October

Tomorrow is October 1st. I have always loved October. I love the weather, football season and the fact that my birthday is in October. (It's the 18th in case you were wondering!) Growing up I would tell every one that I had a "Birth Month" and not just a birthday. I hoped it would bring me more gifts, but it didn't!



I don't love October as much as I used to. Six years ago on October 1st my mom died. (I blogged about it here a couple of years ago.) Her body wasn't found until October 3rd, so that date is her official date of death. We know she died on the first, though. She was wearing the clothes she had on at work on October 1st. One of her friends had driven home with her that day and confirmed this. So, even though her head stone says October 3, 2004 we know it was really on October 1, 2004 that she took her last breath.



I think of her all the time and still have the urge to pick up the phone and call her. I know one day I will see her again. I know that she was proud of me and loved my boys like no other grandmommy ever could. I know she knew I was taken care of and she was comforted by that.



I am thankful that my mom didn't suffer when she died. She had, evidently, lay down on her bed to take a nap after work and she never woke up. I imagine she never knew she was about to take her last breath and that she was completely peaceful when the life went out of her. There was no sign of a struggle and no indication that she suffered in any way. In that I take comfort.



Mothers and daughters have a dynamic relationship and ours was no different. I was not always the best daughter. I was not always patient. I didn't always say kind words. I didn't always show my appreciation for how hard she worked and the sacrifices she made raising two girls as a single mother. I haven't always been good at sharing my feelings and showing affection, but, I know for a fact that my mom knew I loved her.



So, even though October is a tough month for me now I will try to enjoy my "birth month" as much as I can. I know my mom would want me to do that.

My Super Sweet Son

Me: Eww. I took off all my makeup and I don't look so hot.

Jackson: But you are.

Could he be any sweeter?

Our Weekend

********If you are reading this and expecting to find great writing skill, you are going to be very disappointed! I am just writing to chronical the things that happen in our lives. I am no writer~ never have been and never will be. Read if you want!********

Friday I took off work to go to a funeral. One of my grandmother's brothers died last Sunday. My grandmother hasn't been feeling well lately and I wanted to see her. With school starting and all that goes along with that I haven't been able to get away. So, Friday I made the time. I knew seeing Addison would make her feel better, too, so I took her with me. She didn't know we were coming. I wanted it to be a surprise. She doesn't get too many surprises these days. I didn't take a change of clothes or anything to spend the night because I didn't want to be tempted to stay. I really didn't think they felt up to having company, so I didn't take a thing. I was glad I did this, because I would have stayed the weekend otherwise. I love it up there.

We left around 6:30 Friday morning which was about 30 minutes later than I had planned. I knew it would take 3 1/2 -4 hours to get to Broken Bow, so we didn't have any time to play with. I had to call them when we got to Honey Grove because I didn't think we were going to make it by the time the funeral started (10:00). She seemed genuinely surprised when I told her we were on our way. It was 8:30 when I called her and she didn't think we would be there in time either. I told her we would try our best to get there and that if we were late we would just slip in the back. We drove like crazy and didn't stop to even go to the restroom. We pulled up to the church just as the family was walking in at 9:59! We made it.

Addison went right to my grandparents and they were pleased as punch to have her sit with them. I was worried about her talking during the service, but she didn't make a peep. She and I talked about what was going to happen and I tried to tell her what a funeral was and what she would see and hear. She did great and I was very proud of her. At the grave site she sat with my grandmother and didn't make a sound there, either.

The church had lunch for the family and Addie enjoyed putting on a show for my grandparents! Of course, she wouldn't talk to any body else who tried to talk to her, but she talked to my grandparents and made them happy. My grandmother's aunt was there and tried to play around with Addie. I think she is 98 years old and seemed to enjoy "bugging" Addison. Addie didn't seem to mind, but when we left she said, "That old lady pulled my hair!" We hated to leave, but my grandmother was getting tired and needed to go home.

On the ride home Addie took a nap. It rained on us off and on the whole way. It took a little longer to get home because I didn't drive as fast through the rain. We were tired but very glad we went and even happier when we pulled into the driveway!

Saturday Nancy came over for our long run. It started raining as soon as she got there but we decided to run in the rain. We had a good time running and talking. We ran 6 miles in 56:16. Next week we are scheduled to run 7 miles. It has been fun having a running buddy. I never thought I would enjoy running with someone, but I really do. It makes the time go by so much faster. I feel like I am holding Nancy back because she runs faster than I do, but she says I am not. So, we will continue to train and keep our sites on our run date~ December 5th.

Later that afternoon I had an appointment to get my hair cut and colored. I have been trying to grow it out for the last 6 months or so. I decided to go a little darker with my color. Veronica added some red to it and I really like it. I always enjoy getting my hair done and spending some time alone without kids!

After my hair appointment I had an appointment to donate blood. I started donating three years ago when my dad was in the hospital having his by-pass surgery. They were having a blood drive that day and I have been donating ever since. It is something easy to do that can help save some one's life. This time, however, it was more painful than usual. I thought I was just being a wimp and didn't say anything about it hurting while the needle was still in my arm. When the needle was taken out of my arm I noticed that it was swelling and painful. A couple of people who worked there also commented on the color of my blood. It was very red compared to another bag of blood they held up next to it. I didn't really think anything about this. I don't see bags of blood every day so I don't know what is normal and what is not. They briefly wondered if the girl who stuck me had hit an artery instead of a vein, but decided that I didn't bleed fast enough to indicate they hit an artery. They still seem a little concerned, though.

I didn't say anything about the pain and went to eat my cookies and drink my water. (It's also a good excuse to have some cookies! I always get the Nutter Butters! I love those!) After standing there for just a minute I started to feel light headed and my arm started to hurt more. I showed my arm to Matthew, the guy who finished my draw, (I was his PE teacher many years ago when he was in elementary school. He is usually the one who draws my blood, but this time another person did it and he finished up with me.) asked if this was normal. It had never happened to me before. He got a strange look on his face and had me sit back down. He called a couple of people over to look and they seemed very concerned. I told them I was a little light headed and they raised my feet up. They started rushing around and this kind of scared me. They determined that the girl that stuck me went through my vein and blood was leaking out of the back of the vein. Whatever, I just knew it hurt and was swelling quite a bit.

Matthew got an ice pack and put it on my arm. He held it there for about 10 minutes putting constant pressure on my arm. He told me what to expect over the next few days (pain, bruising, tenderness) and got me some hot and cold packs to take home. When they determined that I was okay to leave, they sent me on my way.

In the car I called Drew. At this point my arm was so swollen I couldn't bend it to hold the phone up to my ear. I also had some waves of light-headedness as I drove home. Throughout the evening it became more and more sore. I kept ice on it for a little while and wrapped it up to keep some pressure on it. It was achy throughout the night and it starting to bruise some. It is very tender. I know it is going to be fine, but it may be tender for a while.

I haven't felt so great today. I don't think it has anything to do with my arm. I think I am just tired and worn out. We stayed home from church today and I went back to bed for a couple of hours. Hopefully I can get rested up today for the week. Life doesn't stop just because I am tired! :0)

So, that is how our weekend has gone so far. Right now the Cowboys are playing and actually winning, so I am going to go watch the rest of the game! Have a great week!

In Full Swing

School is in full swing and I am feeling it! I don't have the time (or energy) to do ANYTHING when I get home, so this blog has dropped way down on the priority list. We go home, take baths, make dinner, do homework and try to talk to each other a little bit before it is time to go to bed and do it all over again. Drew is gone on Monday and Tuesday evenings with football games and he doesn't get home until close to six on the other nights. I try to be in bed by 8:00 because I get up so early in the mornings. I know, I know, that is SOOOO early, but I have to try to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night or I can't make it through the next day. I have tried to stay up until 9:00, but I just can't. I know where I am weak and sleep is one of those places, so I just try to deal with it the best I can. I really don't have anything interesting or important to say, but I felt like I needed to post so my dad won't text me with a reminder! :0) Have a great day!

Dinner

Drew made a YUMMY brisket yesterday and we had lots left over. On the way home today I was trying to think of something I could make for dinner that was quick. I decided to chop up some of the brisket and heat it with some bar b que sauce. Yes, I am a genius, thank you. I cut up some watermelon, also. So, for dinner we had chopped brisket sandwiches, watermelon, pretzels (always need something crunchy!) and some left over corn and black bean relish. Addison and Jackson made some chocolate chip and pecan cookies (break and bake). While we were eating Bryson said, "Wow, Mom, you actually made something that tastes good." Was that a compliment?!?


Jackson and Addison were so cute "making" their cookies. Jackson set the temperature on the oven and got out the cookie sheet. Both of them had fun tearing the cookies apart and placing them on the cookie sheet. Addison opened the oven door and Jackson put the cookie sheet in the oven. (Don't worry, I was supervising the whole time.) Jackson set the timer and Addison pushed start. They were so proud of themselves and really felt like they "made" cookies! It was cute to see them working together.

This has turned into a bunch of random thoughts.

I had a great Saturday. I took the kids to the gym with me so I could go to my kickboxing class. Drew had to go give a scouting report, so they couldn't stay with him. That is okay, though, because they love going to the gym! Before I left Drew told me to just relax when we got home. He said he would clean the house. I am not one to disobey :0) so I followed his orders! When he got home he surprised me with a gift certificate for a mani/pedi. He wanted me to go yesterday, but I really didn't even want to leave the house. He started cleaning and I went outside to watch Addison play. We ate lunch and he went to get groceries. Addison went to her room to watch a movie and I went outside to read a magazine. The boys played in their rooms. After dinner (Drew ordered take-out from a Chinese food place.) I plopped down on the couch for some foot-rubbin'! I went to bed early with the help of two Simply Sleeps! What a great day! I wish every Saturday could be like that!

I slept for a little while and then couldn't sleep at all. I tossed and turned all night long. I guess my body can't take too much of a good thing!

Today Drew is making brisket. We plan on hanging out around the house all day watching football. I just wish it was a little cooler so it would feel like football season.

I think I mis-counted my "Days until Summer 2011" a couple of weeks ago. I am pretty sure the correct number is 254 as of today. So sorry if I have disappointed anyone! I put a counter on my side bar, but it just shows months, weeks and days. I will occasionally post the number of days in my updates because months just seem so long.

This has turned into a bunch of random thoughts, but I will just keep on going!

One of my good friends had her first baby last Monday. He is just beautiful and I can't wait to watch him grow. Welcome to the world, Baby Jack!

Jackson has learned to ride his bike like a pro. He loves to ride and asks every day if he can go ride his bike. Drew bought them helmets yesterday, so I feel better about their safety. Now we just need to teach them to stay out of the way of cars. They think they own the road and that the cars should move for them.

Tomorrow starts our "official" day of training for our half-marathon. It is really no different than what we have been doing. We are just going to add a long run day to our week. We run in 12 weeks and I hope I am ready! I have never run that far, so I am a little nervous that I won't be able to run the whole thing. That is my goal~ run the whole thing without walking.

I guess that is all for now. I am ready to relax the day away, again!

It's Labor Day and I don't feel like "laboring," so I am going to update with bullet points!

• We finished our second week of school. I had one BAD day, but I am determined to stay out of the funk I let myself get into last year. I pulled my big girl panties on and got over it! Here's hoping I can do that every time I have a bad day.
• It's a holiday weekend and I am LOVING it!
• Saturday I went running and didn't feel like I was going to die. The weather was beautiful at 7:30 in the morning and I was able to do 5 miles. Later, I took a nap on the couch while Drew rubbed my feet~ pure bliss! Around 4:00, we went to Drew's mom's house for our second annual Simmons' Back to School Blast. We had fun playing games, eating and hanging out. We stayed until 8:00 or so.
• Sunday we decided to clean the blinds, window sills and baseboards. Then I painted the baseboards. I did most of them a while back and just finished what I didn't get to before. I also painted our fireplace. It was already white, I just repainted it. It was looking pretty dirty.
• Today I went running again. It was a little windy, so I didn't run as fast. That's okay, though, I can't be "on" every time I run. I also got on the scale today and found that I have lost 10 pounds since the beginning of July! I have worked really hard at losing weight, so I have been waiting for the -10 pounds mark. I finally made it! I have 10-15 more to go. I am going to try to get it off before we run our half-marathon in December.
• We took the kids to the park. Addison and I played on the playground while Drew and the boys played baseball. There was another dad and his son playing, so they asked Drew if they wanted to join them.
• We went to Wal-Mart to get new inner tubes for the boys' bikes. Jackson has learned to ride his without training wheels and did a great job learning to turn around today. Last week (on trash day) he was using the neighbors trash cans to stop! Now he knows how to use his brakes and turn around. There is no stopping him now!
• Drew is grilling BBQ chicken tonight. I can't wait to eat. I am so HUNGRY! I haven't eaten much today so I can eat A LOT tonight!
• Addison will try a gymnastic class tomorrow. One of the little girls at Miss Linda's goes to gymnastics and we are going to see if Addison will participate with her there. We are going to a free trial class, so I am not making a commitment yet. She has been talking about and seems excited, but she's three and can change her mind and mood without a moments notice!
• Drew has his first middle school football game tomorrow. The craziness is about to begin. It doesn't help that I have signed up to lead a running club two days a week at school. I am determined to have a good attitude about working after school this year and not let busyness get me down. I will just have to put things in perspective and realize that most things that seem to go "wrong" really aren't big deals. How's that for being really vague!
• I have to go look in the oven now, Drew is baking rolls and they smell scrumptious!