The Things We Ask

Yesterday I was making a dessert for dinner at a friend's house when I discovered that I was out of flour. Katie was down for a nap and I couldn't wait on Chris to bring it home from work so I had no choice but to call on the neighbor. Normally I wouldn't have hesitated, but it was pouring down rain outside. Well, given my current situation, I decided to call on my loving daughter Stephanie to do my dirty work. I assumed she would give me fits for sending her across the street in the rain, but she was quite willing and agreeable as she usually is for such 'borrowing trips'. I geared her up with an umbrella and then handed her a container to carry the flour in. After struggling to even hold up the umbrella(I really do need to by her a kid size umbrella) and then trying to juggle the container too she looked at me with this serious look and said..."Mom, I'll go and come right back with the umbrella and get the container, I promise." I just about died right there. I proceded to tell her that that wouldn't work and so I thought for a moment and decided that a plastic bag to put the container in and then over her arm would be best and off she went. As I went in the house, I reflected on what had just happened. I was just looking myself in the face. So many times I have seen myself in my children, but this time I really struck a nerve. You see, there was a time when I was in elemtary school that I had to take and exam for the gifted and talented program. My mom told me that I probably wouldn't make it in because I had no common sense. She was right. I came home from school that day and asked my mom about one of the test questions. The question was "In order to teach, a teacher must have a. students b. text books or c. a classroom. " I told my mom that I figured you didn't have to have books or a classroom, but you had to have teachers. And my reply was, "Is that one of those common sense questions you were talking about?" I would like to think that I have lots more common sense these days, but I sure hope that my children gain that at a much earlier age. I took a few pictures to help remind me of this event. My Stephanie was such a trooper and didn't even know she had caused me to have such a chuckle!

Amelia Island Day 2 or so

Today was a good day. We went to several CE meetings and then we both had the opportunity to sit on a panel discussion for pharmacy students. I gave Chris a hard time because he signed us up for this(with my reluctant permission, of course) because it was cutting into my beach time. The conference was actually over at 1:15 today and so I would have been headed straight to the beach, but instead I sat on this panel until 3:15. Anyway, I sat in this room surrounded by all these full time pharmacists, most of who worked in a hospital setting, and I felt rather out of place. As we went around the room and described our work situation and how we got there, I listened to lots of people say that they did a residency, they started here and moved to this job, blah blah blah... When it came to my part, I began to tell them about my job... no nights, no weekends(unless I choose), no holidays, no insurance, no money exchange, 9:30-6, two days a week... I thought about all this and while no one had any questions for me(other than the moderator who was quite impressed with my great job flexibility) I realized that I really am quite happy. I love my job, but I really love being at home with my kids more. I guess that I have the best of both worlds. We ran into that same moderator at dinner tonight and he said something that really made me think...He was asking more questions about my specific job and he was saying how much he appreciated me sharing this aspect of pharmacy during the forum and then came the statement that I won't forget . He said that while my job was so very different, he said that I obviously appeared to be the happiest of all of them. Boy is that an understatement. I'm not saying that all these other people aren't happy, but what I do is so rewarding. I still struggle with the challenges of being both a stay at home mom and a professional, but I do know that this is where God has called me and there is not a bone in my body that would give it up. We did finally make it to the beach today and had some time to relax. Chris read a book about MRSA(methicillin resistant staph aureus-in case you were wondering)--surprise, surprise he's reading a book on bugs, and I took a nap on the beach(yeah--I never get a nap). We both enjoyed the relaxation and then ended the night with a walk on the beach before going to dinner. It has been a great time of relaxation, but we are ready to head home tomorrow and get our girls back.

Amelia Island

Chris and I are at Amelia Island right now for a conference. We left the kids with my mom and headed down here on Thursday. We have had a really good time, but haven't made it to the beach yet. We were in meetings all day on Friday and then went out for dinner last night. We ate at the Plae, a restaraunt here at the resort. It was excellent and we didn't have to pay(we went out with drug reps). Actually, we haven't paid for anything as of yet because we went out with another drug rep on Thursday when we got here.

We are planning to go to the beach this afternoon, but the weather looks really bad right night, very overcast etc. Hopefully it will clear up.

Our hotel room has a private balcony overlooking the beach and the view is just gorgeous. We have been here several times before, but have always stayed in a villa further away. We have decided that the way to go is to stay at the inn!

The Finished Project

The unveiling of our first phase brough satisfaction and dissappointment. We were very pleased with the look of the walkway, but quickly were saddened to find out that the edges were not very sturdy. My mom was very upset because she had told the man at Lowes what we were doing and he had told us the type of mortar/concret mix we needed to use. She then approached another man on a different occassion and was indeed told that the first man was not correct. Well, given that the project was close to completion, we couldn't turn back, so we improvised. For the next phase, we used a different, stronger mixture. We turned the corners and then had to build up the circle around the crepe myrtle. We leveled and started the circle enough to continue the walkway. We completed the project as much as we could and then we were out of time, money and energy! We added monkey grass around the outer edge to deter walking on the edges and then I purchased more hedges for the other edge to deter walking off that edge. I still have a ways to go by finishing up the bed around the crepe myrtle and continuing the project to the swing. The yard looks completely different and I am so proud of our work(mom and I).

My mom... So, after 1 week, the project we started has come to an end. I have to tell you though that it was not without much sweat and labor. Mom and I worked all day on the walkway and Vicki stayed very busy making sure that mom and I had water and food(a necessity) and she spent the majority of her time tending to my girls. None of this would have been possible without her help and of course my moms. Thanks Mom and Vicki. I love my new walkway.

Walkway

After we decided on our pathway, it was time to start getting dirt. Mom got the first load of dirt and had it emptied before I knew it. She filled in holes here and there and then was off for the second load. Steffie, Katie and Ashlyn got in on the fun this time and decided to play atop the mound of dirt. They had a great time. Next, we proceded to fill our walkway with dirt and sand. We had to add dirt because we figured since the ground was so hard we would not be able to dig it out. Therefore, we added dirt to give us our foundation. Next, we filled in with sand and then we were ready for the stones. We estimated that that the stones were about 35lbs a piece. So, one by one we laid the stones down. We laid the pattern and then would level each stone with the ones beside, above and below it. If it wasn't right then we would pick it up and add more sand or take away until we had the right level. As we got tired, we would pray that the next ones would be level on the first try!! God did hear us because there were a few desparate times that it did actually work the first time. Going all the way to the swing...one day! It starts to take form. Katie likes it already!

After we laid the stones we had to fill with cement. We had a type of cement that was like sand. We filled all the cracks with the concret mixture and then swept the stones clean and leveled the mixture. Then you very gently soak the mixture with water and wait for it to harden. Sounds easy, but definitely it was not.

Me spreading and leveling the conrete mixture. This was the end of phase one of the walkway. After phase one, we had to stop because we were out of forms to hold the conrete in. So, it was time to wait and hope that all turned out okay.

Sprinkler System

Okay, so this was what I would call an imcomplete project. I have been wanting to "play" with the sprinkler system lately and try to "tweek" it a little bit. So, what better time than when my mom and Vicki are around to keep the kids in check. So, I took off one morning with the intent of digging up and moving two of my sprinkler heads from the side flower beds to the yard(while I was supposed to be helping my mom in the back yard). Every time the sprinkler system would go off these would create huge gullies in my flower bed and it just really needed to be fixed...First let me say that if I had had the heads moved BEFORE I had the flower beds created 7 years ago I would not have been doing this... The first two heads were moved after much digging, a huge, deep, whole I might add!!! Aside from the difficulty digging, the moving wasn't that much trouble and I was quite proud of myself. My mom offered to turn the system on after watching me running back and forth from the garage to the yard trying to adjust the heads. I was soaked afterwards, but this was a definite success. Next, I decided that since that was such a success I would work on the other side of the yard9a different day). I dug another big, deep whole and changed one head from a mister to an oscilator and then decided I needed to work on the ones at the end of the side yard. I capped off two in order to get more pressure and then proceded to dig up another near the fence and try to change the head out. I had been told that in order to get the best coverage on the side yard I would need to actually move three of the heads to a different part of the yard. This was going to require lots of digging in our wonderfully, hard Georgia clay...not going to happen by this woman. So, instead I decided to change from misters to oscilators and see what happened. As I dug up the one at the fence and I finally got to the 'white' pipe, I became aware of a great problem...It was connected by two pipes, one from the back and one from the front yard, both at different levels. This proposed quite a challenge in reconnecting them since they were two different levels. After much force and my mom's help, I reconnected the two and checked to see if there were any leaks. No leaks at the connection...YEAH! However, problem number 2 results...the sprinkler continues to have a steady flow of water from it even after turning off the system.... So much in fact that the big, deep whole filled up with water and created a muddy mess at my fence. At this point my mom tells me that while I have done a wonderful job and should be very proud of myself, it is time to cap it off and call for help. I obeyed with reluctance. After talking to my help, I came home and decided that maybe if I tried a different location this would fix the problem...(what was I thinking). So, this time I made Chris come out and help me redig up one of the ones that I had already capped off and recovered with dirt. Again, Georgia clay presented quite a difficult digging project. We finally dug up and got to the white pipe, again I tried to reconnect(a different day) with a different connection to accomodate an oscilator rather than a mister. This time the connecting was rather difficult and when I turned the sprinkler on the next day, the connection leaked and the sprinkler head still continued to spray a steady stream of water after being turned off. I've decided at this point that I am out of my league on this one. I have turned it over to my HELP and have asked for him to come and fix it. I could keep trying this and that based on his instruction, but I believe that I have given it the old college try and will gladly turn this one over. Now, for all those who are bored out of your gord after reading this, I am sorry. You just had to be there to understand. I am very proud that I even attempted and for the most part I can replace and maintain this thing, but this time I think it has gotten the best of me. The muddy mess!

Sorry, no other pictures available because I don't have any on my camera. Mom, if you see this then send me some more and I'll post them.

Sprinkler System Pictures

Here are the pictures from the sprinkler adventure...which is still not over. That's a whole other story though.

The Walkway Begins

Okay, so here is how this began...my mom tells me earlier in the spring that she and Vicki are coming to my house to stay for a week over the summer and they want to do something 'big' for me. My responsibility is to come up with the project and the money to do it. So the brainstorming begins. The first thing that I say is that I would really like better stepping stones/steps in my backyard coming off of my deck(we were in a money crunch during the project and so we just used some stones that we had and I never really liked it) My moms exact words to this are 'this is what I envision' and so the project evolved. I had given it some thought and really wanted the walkway to extend down to my existing swing. That was as far as I had thought about it though. So, my mom arrived on July 4th and we enjoyed a wonderful meal of ribs(completely down from marinade to grilling, by Chris) and corn on the cob and just a leisurely evening. After the kids go to bed, mom and I go outside with the light on to start the brain storming. That night we rake away the mulch and get our pathway semi-etched out. There is a crepe myrtle tree that is directly centered with the bottom of the deck steps and so we decided that this would be the focal point. The idea was to start the walkway at the end of the deck steps, and have it branch off in front of the tree extending to the swing and then a short distance on the other side to give a path to walk between the flowers and down to the rest of the backyard.

Making Stepping Stones

Since mom and I were were fixing to start on our 'major backyard project', (more of that later)it was very important that I get the girls to make some stepping stones. Well, being me, I try to cram as much in as I possible can. On this particular Sunday, we went to lunch after church, then off to the mall, then to lowes to buy stuff for our project, then back to the mall to get Chris and the girls...then home...So, as I said, I cram lots in.

Me preparing the 'work space'!

We got home from the mall and it was time to make the stepping stones. It was pooring down rain outside, which is where we should have been to do this, but we couldn't wait on the rain to stop because we HAD to get these done so they would be dry in time for their addition to the 'backyard project'.

I mixed the concrete(and got it all inside my sore thumb which I had previously sliced open on July 4th) and finally we were ready to get started. So, we headed out to the sunroom with newspaper and all our tools. The girls were too excited and bugged me from the time I said we were going to do it until I finally had all the supplies together(it sounded something like --'when are we going to make our stones? Are you ready yet?') We convinced Chris to come out with us too so that he could take the pictures, and just to be a part of this great 'family event' First up was Katie... I took her hand and laid it on the mold and she just kept pushing it down. When she pulled it out, we had a great print, but it was just a deep. Next we did her foot. She didn't quite understand the concept of spreading her toes out so her foot print didnt' turn out quite as good as I would have liked, but cute nonetheless. Then it was out the door onto the deck to rinse off her hand and foot--thankfully it was only sprinkling by this time.

Next up was Stephanie. She is such a big girl and understood exactly what she was to do. Her hand and footprint turned out perfect. So, off she went to rinse off too before we embarked on the decorating.

The fun part was now. I let the girls decorate their own stones with various mosaic and garden shapes. They really enjoyed this and were very insistant on filling up every little space, with the exception of the space I had told them their name had to go.

Finally, I crammed Katie's name and the year('08 was all that would fit) onto her stone and we had one completed stone. I then gave Stephanie and popsicle stick and tried to teach her the art of writing with it. After smoothing and resmoothing many times, I finally decided to try a pencil...MUCH BETTER. After much work trying to get a long name in an already small space, the name was finally there...and I crammed in '08 again.

At last, we are done. I think they turned out pretty good and just wait until you see where they are going!!!!

Home from Grandmas

Stephanie and Katie returned home from grandmas house as little brown bears with lots of new tricks. They had such a good time, but Chris and I missed them so much. Chris and I worked the whole time they were gone(not unusual for Chris, but I picked up extra days while they were gone to make up for vacation). We worked and went to the gym, there wasn't much else to do. We were both very anxious to have them back. They were ready to get us to the pool immediately so they could show us everything they had learned. Chris and I were amazed to watch as Stephanie swam about 3/4 of the way across our neighborhood pool, jumped in without fear and wasn't the least bit upset about water in her face. For those of you who know us well, this was quite a milestone for us as hair washing time has always been quite a challenge for her because she hated water in her face and eyes! I'm not one to admire swimmers, but I have to admit that she has a beautiful swim form, especially for a 4 year old who is just learning how to swim. Look at her swimming After Stephanie showed us she could swim, then came the real excitement as she dove into the water! I can't begin to tell you how she giggled as she showed us her new tricks. For Chris and I, this was a moment of realization that she is definitely growing up! Wow!

Katie was next to show off and she was not sure of tricks either. She couldn't contain herself from jumping off the steps just to show us how proud she was that she could go under the water. She would jump and go under, come and do it again and again and again. She too was very full of giggles and laughter as she showed off. She has learned to do the doggie paddle and her favorite is to float on her back(with her floaties of course). She is too relaxed just floating in the pool. Her newest thing is that she can now swim with just one floatie, which we only allow her to do with us in the pool.

Watch me!

Our Day at the Pool

The girls and I went to the pool right before they left for mom's(two weeks ago--I know I am a little behind). Laura and her kids went too and we just had a wonderful relaxing day. Everyone was great with the exception of Ashlyn having a little bit of a melt down in the beginning. Once she got her goggles though she was great.

Stephanie, Rachel & Katie

Stephanie & Ashlyn

While at the pool several days earlier, Stephanie had found a pair of goggles and decided to use them in the baby pool. I was amazed because she was really swimming across the baby pool with those goggles on and wasn't complaining at all about the going under water. So, I went and bought the girls some goggles with the hope that they would start to really use them and swim more under water.

Stephanie did indeed exactly what I was hoping for and got in the big pool(which she can touch bottom in this year) and started going under water with the goggles. She was moving her arms and really trying to swim. I was so proud of her and couldn't wait for mom to see her swim over the next week. Look at my big girl! Going to the pool has been great this year. Since Stephanie can touch the bottom, she can be in the big pool without assistance as long as someone is watching her. Katie wears floaties without assistance and so she can roam back and forth between the baby and big pool as well. I have found that I can sit on the corner of the pool between the baby and big pool and I can watch the girls and not have to get in. I like to get in when I am hot, but I am not big on just staying in the water and 'playing' all the time. So, I allow the girls to play in the big pool as long as they stay in the corner of the pool where my chair is. This has made our pool days so much better this summer and enjoyable for mommy and the girls alike.

Katie in the big pool

Uncle Justin

We went to see Uncle Justin in Aiken a couple of weeks ago. The girls had such a wonderful time. We hadn't seen Justin since Sept of last year and it was very good to see him again. I believe that he was in awe of how big the girls had gotten. We went to dinner at O'Charley's and then went to the Marble Slab afterwards for ice cream.

The time went by so quickly and then it was time to say goodbye again. We vowed on the way home that we would make it a point to see him more often. We desparately want him to be a part of the girls lives. He promised Katie that he would come to her birthday party(in Sept) and so she will be counting on it.

Justin is doing very well. His roommate just bought a house and they have moved in there. Justin recently switched jobs and is working Monday thru Friday and seems to be making pretty decent money. He is saving lots of money on gas because he lives close enough to work that he can ride his bike. Chris helped him to set up and internet savings account and he is wanting to start saving money to buy a house of his own.