Happy Grooming Appointment

We were at G&G Huber's last night when Parker decided to check her calendar to see if Grandma had his birthday marked on it.

In his usual dramatic fashion - he let Grandma know that she didn't have his birthday marked. To which she replied, "Of course I do". Parker looked again - on his birthday - October 23rd - it was in fact marked with a sticker that said "Grooming Appointment".

Apparently not enough "Happy Birthday" stickers came with the calendar. Judy's on the 18th had "Dr. Appointment" and Johnny's on the 31st was marked "Vacation".

Grandma Huber is definitely a one of a kind - and we love her very much!

I wish I could make everything better......

I have always been a working Mom. Not easy - but I have always tried to make the best of it, finding them a home and environment that would provide them love and care while I was away. Arranging for transportation to and from their different activities and always trying to have a "sit down" dinner at the end of the day so we could unwind all together.

When they were small, it was easy to get them up, feed them, dress them and wisk them off to the "sitter".

As they got older, not so easy...
They had feelings and opinions, and my choice of a care provider was not always their choice.

They wondered why I couldn't be home with them when they had a day off of school.

They wondered why they couldn't let friends in the house when I wasn't home

But somehow we made it through those crazy times.

So now they are older - not any easier being a Mom - I just don't have to find a day care provider. We still have that "sit down" dinner to try to unwind and talk about everyone's day!

But - It's hard to not make their decisions for them. It's hard not being able to be there for them when they need someone to protect them and stand up for them and make everything better.......but somehow we will make it!

Back to School

Getting ready for school is the funnest part of going back. When I was growing up, my Mom made a big event out of school shopping. She would take a couple of her daughters at a time and we would get dressed up and go downtown to shop. We would head to Auerbach's department store and then walk up the street to The Paris, and sometimes would even walk all the way to ZCMI. We picked out three outfits and a new pair of shoes. The best part of the shopping trip for me was lunch in Auerbach's basement. A great hamburger, fries and of course a Cherry Limeade.....it was the best.

I've tried to make the back to school shopping a "special" experience for my own kids - but there is no dressing up and no Auerbach's lunch. I put the amount of money they can spend in an envelope and when it's gone - they're through shopping.

This year Parker and I ventured out a couple of weeks ago. He is a "one stop" shopping kind of person - got everything he wanted at JC Penney's and then we went to the Olive Garden for lunch......

Meranda and I have gone a couple of times - I bought some things for her - she bought herself some things. I haven't taken Preston yet for school - we did some shopping after he got home from his mission - but he did ask for a new pair of shoes the other day. Last Friday we went to Lunch at Litza's - I guess we can count that.....

Today all three of them are officially "Back to School"....it's great!!!!!

Long time - no post.....

The summer has flown by - only 2 weeks until school starts - we've been busy.....

June
. Meranda and Parker went to Washington D.C. with some of the family - 14 in all - they had a great time.
. Parker was named to the Hunter-Cyprus Baseball All-Star team - great experience - good baseball player.
. Evan was asked to help coach the All-Star team - he is a good coach and a good role model for the kids.
. Preston got a job at UPS - on the night crew - hard work - but pays for school.

July

. Parker went on his first week long scout camp - earning 5 merit badges - and then earned another two after camp. Way to go Parker!!!
. Evan survived the scout camp - which was a Stake event this year - glad to check that one off the list.
. Meranda and Parker started working at "Shavy Jones" - arghhhhh - they are earning the big bucks.
. Preston started coaching football at Hunter High (volunteer basis - no pay) - loving every minute of it - great "internship" to see if he really wants to be a coach.
. Meranda was named NJCAA Academic All-American and NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-American - the difference is the GPA - 3.5-3.7 for the first and 3.8-4.0 for the second - her GPA is 3.9. Way to go Meranda!!!!

It's great to be busy. Busy people are happy people!!!!

Apply medication then grab a brown paper bag!!

Saturday night we had a major meltdown by Parker (and yes he gave me permission to post about it). You see earlier in the week he was hit in the mouth by a baseball at practice, which caused a huge blister on the outside of his lip and a huge canker on the inside of his lip. He has been miserable all week. So on Saturday, we were at Meranda's softball tournament and Aunt Jackie and Uncle John came up to watch. She asked what I was doing to help Parker's lip feel better to which my answer was "not much". She suggested getting an OTC medication called "campophenique" (not sure of the spelling) that you apply to the sore and it numbs it and takes the pain away.

Well - we bought, we applied - and then Parker read the warnings on the box - BIG MISTAKE!!! "If swallowed, call poison control". Because it was applied to his lip - yes it got in his mouth and yes he thought he was going to DYE!!!!!!!!! No guarantees by Mom, Dad, Meranda made him feel any better and he started to hyperventilate - so I grabbed a brown paper bag, demonstrated how to use it, and gave in to his begging to call poison control. The questions they asked and I answered were

What is your son's name?

How old is your son?

How much does he weigh?

What is the medication expiration date and lot code on the box?

All the while - Parker was sitting there with panic on his face.

The nice lady at poison control was very calm and told me to tell Parker that...

He would be okay....

He would have to swallow a "large" amount of the medication for it to harm him...

Try get his mind on something else....

PHEW - that was a close one - he did live - but he woke up Sunday morning with a very large "swollen" lip - I guess from the medication. I told him movie stars pay thousands of dollars to have their lips look like that - He didn't laugh.....

Happy Birthday Meranda Kay...

I didn't forget Meranda's birthday - just forgot to update the blog.

Meranda Kay Wood turned 19 on Saturday, June 20th. She was supposed to be born on June 10th, but her strong will prevailed even before she was born, and she arrived 10 days late. It was a HOT summer day and she was born at 2:00 p.m. - just after General Hospital was over (that's when I use to watch the Soaps).

She was born in the old Holy Cross Hospital (run by the Catholics) and I was a little bit concerned about that. My room was in the non-smoking section - and the smoking section was the room next door.

I was so happy that our little "cabbage patch" was born healthy and strong. The miracle of birth never ceases to amaze me!

I am so blessed to have Meranda for a daughter! She is smart, funny, pretty, patient, loving, helpful, athletic, spiritual, honest, self-motivated, fiesty, humble, etc., etc., etc. SHE'S THE BEST!!!!!!

Upward and Onward

Happy 6th Grade Graduation to Parker! He survived the year with Mrs. Shepherd - barely!!!!

I knew teachers like her existed. She didn't seem to like Parker from the first day - maybe it was his good looks, his quick wit, his popularity, or that he always did the "butload" of homework she assigned - in any event here comes 7th Grade!!!!

Way to go Parker!