So...Funny Story...

I have the FUNNIEST story ever...

Ready?

A few weeks ago...sure you are ready?

Hunter asked for a cell phone.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *Snort* Woooooo! hahahahahahaha

Hoo

Wow...

Still really stinking funny.

Now my stomach hurts.

Hubby and I are one-cell-phone house. That's right...we have one cell phone for both of us, and it is $19 flip phones that does NOTHING. Hubby is even resistant to that one, and I don't use it as much as friends of ours do. We rely on the land line, that is our communication tool 99.9% of the time! We use about 200 minutes a month and send less than 100 texts...total...for both of us, and that is mostly me texting.

We, meaning Hunter's Mom and us, have agreed that until Hunter has a job there is no need for him to have a cell phone. I have seen WAY too many kids with cell phones in school using them during tests, texting their parents (a co-workers kids do this ALL THE TIME, drives her nuts) and even losing their phones for using them during class times.

Our other reason is that Hunter is not in activities at this point. He is home, or at our home. When he is at bowling we are too since Boo is so much younger than he is. When he is out and about it is with an adult so we don't worry. It is just the way his life is right now. Same with Boo.

I have heard many thoughts on young teens/tweens getting cell phones, and they just don't sway us. We all agree that Hunter is too young and does not have the need for one. If at some point before he turns 16 things change, we will revisit.

I grew up in the time when NO ONE had a cell phone. I remember when my Dad got one for work, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. This was before the "Zach Morris Phone" but when they only came in a bag that HAD to be plugged in for it to work. It was awesome.

Then of course he got the "Zach Morris Phone" and that was the coolest thing ever.

But we were never allowed to get one, we never even had pagers (unless we snuck one in...but I NEVER did that...of course not...I was the perfect child...or something). My parents believed that if we wanted to talk to someone, call them. You don't need a cell phone or pager to do that (do they even MAKE pagers anymore?).

I know that technology is a great thing, I do. Look at all I can do because of technology. Look at how so many jobs and evolved because of the new technology that comes out everyday. But does that mean we must follow suit with each thing?

I told someone last week that technology was a perk, but not really an expected thing. If I go to see a doctor it is because they are the doctor that I want to see, if they can pull up my full medical history with a few keystrokes, great. If not, they are still a great doctor that I want to see.

Many people put so much stock into cell phones. Lawmakers are seeing the problems that cell phones can pose to drivers. There are bans being put into place left and right saying that Teens are NOT allowed to use their cell phone AT ALL while driving. Best ban ever. I had my first accident 2 weeks after I got my license, I can only imagine what is going on with teen drivers NOW.

Can I say right now that in 5 years when Boo is 13 it will be the same? No, you never know what will happen in life to change the circumstances, but for right now our kids need to focus on being kids. They need to learn the responsibility of being a child, young teen and teen before they can venture into that realm of it all.

You should see my reaction to kids having their own computers! That one is a hoot too!

What do you think? Do your kids have cell phones? What is your families age requirement?

What I Learned This Week

I have been MIA from WILTW for a few weeks. There have been some interesting things going on in our house, and things that I just couldn't/didn't want to share. But, here we go once again with the lessons of the week!

- I have said it once, and I will say it, Child Life Specialists are the BEST ever.

- It takes less time to get a child in for a sleep study than an adult!

- Stress can cause all SORTS of issues. Thankfully it will all work its way out.

- Words from a child can hurt you more than anyone ever told you, and they leave a scar.

- A dog will tear buttons off a remote (like the mute button) but you will adapt instead of getting a new one.

- Snowmobiling is not my idea of a good time, I go for my kids and my husband.

- Random on my ipod is still my favorite. I go from Needtobreathe to Britney to Metallica to Sawyer Brown...it is wonderful!

- Opening up is a very VERY hard thing to do, but once you do it will all be better.

- Boo still snores, but now whistles too...that's a little annoying.

- Spending time with a teacher will change how you feel about them a little, and I do mean little.

- Waiting is the worst thing in the world.

- People that question my blogging drive me nuts.

- Trying to figure out how I will kill time in the hospital while Boo does her sleep study just might drive me nuts...especially with no laptop.

- I really want a laptop...

For more What I Learned This Week posts head on over to Musings of a Housewife.

A fabulous afternoon!

Boo had a birthday party to attend this afternoon, her third party (counting her own) in three weeks. Plus we have another one next weekend with family for both Boo and Hunter.

I have had enough.

BUT, not the point at all.

While Boo was at the birthday party we stayed close. We were about 20 minutes from home, and didn't want to drive home only to turn around in an hour. We went to a local small town bar (gasp!) to have a drink (double gasp) in the middle of the afternoon (fall over gasping!). We played pool, ate nasty bar pizza and played video games.

Most importantly...

We talked.

Having time to talk, really talk about what is going on in our lives is so rare. We are busy, but overly so. We just don't talk with the kids around. We can't talk about what we REALLY feel because they don't know HOW TO KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT. We don't need our inner-workings blast all over school or another household.

It was fabulous to have the two hours to sit, talk and just be together. We laughed harder than we have in such a long time. We talked about the fate of several of our friends, money (gasp!) and what we need to deal with first when we got home (none of which got done by the way).

I love my husband, and after today, love him even more.

Boo's First Slumber Party

Now, Boo has had tons of friends spend the night. She loves having kids in house, since most of the time she has "only child" stamped all over the place.

This past weekend we let her have an early slumber party for her birthday. Hubby was going to be out of town, his one request, and she missed a couple of her friends that don't go to school with her. She got to invite 6 girls, two from school and four not, and they could all spend the night.

Big Sis and Ma were over to help me decorate and clean. They also helped me with Koda, which is always a good time...

The girls started to arrive at 5:00, with the last one coming at 6:45 after hockey. They played with Boo's toys, Wii Sing It and screaming like crazy children. They were having a blast. We had pizza for dinner, they went through almost 3 frozen pizzas, and after we gave them each two cupcakes to decorate.

We had four colors of frosting and a ton of different kinds of sprinkles. They girls had a blast doing it! Plus, since they got to decorate them themselves it made them more fun to eat after we sang to Boo!


After eating cupcakes, scrubbing the table down and washing hands we let Boo open her presents. Lego's, DS Games, clothes were all a huge hit. This shirt was the winner it seems, she LOVES Star Wars the Clone Wars and is always talking like Yoda. It was fabulous, M really knows Boo.

We played Disney Channel Scene It after, and it took FOREVER because there were questions about shows I had never heard of, and ones that the girls never watched. They had fun, and every time I said "All Play" they squealed and ran for the tv. It was a long game, and by the time it was done it was almost 10!

We put in a movie, Big Sis popped some popcorn and the girls started to quiet down. Before the movie was half over we had one girl asleep, by the time it was done we had two. I put in Camp Rock next, and no more than 20 minutes into it Boo was asleep.

By 1 am, I had 4 girls still awake. I told them that if they couldn't be quiet and go to sleep I would split them up. It was time to go to bed, and I wasn't staying up all night. By 1:30 they were all out.

Two got up at 6.

GROAN!

But, I knew exactly which two would be up that early, and I was prepared for it. They are early risers no matter what time they go to bed. Just the way they are. I made them breakfast, they watched cartoons and played. By 8:30 I woke up two more who were leaving before everyone else. The rest of them rolled out by 9:30 when I made them get up.

The girls were all gone by 11, it was football time in our house (yes, I planned it that way).

It was a good time, and the girls had a blast. We, for the most part, were incident free all night long. There is always one child...

Boo was so excited to have this sleepover, so excited to be able to have more than one friend over for the night. She was exhausted, but said "I had the best early birthday party EVER!"!

I told Boo that next year, for her Golden Birthday she could have another one. I think I am asking for punishment...

Offline - not by choice

We are going off line at the FritzFacts, it may take a day it may take a week.

I will check in when I can!

I will be back after the weekend with stories of the sleepover and whether

I pulled out all my hair!

Have a great wonderful fantastic weekend!

The After

Thank you all for your kindness and love after this weekend. It was rough, but things are okay. Hunter is such a rock star that I know he will let it go and move on from it, he sort of has too. He spoke his mind, said his peace. He is better for it.

How did he do at the tournament? Not the greatest.

The lanes were way different then anything he had ever bowled on, and he hasn't mastered the art of self-adjustment. He was not in a good place to start, so the frustration that came from that made it ten times worse all around.

HOWEVER! We are still so very proud of him. Why? He has worked so hard on his bowling, but also on his temper. He is not the child that hits, screams or "freaks out" but he can get mean if he doesn't work to control the temper.

This past summer, when Koda was still so new and SO wild Hunter had the hardest time. He wanted Koda to listen, but wouldn't take the steps to make that happen. After working with both of them all summer that relationship has changed a great deal. During the summer, Hunter would get angry and move to lash out at Koda, something that ended pretty quickly thankfully. As we worked with Hunter on how to train the dog, how to show him who was in charge, his attitude toward Koda changed.

In November Koda decided that he HAD to have the cereal that Hunter was getting ready for himself. All it took was a split second of Hunter turning his back (and me not being anywhere near fast enough to stop it) and Koda had the cereal, milk and bowl on the floor. It was a fine fine mess.

What did Hunter do? He took the time to calm himself down. Yes, he was upset. Probably more upset than many other children would be, but he didn't loose his temper. He kept it in control by taking deep breathes, by realizing that Koda is just a puppy and by understanding that it was NOT a big deal at all.

We put the dog outside, and cleaned up the mess, together. We talked about how well he had done, how proud I was of him and how hard it was for him to do. He was proud of himself that day.

Saturday, even with the emotional feelings that were coursing through him, he didn't loose his temper. He didn't show bad sportsmanship, and he continued to try. While his attitude wasn't great, he wasn't taking it out on anyone else. That alone is a HUGE accomplishment for him.

I can't believe how much he has changed since this summer, and now turning 13...oh man.

2009 is GONE!

2009 was a big year for us.

We bought our first home.

We got Koda.

Hunter bowled in his first, second and third bowling tournament.

Boo broke her thumb, began some sleep issues, was REALLY REALLY sick and had her last dance class.

We made a lot of changes, took a lot of punches and kept moving forward.

I am hoping that 2010 is even better.

Don't Second Guess

Tonight, as Boo lay curled in my lap with a cough that came out of nowhere, I realized something so important.

I have no clue what I am doing half the time.

Not that it is a bad thing, it is fun at times to find the path and see where it all leads. But there are times where I am terrified that I am going to mess This up, that my kids will have long lasting effects of my crazy parenting.

There are times when I second guess myself. Am I doing the right thing by keeping Boo at her school (yes, by the way), am I doing the right thing by not listening to everyone Boo's doctor, should I really worry about Hunter's school or let his Mom handle it?

If I make this one little choice, how long will it affect my family? Will the backlash be great, or so minuscule that no one knows I even made the change?

There are so many "what if's" in life, so many different things that may or may not happen, that it would make a person crazy to think of them all. So what do we do instead, take it one day at a time, sometimes one minute at a time. If we mess up, so be it. Learn, and move on. Taking the time to freak out about the possibilities in life does not help, though it may feel like it at first.

I spent the first three years of Boo's life playing the "what if" game, wondering if I was doing the right thing every minute of the day. I worried that she would get sick, get hurt, have hurt feelings, be bruised or broken. I spent so much time being a "helicopter parent" that I didn't watch her grow. I don't know if this is changing a lot, but now I know that I need let life happen.

I now know that I need to let her find her way, that I need to let Hunter ( to a point) find his as well. I need to not hover, need to let my second guesses stay with me. I need to show my children that even when you aren't sure, be confident in your choices and you will find the right one for you.

Going through life is hard, going through life as a mom is harder.

The Week

This week was full of simple pleasures. Small things that added up to make the week not quite as hectic and scary.

- WCCO tweeted me back to tell me what exactly was going on in my neighborhood. That was cool.
- I found a drain cover that actually worked in my tub for my ever-loving-always-falling-out hair.
- I colored my hair, while Boo read to me about Sharks and Dolphins.
- Hubby took Koda hunting for the very first time, and then Koda went to the Kennel to get a bath.
- Today my friend Andi turned 29...and she will forever be 29 (or so she says). Tomorrow is her birthday/anniversary/housewarming bash, and I can't wait. I have missed her.
- On Sunday my Lovely Lia and I will be helping a friend, and there is no one I would rather take with me then her.
- LIA GOT A JOB! After months of searching, interviewing and stressing out she rejoins the work force. I am so proud of her. She is so strong, so smart and so wonderful.
- It is two weeks from today when we will have Ladies Night and see New Moon. Can't wait.
- Two weeks and one day until The Pioneer Woman comes to Minnesota!

So many wonderful things, taking the edge off a stressful week.

Let Them Be Little

This past week has gone by in a blur. We have been so busy that I can't seem to catch my breathe, and we are no where near as busy as some.

I can't imagine what life would be like if we didn't limit the kids activities. I have friends whose children are in three different activities a week...A WEEK! Right now my kids have two, and that is bowling. Boo will be starting something one day a week, but that almost feels like to much.

I would rather have my children be just that, Children.

I spent so many years of my life hopping from one activity to another, and bless my mother for driving me to it all. There were many spring days I would go from the ball field to the dance studio, and my brother from the track to the hockey arena. I don't know how she kept it all straight, let alone didn't loose her own mind along the way.

There is such a major trend with over scheduled children, and the after affects are now coming to light.

While having a child try many sports/groups/clubs over time is wonderful, bogging them down in one year can prove disastrous. Our Pediatrician talked with us about this at Boo's last Well-Child-Check this summer. She let us know that one activity at a time is a great way to go about it, that no child should feel the need to focus on one specific thing until they are older, 13 being an ideal age.

Boo has played soccer, baseball, taken dance class, swimming lessons and a random art class and bowls. Never at the same time, but spread out over 3 years. This year she wants to try her hand atFastpitch , and maybe some more swim lessons. But, again not overlapping (bowling is once a week for 8 months, if she misses it the world does not end, it is for fun).

Did you know that a child of 8-12 should be getting 10-12 hours of sleep a night. A Night! So many children have sports right after school, than another activity and then maybe get home to do homework by 8. That doesn't leave much time for sleep, especially if they want to make good grades on top of it all.

I worry about what things will be like when Boo hits high school. Sports and Activities (drama, NHS etc) are very prominent in schools now, and they should not be the priority. Getting an education and staying healthy is the main thing in life, and many of the children of today will not see that 9 years down the road.

Remember that our children are Children. They need to rush to play at the park, not off to another lesson. Slow down, and let them be children while they can.

"Let them be little, cause they are only that way for a while" Lonestar - Let Them Be Little

Check yourself!

When I was 20 years old, I went through something that was bone chilling terrifying. Something that shook me, that made me take a look at how I did certain things and changed them.

I found a lump in my breast.

I was living at home, and went to my mom, asking her what I should do. She felt it, and agreed that a call to the doctor was in order.

During the next week I would start to dial, and hang up again. I didn't want to know that something was wrong with me, that there was anything beside a fabulous life ahead of me.

I finally called the doctor, and they saw me right away. At this time, it was becoming more common for younger women to develop breast cancer, especially when their family history has signs like mine did.

The doctor checked it out, and an ultra sound was ordered. I spent the next week waiting for that appointment, waiting for them to tell me that I was either sick or okay.

After the ultra sound appointment, they still were not 100% sure, so they didn't want to give me a firm diagnosis. They had a pretty good idea what it was, but didn't want to be wrong.

A Breast Biopsy was scheduled. My mom would take me, and I would be under a local medicine that would keep me loopy but not completely out of it. They would make a small incision and remove the lump, test it and let me know 100% what it was.

Hubby and I were just starting to date at this point, but he was freaked. He spent the night before sitting on the couch asking me 900 billion questions, including when I would be home so he could come over. He didn't want to leave that night, but sleep beckoned me.

The next day, Ma took me for my Breast Biopsy. My nerves were a tangled mess, my emotions were running on high...until they gave me the wonderful loopy meds. That is when I told the doctor the same story about Big Sis a few (10) times.

After the procedure I was ready to go home pretty quick, the perk of being on loopy and not knocked out. I rode home with an ice pack stuffed in my sports bra, bandages and mild pain meds.

Hubby came over that afternoon, along with my friend Krystal. Ice packs, pain meds and laughter filled the house as they took my mind off what I was waiting for.

A couple days later we found out 100% what the lump in my breast was.

Breast Fibroids, non-cancerous but left untreated can increase the chances of breast cancer later on.

I also found out that when I had my first exam the fibroid was the size of a dime, but when they removed it it was the size of a silver dollar. It had more than doubled in size in a matter of weeks. This fact was scary, but made me very aware of what I needed to do.

Weekly breast exams. While the best time is around your cycle, there are things that are more evident during non-cycle times. They think mine grew so quickly because my cycle was all screwy, so it was good that I found it when I did. I remember the episode of 90210 when Brenda finds the lump in her breast, doing a regular home exam. It pays to do it!

I also make sure to have my yearly exam at the clinic. Doctors and Midwifes are trained to find these things, and know when something is not right. I actually get checked twice a year, once when I have that lovely exam and once when I see my primary doctor. They are always so impressed that someone of my age is this concerned.

Having been through something so scary, and knowing that my family has at least one person that survived breast cancer makes it doubly important to take these precautions.

I make donations each year to help fund research, help cancer survivors and their families. I do my part so that some family someday won't have to go through the sort of pain so many are going through right now. I was in the clear, but so many each day are not.

As my favorite t-shirt says...Save the Ta-tas! Check yourself, and remind your sisters, mothers and friends to check themselves too.

What I Learned this Week

It is time for another week of What I Learned This Week hosted by Musings of a Housewife.

Having been sick, and crabby about being sick, I didn't post last week. So, we will play catch up this time around.

- Koda will take a bite out of the wall, and made a little indent. He is so special.

- Wallpaper put directly onto drywall is not fun to take off. If it wasn't only half the wall that was wallpapered (and the built-ins) I would so rip down the drywall and start over.

- Glee is highly addicting, and not just the show but the music too. I am loving finding the songs each week. Especially the Mash-Ups from last week, fabulous!!

- The New Moon soundtrack listing was released, and I can't stinking wait for it to be released. I am pre-ordering it next week. Just over a month until the movie comes out, so excited! But, when Twilight came out you could download the trailer on itunes, not this time around and that bums me out.

- Koda's behavior collar is acting up, to the point that even the company doesn't know why it is doing what it is. We are just that special I guess.

- Having a short week is wonderful. But when you oversleep on the first day of your two day week it feels like you can't get ahead.

- Watching football with my Hubby, Sister and Brother in Law is really the best way. We always have such a great time, and yelling is (sometimes) kept to a minimum. It is perfect.

- Striving to teach a child a lesson can be somewhat stressful, but more importantly embarrass the heck out of them.

And that's really all I got...

For more What I Learned This Week posts, head on over to Musings of a Housewife.

Hello...some random

I noticed tonight that my blog has been very picture light lately. Some of that is because our computer had a bug (all better now by the way) but part is because I just haven't been taking a lot lately.

I have some on my camera, things to share with you, but life has taken a busy turn. When I thought things would calm down a bit with the kids in school I was wrong. If anything, things have gotten more chaotic. Life has gotten busy, and we are stuck in the middle just pulling strings to get ahead.

We are getting there, only to throw a kink into the mix. We are thinking about starting a battle that we don't know if we can win but are willing to try. We want what is right and just, and have to see if we have what it takes to win it.

No, there will be no discussion of it on the blog. This is a private family thing, and we don't know how soon or how long it will be before anything happens. We just know that things have reached a point where action must be taken.

But, know that in the coming weeks I will be here more. I will be taking the time to post more. I know that there are things to blog about, like the amazing cake my sister got me for my birthday. Amazing is not even enough to describe it.

Until then my lovely friends. I need sleep, and this post has gotten a bit more out there than I had planned.

Oh, but head over to Situationally Single Mom, she is back and I missed her so!

I have a cold

I am not sure what is worse, the cold I have or the way people treated me at the office today.

I have a cold, cough and congestion. No Fever.

I went to work.

I was treated like I had the plague all day long. I heard someone who sits across the "hallway" from me talking about how I should have stayed home. Why? Because I have a cough?

I have no fever.

If I had a fever, and wasn't feeling well I would have stayed home. Trust me on that.

I understand that people are in a PANIC about the H1N1 virus. I get that, don't agree with it, but get it. That does not mean that every time I, or anyone in my family, have the sniffles we are staying home. It is a cold.

Boo has had a runny nose for a few days, it comes and goes. I am not keeping her home because of it. Sorry, she needs to be in school not sitting at home driving everyone banana's because nothing is wrong besides the sniffles. If she gets a fever she will stay home.

Believe me, I dislike the parents that send their kids to school with a fever, strep and pink eye. I don't understand the parents that would want their child to spread their illness to their classmates, it takes away from classroom learning as a whole.

I have even had some friends ask me if I was in a panic about Boo and Hunter bowling. "Don't they share bowling balls and shoes", yeah...what's your point? Illness is spread no matter what you do, sharing a bowling ball is not a make it or break it thing for me. My kids have activities and lives. I have a live. My husband has a life.

Illness will not rule our lives, we have learned that if you take things as they come it will all come out okay.

I will not stress about H1N1.

If anything we will live life as normal.

We got a bug

Something has infested our computer....not good.

Until we get it figured out, fixed or whatever blogging will be light.

Thank goodness I moved my pictures!

Party Time!

The stress of having people over can be tremendous. But you add to it a child that doesn't want to help, a child that helps to much and issues you never thought would happen and it is ten times worse.

But, I can't wait to have people over. It is our first non-family only gathering in house. We have friends coming over, we have family and even a new friend that I will be meeting for the very first time.

Plus, remember this friend, she is coming too. I can't wait to see her, to sit and talk with her and just catch up. It has been to long.

It is going to be a great day.

Weekend madness

The end is in sight! Boo's room is almost done, thank goodness! I am tired of painting it. lol

This weekend was a stressful one, but relaxing at the same time (does that even make sense?). Hubby was off fishing up north, so Boo and I had the time to ourselves. We picked tomatoes, had the first week of bowling, and helped a friend buy her wedding dress. It was wonderful.

I love having the one on one time with Boo, especially with the way I have been working on my relationship with her lately. It was great to sit back and see just how much she has changed since the last time Hubby went out of town.

While I love this time alone with her, I am ready to have Hubby come home (ready a couple hours ago if I am being honest). The stress of it being me and Boo is one thing, but throwing Koda into the mix was new.

The last time Hubby was gone it was me and Boo. Now it is me, Boo and Koda. This threw some kinks into the mix, but we made it work. Having to be home for at least 3/4 of the day is not how we normally work a Daddy-Free weekend, but it has been nice being home too.

Today, we made tomato sauce.

From scratch!

I never would have even tried it if we hadn't been home bound and BORED. It made me take the time to let Boo help me, even though I wanted to correct everything she did (but I didn't!). She was here to see me make the biggest mistake, and laugh with me about it.

It was a great weekend, now off to relax a bit with my little girl.

My little girl

Monday night started with Boo asking a question that caused me to catch my breath. A simple question that wasn't anything shocking, but the way she asked it, the way she started the question hit me hard.

"Now that I am growing up..."

Oh man.

Watching Boo over this summer has been a gut check for me. I think the past few months I have been forcing this fact from my head. It came to me at a friends birthday party when Boo told a friend "I want to be more girly...do you think Mom will be mad". This put me in my place quickly.

I started realizing that I wasn't allowing Boo to become her own person. I was pining down the wings she was trying to sprout, the wings she would need to fly. I was trying to shape Boo into the person I wanted her to be, not the person she wanted to be.

My heart aches at the thought of this. But is it what was happening.

Since then...I am working to change my process. I am painting her room the way she wants, with the colors she chose. I am re-working my ideas on who my little girl is.

She is a strong young lady. She is smart, athletic and not graceful. She loves to read, but still groans a bit when I ask her to go read. Boo loves to make up dances, and tell me how many "moves" are in each one. She loves music, and is finding out what kind she likes. She loves to color, but doesn't worry to much about staying inside the lines (or on the wall when painting...).

Boo adores he brother, misses him like crazy, but knows that his is the way our family is, she is so wise when it comes to that. She loves her teachers, even after only a few days of school. She loves her coaches, for bowling and anything else. She is so willing to love, so open to people and so much more forgiving than I am.

Boo has had her share of hurt, but knows (somehow) that it is part of growing up. She is willing to do whatever we ask, volunteers to do the dishes and take out the garbage even though it isn't her day.

She is kind, gentle and loving. She is the kind of person I would want her to be, now to let her grow even more.

Boo is growing up. A fact I have to face even though I am not ready.

So behind, but not a bad thing

I am about a week behind on EVERYTHING.

Boo's room...no where near ready to prime this weekend.

Yard work, getting there but not ready for the party next month.

General house stuff, sliding quickly away from me.

I haven't watched TV for real in almost a week, which would be a fabulous thing if other things were getting done.

They aren't.

But, I am...

Playing outside.

Taking the kids to the library.

Laying around with Hubby.

Spending the day with Big Sis on her birthday.

Spending some much needed time with my bud Lia.

Taking pictures of my kids with a Photographer friend, to expand her book and to get pictures of the kids "in summer".

Chasing Koda around the yard, and snuggling up with him whenever Hubby leaves for work.

So not a total loss, and very much worth it.

Just wish the other stuff would go away...or take care of itself!

Fred

Today has been a rough day for our family.

I have talked about Fred before, he is the Master of the House, King of all Cats, The Supreme Crotchety Old Man.


Phantom Freddy loved walking in the grass, on his little harness. He would roll in the dirt until we didn't know what color he was anymore. He would sit at the window and growl at all the cats that would walk across the yard. He would wrestle with the other cats, and even our dog. He was a lover, a snuggler and a darn fabulous cat.




My Dad used to sit and have fabulous conversations with Fred, with Fred sitting on the edge of the table on the newspaper. The minute any of us would walk into the kitchen in the morning he would bat Fred away. The next day, it was the same.

Fred would sit in the windows, even during a storm to watch the street and what was going on. He loved the windows. I remember one night I kept my window open, not knowing a storm was coming. I woke to a HUGE clap of thunder, and found Fred on my face. He had been so startled he had fallen out of the window.


As Fred got on in years, he lost some weight, but he never lost that kitten glow in his eyes. Whenever Big Sis would open that tub of Cool Whip, he would circle her feet, howl in anticipation and his eyes would be bright and full of energy.

My kids LOVE Fred. He was the first thing they would hunt for when they walked into Big Sis' house. The first Christmas that I had Hubby and Hunter in my life, Hunter fell in love with Fred. He named his stuffed cat Fred, and he still has him 9 years later. He spent Christmas on the couch with Fred in his lap, it is still one of my favorite pictures of the two of them.

The only time Boo would sit still at Big Sis' house was the pet and snuggle with Fred. He didn't have the energy to run and hide, but Boo was so gentle, that I don't think he really minded it.

Today, my Sister had to lay to rest her Best Kitty Friend. The one that she longed for when at college, the one that she held and cried when things got rough. We will all miss Fred. He was such a major part of our lives, a staple in our family.

I say this with tears in my eyes, but things just won't be the same without Fred around. He is the end of an era, the young kittens we all had as children. He is the last to go.

I say one last time...Fred-Dog...Fred-Dog...arwoughwough (dog noises).

We love you so much Fred.