Spring Break

Spring Break has arrived. I think the school's do Spring Break not only to give the teachers a break, but to give all us parents a warm up for summer vacation. Eleven days of kids home. But then that isn't good enough for them.....they tack on a couple extra days of parental patience testing in the guise of teacher inservice and training.

Spring break and summer vacation around our house means a dramatic increase in the size of our grocery bill. It also means a dreamatic rise in the amount of time the boys are together, thus the amount of time they can hone the fine art of fighting with one another. Seeing as how they are 14 and 15, it is always a constant battle around here for one rediculous reason or another. I have never seen the likes of it myself.

My husband does not understand my agnst. He comes from a family of 12 kids and he was the youngest so I guess from his perspective it was "game on" much of the time. This is something is am totally not used to. I so didn't grow up in a rowdy household. Tony tells me that the boys act normal.....that their sibling rivalry is also because of their close age. I suppose he should know...he was also 20 months apart from his nearest brother.

So, again, I pray that I can be a good, patient mom. And that they don't kill each other.

We finally did it.

After 4 years of bitching about our front door making this horrible noise everytime you open it, we have FINALLY fixed it!! Hurrah!!! It will no longer sound as if we are stepping on a cat's tail when we open the door. I think that sound it made was probably the most annoying sound on the planet. Besides, as often as the boys go in and out in the summer, by the end of the day, listening to that noise, my nerves were fried. Speaking of the boys in and out all day long.....

Whoever built our house did a pretty good job with a few exceptions. One of the biggies, in my opinion is that they laid the carpet all the way up to the front door without laying any type of entry tile or vinyl for a "foyer" or landing zone as one enters. Therefore, my carpet was constantly being tracked in with grass, leaves, wet feet, etc. The rule of the house is take off your shoes, but for some reason, boy #1 seems to have a major problem following this rule. Getting him to comply is like toilet training a cat....next to impossible. I'm forever more asking him why he is wearing his shoes in the house? It wouldn't be so bad, or such a big deal, but they are in and out 4711 times a day and they are boys and I know they don't wipe their feet well. And besides all that, my carpet is a solid color kindof dark blue......shows everything!

So.....today we laid down a ceramic tile foyer. It's drying and tomorrow I'll grout it. Right now even in the ungrouted state it looks fantastic. I'll call my friend who works at the Carpet Center and she'll send a carpet crew over to do the re-lay of the carpet, to butt it up to the edge of the tile. If we were not on a slab we could have done it ourselves, but dealing with concrete is too difficult for an amateur. Besides, they can make it look perfect. I think I bought enough tile when I bought tile to do this job that I can do our bathroom. If I didn't, I have a darn good start and won't need very many to finish. I see us doing our bathroom soon since the floor in there sucks too. It's half carpet and half vinyl. Strange huh?

Meet my new wheel

Meet Emily.  She is quite the energetic little lady.  Never complains, is patient with my mistakes and always tries to give 100 %.  So far, she has done everything I have asked of her.  I couldn't be more pleased!  This little wheel came on the Monday following my return from San Antonio.  I was so happy to finally get it that I couldn't wait one instant to put it together.  I think it took all of about 15 minutes. 

When I was doing all the many months of research on the various wheels and doing all the talking to wheel owners, not a single person ever mentioned the Fricke wheel.  I am still wondering how this little wheel has been kept such a secret!?  The wheel that I had finally settled upon was the Majacraft Rose, but man oh man is that wheel ever expensive!  The ONLY thing this Fricke wheel doesn't have that the Rose does have is the adjustable head on it where by the spinner can tilt it over to the left or the right instead of it sitting dead center straight up all the time.  Otherwise, it has every single componant that the Rose has for 1/3rd of the price.  This is a wheel that I can live with for a very long time.  I am SO glad that I did not buy a Babe!  The extra 50.00 bucks is very well worth it to get this quality. 

Miss Emily spins so quietly and so smoothly, that I can sit right here where I always sit and spin in perfect comfort in the company of my family while they watch TV and not disturb them one bit.  The only noise you hear is just a tiny bit on wind noise as the air moves through the "spokes" on the wheel. 

So, if anyone is thinking about making a wheel purchase in the future.....don't overlook the Fricke.   You won't be sorry!

I've been busy, happy and very sad...it's been a rough March so far.

March, historically, has never been a great month in our family. 2006 is bearing out to be no different. Actually, in the beginning, March seemed to be a really great month....we were blessed with many births in the month of March in our family and for some reason we continue to be. But, as time marches on, March wears the black cloak of death. Not the easy, casual, acquaintance type of deaths. But the earth shattering, soul ripping, heart wrenching, type of deaths that leave you lost and bleeding on the ground wondering if you can ever get up and move your feet the same again.

March. Sucks. Hold onto that thought for a minute, because to start at the end of the chonicle of the days would be weird. So I have to go back to the beginning of the month to catch you up.

March arrives always comes in like a lamb and roars out like a lion. I suppose it's all the momentum it builds up along the way. This March started quietly. Too quietly. Laying in wait, holding her breath, know what was coming. March 2nd found me on a airplane flying to San Antonio, TX to attend my nieces graduation from the Air Force basic training Acadamy at Lackland AFB. Did I plan this trip? Nope. I bought my ticket March 1st and stayed through Sunday. Met up with my sister and her husband, got really tired, took a quick look at a couple things I hadn't seen before (Riverwalk, Alamo) and flew home. I was tired.

Upon my arrival home, my spinning wheel on Monday!!! Wheee!!! I was SO happy! We had to immediately get her put together and spinning. I am totally in love with her and am very please with my decision to get the Fricke brand.

Then, as days pass the phone rings on the very early morning hours of my birthday. It was my dearest friend ever. The one who has always been a part of my life since my child was 6 months old. Our kids grew up together. We used to do literally EVERTHING together, played, worked, prayed. Her husband, she says.....is dying. And true to her words less than 18 hrs later he was.

He was like my brother. The brother that my own brother never was, never will be, nor can be. Nobody can say a cross word about him. He was one of the good guys. He was his wife's best friend for 26 years. He was his son's best dad for everything. Jeff was also my fellow brother officer. He had a fallen officer's funeral. They buried him with full honors.

I have only lost a very dear friend. My dear friend has lost her life partner, her best friend, her rock, her comfort, her soft place to fall. She is so lost. So confused.

That is just the 2006 reason why the month of March sucks.