I know EXACTLY what you mean about stressful. It's honestly gotten to the point that my thoughts on the holidays are, "Glad I'm off work so I don't have to deal with both work and THIS at the same time!"
I think your idea about staying home with Gage is a GREAT one. Growing up, we did Thanksgiving with my Dad's family, and Christmas with my Mom's, since we lived hours away from both. We started doing Christmas at home not long after we moved to AR and I think EVERYONE-kids, parents, grandparents enjoyed it more that way.
David is still reeling from not being allowed to trick-or-treat last year or this year. He's 17 and can't seem to see the wisdom in being done with that little tradition...?
I fit 14 balloons in. My decorations for balloons were "festive, but not prom." It started looking like prom around 14, so I told them that would be all. Even 14 was a challenge, but I made it!
I don't know how many of you follow my blog regularly, but we've had quite a mailbox saga going on here for the past month. Today was the 4th hit in as many weeks. Here is my FA post:
The mailbox murderers have been CAUGHT! My other neighbor-victim caught them and alerted their step-dad/uncle. We are home this Sunday afternoon, and we intentionally closed the garage and left Katie outside so it looked like we were gone. We heard Katie bark, but didn't hear the roar of a 4-wheeler or truck so we kind of ignored her. A few minutes later, Tony walked outside to check the mail that we forgot ( I think he just needed to check the box) and came back in in a rage. He ran to get his shoes and keys and jumped in his truck to try to catch them...oh how they lucked out. Our neighbor and a man I don't know were parked at the end of my driveway. Tony went out to talk to them and I went to get Gage. When I walked up, it was obvious that this man knew the kids that were doing it. He was info gathering and apologizing. His step-son and nephew have been riding their horses down this way every Sunday afternoon for about a month and have been roping our mailbox.
This guy just came back with his wife (boy#1's mother), his brother and sister in-law (boy #2's parents) and the 2 guilty ropers. These people are all cowboy types- very respectful and obviously hard-working. The boys looked SCARED. They are only 12 or 13...we were expecting big older teens, but these guys are tiny little things. They fessed up and their parents offered their services to us as restitution- whatever physical labor we could think up, on top of replacing the mailbox, of course. He even noticed our downed tree in the front yard and said that would be a good start. He offered to pay for everything we have spent thus far and we let them know that we weren't interested in getting anything from the parents...the boys working it off is much more desirable to us. I may just go take their pictures while they work in our yard so yall can see the perps.
It's all kinda funny to me now. I am so relieved that they have been caught and I am glad it's scared little boys instead of big mean boys that are likely to retaliate at getting caught.
Wow! Glad this story has a somewhat-happy ending. If you don't think that the fellas are rehabilitated enough after finishing at your place, I will contribute to the cause by giving them some of my yard things to work on! :)
I just saw your pictures of Gage's PT on your FA blog. WOW! That is so neat! He looks like such a little man and I think its so sweet that he hugs his therapist? (I don't know what the word is for that.)
I've been tagged so here are 8 things about me you might not know:
1. I have a concealed carry permit and own a Rugar .357 revolver. I can't remember the first time I shot a gun. I am sure I was quite young.
2. My parents divorced when I was in second grade and me, my mom, and my brother moved from Aberdeen, MS back to Bartlett, TN to live with my DAD'S sister and her family. My cousin, Whitney and I were very best friends growing up and are still close.
3. My step-dad and my step-mom are 1st cousins. Think about that... So I guess my baby brother (1/2 brother) is also my step- 2nd cousin.
4. I love family history and genealogy and I share that love with my dad. He has traced our family back to the guy that came to Virginia from Ireland, or so he thinks. I did a report on Private Powell Ford in high school- he was a great...grandfather who fought for the state of TN in the Civil War.
5. I hate folding laundry.
6. If I could be anything in addition to an OT, it would be a lactation consultant and a child passenger safety tech (CPST). I may really get to be a CPST next year after taking a 5 day class in LR.
7. In college my career goal was to have my own hippotherapy stable. I grew up riding horses and I just love them. I wanted to use them as a therapeutic tool. I still may do that someday...
8. I could live on pasta. red sauce, white sauce, spaghetti, tortellini, manicotti...doesn't matter to me.
I love the one about your step mom and step dad. My grandfather's two brothers married a set of sisters so their children are double cousins. Also my grandmother's brother married my grandfather's aunt so she was my great aunt and my great great aunt. = ) It weirds Chad out.
Hello, I'm Diane and just came across your blog from the Bringing Up Boys site. We have 3 boys and they are all G's! (Garrett, Grayson, and Gavin) I like the name Gage, by the way!
I was totally checking out the Gage-ster on your FA blog. I could just eat that that little guy up! What preciousness in those photos of pt! I know you are proud of him!! I also loved the video of him and Tony! Sweet!!
I love interior painting. My house is a rainbow of colors. I have a green bedroom, a purple master bathroom, a blue guest room, a rust-colored guest bathroom, and Gage's room in a golden yellow. Now I can add orange kitchen to my list.
When we moved in, this little breakfast nook had the same colored walls as the rest of the house (boring beige) and white curtains with ivy. Yuck! I left the curtains up way too long. When I took them down, there were tie-backs in the wall that had to go, so then I patched them- beige walls with white patches. Double yuck! My step-mom made me some curtains that go with my dishes...That's been a while now- but I am just now getting around to picking a color and painting. I went with Valspar's "Longhorn" and didn't make the Texas connection until I got home. Tony gave me a "hook 'em horns" sign when he got home and saw it. Oh well. I was going for terra cotta, but I like this. It's not too peach and not too orange, at least for my taste. You know how trying to capture true color can be, but I thought this was pretty close. What do you think?
I posted this on FA with some pics at the end, but I decided just to copy and paste here. I feel like pleo gets the leftovers sometimes!
What a morning!!! Gage apparently has a little cold. I'm guessing that's why he woke up in the middle of the night. He has a crusty yellow nose. Gross! I had crusty yellow noses!
Anyway, he got up at 7 and I just decided to stay up, even though I know he doesn't really wake up before 8:00. He nursed and went right back to sleep on me but I didn't put him down. It was kind of nice to snuggle with him. He's a great snuggler!
After he woke up again, I got my diaper laundry out of the washer and took it out on the deck to hang it up to dry. Realizing what a nice, cool morning it was (is it still August?), I decided that we should go for a walk. We loaded up and I took Katie. I put the shock collar on her, but it pooped out about 1/2 way through. The batteries are dead. She did really well for most of the walk. I just had to keep saying "heal" and she stayed with me. There are lots of un-penned dogs in our neighborhood, and since we're in the country on a very quiet, dead-end road, we never leash her. She sometimes runs and barks at the dogs that run up on and bark while we walk, but she always asserts her dominance and then comes on. Two neighbor dogs joined us on the way home. She's friends with them, so this wasn't a problem at first...and then we got to the with 3 dogs. She's friends with one that stays inside, but not the other 2, and those were out. The one stayed out of her way, but the other decided to pick a fight. Katie ran at him and pinned him. I didn't think much of it because she does that sometimes, wins, then comes on with us. Then the other 2 got in on it and she just kept going. I had to walk away with Gage. I decided I would just go home and come back to pick her up, but she finally came running after me. Her face was covered in blood, but it's not hers. I went back down there after I put her inside, and he seems okay. I am going to call them if I can find their number, or leave them a note, just so they know what happened. I'm hoping the fact that it was Katie will make it okay because they love Katie. I don't think she would have done that if the other dogs hadn't been there, but since they were, she felt the need to "protect the pack."
Then I came home and spilled my cereal milk in my lap. I hollered when I did because the milk was so cold. That scared Gage and he cried. He's napping now. That car seat better show up later today! I need a pick-me-up!
Gage and I get to go to Mountain Home with Tony Tuesday through Thursday. He is going to do some presentations at the hospital there, but won't be working all day, so we'll have time to do something. I haven't looked into what we'll do yet, but it's always fun to get away for a day or 2.
I also just got an bulletin from the St. Croix church that I subscribe to. The opening line was this: 'The wise man of Proverbs 29:11 states it well- "a fool utters all his mind; but a wise man keeps it in till afterwards." This verse has been paraphrased this way, "it is better to keep your mouth shut and let people wonder what kind of fool you are than to open your mouth and relieve all doubt." Everything does not demand a response nor does it require an answer from the wise.'
I need reminding of that and often. Maybe I will write it in eye liner on my bathroom mirror...
