that I don't have any control while she is driving. One day you will see what I mean.
5 snacks that I enjoy
movie popcorn with lots of butter, stuffed mushrooms, my brother's nachos (like nothing you have ever had), boardwalk french fries with lots of vinegar and salt and a vanilla ice cream cone dipped in chocolate from Dairy Queen.
5 bands I know most of the lyrics of their songs
Lynyrd skynyrd, bon jovi, AC/DC, Toby Keith, Shania Twain I tend to jump around with my music, just kind of whatever mood I'm in
Things I would do with 100 million dollars
I would take care of our families. Not just like buy them things and pay off their bills, but give them all money and they could do whatever they wanted to with it. I would set up trust funds for education for my children. I would buy my friend Barbara a house because she works so hard and it seems like she is never able to catch a break.
5 bad habits
very impatient, I hate to wait
I expect people to know what I am talking about before I tell them
I don't exercise enough or really much at all
I can be a slob
I drink too much Coke
5 locations I would run away to
I'm with Melissa on this one, if Rusty is there I'm happy
I would love to go back to the Bahamas.
5 things I would never wear
Daisy Duke shorts, a thong bathing suite, coullottes, never ever again, I went to that same school with Melissa and I would never make my daughter wear them.
a belly button ring, no explanation needed
low rider jeans
5 things I like doing
Reading, I love to read
talking to my kids
going to Redskins games with Rusty, we have season tickets and we have so much fun
hanging out with my family or Rusty's family it is one of my favorite things to do
just sitting around laughing with Rusty
5 biggest joys at the moment
Ashleigh getting her learners permit
that my grandmother came through her heart surgery with no problems
my kitchen remodeling coming along so good, I am so happy with it
when my 2 youngest children aren't arguing
a clean house and the laundry done
5 famous people I would like to meet
President Bush, Toby Keith (I love Toby Keith), he's not famous, but Rusty and I adopted a soldier that is in Iraq that we send care packages to, I would love to meet him
5 movies
Gone with the Wind, anything scary (I love scary movies), Lord of the Rings (I love the king), Rose Red
5 TV shows
Law and Order (all of them), Missing, Lost- I ashamed to admit it but I am addicted to it and can't wait for it to come back on, American Idol-another embarassment that I don't talk about outside of my home, and I guess that about it
5 favorites toys
my dvd camcorder, I love it, my cook books, my swing on my back deck, my computer,
and our AVT
5 people that I tag
I don't know anyone else on blog except Melissa, Thom and Emily and they have already been tagged, sorry mine ends with me
Bridget

Mother/Wife of the Year

Ok, yes I know I am now up for Mother/Wife of the year. I served my family the highly nutrious dinner of .......




frozen pizzas and mozarella sticks. I confess I was tired and just didn't feel like cooking dinner tonight. So I whipped in to that very fancy store called "Food Lion" and picked up our dinner. Rusty is usually really good about cooking dinner too but he's an electrician and has been working outside for the last couple days in this horrible heat so I feel sorry for him. Oh well, we will be back to nutrious tomorrow.
Update on Ashleigh and her friend Devin. They are on the outs again. I feel so sorry for Ashleigh and she pretends it doesn't bother her, but I know it does. I'm not sure what is going on with Devin but it has really concerned me. She's like one of my kids. She has been to my grandparents with us and to Ashleigh's grandparents on both sides. She calls my parents Grandma and Grandpa and Rusty's mom Granny. This is breaking my heart. I know I shouldn't get so involved with her friends but it's so hard. They are here so much and then all of a sudden I don't get to see them anymore.
Wayne comes home tomorrow, I am excited about that. It just isn't the same house without him.
Well, I am headed out to water my poor tomatoes and flowers. They are all begging for water.
Later,
Bridget

Oh, I hate Mondays

Here we go again, Mondays. Every Monday I get out of bed and think that this week will be different. The people I work with won't drive me too crazy and then I get to work and that thought gets blown out of the water. Oh, well, such as life, I guess.
I know I talk alot about Blake, but he is 6 and he gives me such inspiration. ha ha Tonight we are having dinner (BBQ pork chops, stuffing, corn and peas, we have to have corn and peas because I can not get my children to eat peas. I guess I could pull a mommy dearest and make them sit there until they eat them but I'm a push over I guess) anyway back to dinner, Blake is eating and the conversation goes like this:
B- "Where is the chicken the stuffing came from?"
M- "What?"
B -"The chicken the stuffing came out of, what did you do with it?"
M- "The stuffing came out of a box, not a chicken."
B- "The people that put it in the box, they got it out of a chicken?"
M- "No, the stuffing did not come out of any chicken."
B- "Does the chicken have the stuffing in it while it's alive or does it get the stuffing after it dies?"
M- "There is NO stuffing in a chicken unless I put it there."
B- "Do you put it in all the chickens, even Grandma's?"
M- "No, Blake only our chickens"
B- "There's a midget at my school."
M- "There is?"
B - "Yes, it's going into 5th grade?"
M- "Is the midget a girl or boy?"
B -"A girl."
M -"Then she's going into 5th grade, not it's going into the 5th grade."
B - "oh"
And they ask me why I drink.
Has anyone been on the website for the new baby panda? It's really neat, it's right in the den with them. You really can't see the baby, but Blake and I have enjoyed just looking at it and talking about how little it is right now. They say it weighs around 3-5 ounces, about the size of a stick of butter. The website is http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/giantpandas if anyone is interested and you have to scroll to the bottom of the page.
I am headed for that pile of laundry in the laundry room, if you don't hear from me in a couple days , please send out a search party.
Bridget

A Flea Marketing We Will Go

Well, we just crawled into the house after a 3 hour trip to the flea market. I love the flea market. I am redoing the kitchen and it is in retro/old country. I am now on the hunt for red handled utensils. It was a productive trip, I came home with a water dipper and something I'm not quite sure what it is, but I liked it. Blake went with us and if you've never taken a 6 year old to the flea market or a yard sale, take my word for it, don't. He was tired, he was hungry, he was thirsty and the one that gets you every time, "I have to go potty." He knows he's going to get a reaction on that one. We also came home with cherries and tomatoes. My tomatoes plants aren't ready yet, but I am ready for them. It always amazes me the way that people dress at these things. There are people who are hardly dressed and then there are people in dresses and heels. Heels?? At the flea market??? Do people even look in the mirror when they leave the house or even think about where they are headed when they get dressed?
Wayne, my 14 year old, has decided he wants a "mullet" hair cut. Those of us from the 80's should remember this lovely hair cut. Rusty and I decided to not say anthing about it, because it is only hair, but it really has taken some time to get used to. I guess we have to pick our battles and hair does grow. He could of wanted to dye it or do something outrageous, so I guess this is tame compared to some of the things I've seen at the schools. It really surprised me because he's not the kind of kid that does things to stand out. All of my kids are really good kids for the most part and don't give us any trouble and I thank God for that.
Until later,
Bridget

Friday, Friday, Friday

Did I mention it's Friday?! I have 2 days at home and I don't think I am going to leave the house. (who am I kidding, I'm sure one of my little darlings will think of someplace they just have to be or they might die). I'm going to give it a shot though. Blake and I will be the only ones home tomorrow and that has made him very excited. Rusty will be working, Ashleigh is spending the night at a friend's house (maybe I should of warned them of the constant phone use) and Wayne is gone until Wednesday. It will be very quiet here tomorrow.
We had a parade down Main St. tonight in our little town and if you've never been to a small town parade it's a sight to behold. You have a couple convertibles with the local fire department princesses and queens. Then you have a fire truck, ambulance, a delivery truck (usually propane) for a local company, maybe another convertible, a car load of people that just decided to be in the parade for the fun of it and then another fire truck, and another fire truck and another fire truck. And it goes on and on like that for normally about an hour or so. Of course every volunteer department around has been invited to send a truck for the parade. God bless the volunteer fire fighters because alot of small towns wouldn't have fire departments if it wasn't for them. But after you have seen the first 50 fire trucks you are kind of looking for the end of the parade going "Is it ever going to end?" "Oh, is that a rain cloud I see?"
Blake is going to have to see the optometrist (I think that's how you spell it but it still looks wrong), he had his yearly physical today and they think he's far sighted. Hopefully, he won't need glasses. When he ws taking his test in the office and he couldn't see line 7 he asked the nurse "Does ANYONE see line 7?" Ashleigh had her physical today also and after complaining about having to get out of bed before 11, 12 or maybe even 1 she got the disappointing news that she has probably stopped growing and won't get over 5'2". She wanted to be taller but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.
After everything that has been going on with that family in Idaho and the little girl being found, let's all hug our kids a little tighter tonight after we say our prayers. During the day stop and just sit down and spend time with your children and thank God everyday that they are safe at home with us.
Bridget

Boys and their toys

Well, we just got back from our four hour trip to Manassas. I hate having to go to Manassas, the traffic is horrible and it's over an hour one way. Rusty got Sirius (satellite) radio for Father's Day and the antenna broke off in it. He was not happy and I thought he was going to throw himself on the floor and kick his feet. I bought it from Bestbuy.com and of course we don't have a Best Buy close to us, the closest is Manassas. So, off to Manassas we went. That was quite the experience, did I mention I hate the traffic in Manassas, but the people at Best Buy were very nice and refunded us our money so we could turn around and buy another model that of course cost more money but the antenna is in a different location and doesn't plug directly into the radio. so he was happy, skipping (well, maybe not exactly skipping, but close) out of the store and then we had to sit in the car so he could call Sirius and switch his subscription from the broken radio to the new one. Then he was once the happy husband that I know and love.
Does anyone else notice the children that are just running loose in stores with no parents in sight? I'm talking little kids, not teenagers. It amazes me that people don't even pay attention to the crazy turn this world has taken. Children are disappearing everyday never to be seen again. I just don't understand it.
I think I am going to have to have my phone surgically removed from Ashleigh's ear. I don't think she stops talking on it even when she's asleep. Now that I think of it, she does talk in her sleep. I spent alot of time on the phone but I'm not sure it was that much. Her friend Devin and her have made up and are friends again. I asked Ashleigh if she asked Devin about the parties she's been having and she told me no, she was just going to let it go. Devin knows how she feels and she doesn't think she needs to say anymore about it. I guess time will tell.
Til tomorrow, good night.

Survived another 4th

Well, we survived another 4th of July. The party at my mother-in-law's was nice, smaller than usual so that was nice. I still didn't know over 1/2 of the people there. Lots of food (that's the most important thing) and good music. I left around 10:30 to come home. Rusty and Ashleigh always spend the night and come home the next day.
Blake is dancing around the living room singing "The Peter Panda Dance". If you've seen The Pacifier with Vin Diesel you know what I am talking about. It's a very good family movie if you haven't.
Yesterday and today we finally got the dining room and kitchen back together. It looks so good and I am so happy with it. We have a couple things left to do but they are small things.
My Mom, Dad and Steven came over tonight and we grilled steaks and just had a good time. We have an incredible view from our deck and we sit out here every year and watch the fireworks at the town park. It's wonderful, we don't have to fight any of the crowds or traffic but we still get to see the fireworks.
Well, it's back to work tomorrow, oh well.
Bridget

Baking, baking, baking

Already I am running behind on blogging. I was so busy yesterday that I barely had time to check email. Rusty's family has a huge 4th of July party every year with over 150 people and a live band so I have been getting ready for that. It is tomorrow so I have been baking. It's alot of fun but I liked it better before it got to be so big. There are so many people now that I don't know over half of them. Oh, well.
My Dad and my son, Wayne are on their way back from North Carolina and should be home soon. They went down to take my Grandmother to the Dr to have her staples removed. She had a valve replaced in her heart (we call her MawMaw so now we have been calling her MoooMaw and teasing her about wanting to eat grass, they replaced it with a cow valve) and they did a bypass. She is doing wonderful.
We have been redoing our kitchen and it is almost done. Rusty and my Dad painted the living room, foyer and the hall and then Rusty moved on to the kitchen. It looks really good. My dining room looks like a bomb went off in it because everything is on the floor and table in there. I can't remember when we last ate at the table. It will be nice to finally be able to sit down as a family again.
For the last year I was working at home for my office and I loved it. I am now back in the office and I'm not so sure I'm loving that. I like the people I work with but it was so nice to be home with my kids. They fired our office manager in March (who also happened to be my sister-in-law, long story there) so they brought me back in to help with the new manager. She's wonderful and I really like her alot. The people here drive me crazy sometimes though. We have a new nurse who was just ranting and raving in my office the other day and she was cussing up a storm. I just sat here and didn't say anything to her. Yesterday she came back and apologized to me for cussing because one of the other nurses told her I don't cuss.
Sometimes your testimony speaks without you ever having to say a word.
This sounds kind of whiny, sorry.
I'll be back later.
Bridget