Learning Something New

I guess I'd forgotten how fun it can be to learn something new. I've been laying the groundwork lately to be able to update the flower shop's website - something I don't know how to do!

I started with figuring out what software I needed, then getting it. After that I had to track down all the right user-names and passwords for our site and our web hosting account, and then came figuring out how to actually use the software and do it. I really didn't have much of an idea at all, but I did some research and spent a bunch of time on the phone with a friend who was willing to help. I started piecing things together, called for "back-up" a couple of times, and, ta-da, I updated one of our pages today!

To someone who knows how to do it, what I did was probably not very significant and wouldn't take much time, but for a total beginner... well, I'm pretty excited about it. I left work pretty pumped that I'd gotten a page done and actually understood most of what I'd done. How fun to learn something totally new!

Osage Orange

If you were reading my blog last year you might remember when I discovered and fell in love with hedge apples. Well, it's that time again. I have been thinking for a couple of weeks that they were probably about ready, and this past week I had the opportunity to get some. I was so excited to bring them home and smell the delicious smell! I keep wondering if they can make a candle smell like them. I would burn it all the time. I collected enough to have three bowls of them in the house. The smell is just amazing, plus they're so neat!

Jeff posted a pic of one on his facebook and a friend commented that they're called osage oranges. Makes sense, since the smell is citrus-y. She said they can be used medicinally. I had never heard of osage oranges, but when I Googled it there they were! Amazing. Learn something new everyday. They will probably always be hedge apples to me though. :)

Why didn't I think of this before?

Each fall I want to make lots of apple pies. We all love them, especially Jeff. And apples are cheap. But, I only have so much time (and definitely less of that this year) and never get around to making more than a few.

I bought a bunch of apples on sale last week, then was surprised by old friends from NY who brought us 1/2 a bushel of baking apples when they visited this weekend. That's a lot of apples. :)

I couldn't let them be wasted, and came up with an idea I can't believe I never thought of before. I peeled, cored and chopped a ton of apples and bagged them with the correct amount for a pie in each bag. Then I filled them, assembly-line style with the other filling ingredients. I then sealed the bags, tossed them to mix, labeled them and put them in the freezer. I now have eight bags of apple pie filling to use whenever - all I have to do is the crust!

YAY!!!

Roman

My sweet little Roman, who is actually getting SO big, has really had a hard time this summer. He's my boy and he doesn't like me going to work. Often he'll ask me in the morning ,"Mommy, can you please stay home today?" It breaks my heart. I kept thinking he would adjust, but he really wants me to be home again. Hopefully I will be at some point... hopefully sooner rather than later.

So now that Trey's going to school he's had another adjustment. He seems to be doing okay with that, he really likes being Daddy's buddy throughout the day.

The thing that really gets to me is the sweet, subtle ways he asks for more time and attention. At night we both go upstairs with the boys to pray with them and tuck them in. Roman has always liked me to snuggle with him, but now he asks if I can snuggle "for a couple more minutes" and "talk about our days". It's so precious to have this little guy asking for details of my day and sharing his too. I absolutely love that time with him.

Oh, Sweet Roman, please don't ever grow up!

Three down, countless to go...

School morning good-byes that is. I cried again this morning! (Although not as much as the first two days.) I think the emotional aspect of it is magnified by life being difficult right now. If life in general is pushing my limits, saying good-bye to my baby in the morning is going to be even harder, right?

I took him to school this morning, for various reasons, then asked the teacher if she minded me hanging out for the first 15-20 minutes until I had to go to work. She graciously welcomed me in and I was a very happy observer. She is energetic and yet calm with the kids. She was very engaging with their morning routine and the kids were very responsive. I loved the cute morning things she does - calendar, weather, a counting activity based on how many school days there have been, etc. She encouraged participation and I loved seeing Trey get involved. I feel very confident in his teacher and thank God for that. This would be even harder if I didn't feel comfortable with her!

Tomorrow is pizza day at school and Trey asked tonight how to buy a lunch. I told him I was thinking about going to have lunch at school with him the first time he buys so that I can help him, then asked him if he wanted to do that or try it himself. He knows I'm working tomorrow and defninitely wants pizza, so he asked if I could just tell him instead! I'm sure this is one of those moments I need to let him grow up. After all, it is his school, they're not going to let him go hungry, right?

That said, I'm off to deposit money in his lunch account so he can buy for the first time tomorrow... sniff, sniff...

Kindergarten!

My journaling from Trey's first day of school:

August 27, 2009

Trey’s first day of school. He’s a kindergartner. How did we possibly get here? It seems impossible that he is five and a half years old!

I had to fill out tons of paperwork this week, and some of it asked about you as a person, Trey. I felt like I couldn’t put into words who you are. You’re such an amazing boy and I feel so blessed to have been trusted to be your mom. You are so smart and mature. You take things seriously, but oh can you have fun too! You’re so inquisitive I’m a little relieved to be sharing the question-answering with another adult! It’s amazing though. It’s like you’re always working puzzles out in your head, asking the questions you need to piece together how things work and why. I know you’ll do great things someday. I pray you’ll allow God to lead you where He wants you.

Back to today… we got up on schedule and things went so smoothly. Before I knew it we were walking out to the end of the driveway together – you and me, Roman, Daddy and Grandma. You were so handsome in your manly outfit, new shoes and full backpack. You were pretty serious, so I knew you were intent on what the day was to hold. I tried to give you as much information as I could knowing that a plan helps you manage things. I told you about the bus ride and how we would be at the school when you got there, about going to music class and lunch. I showed you which item in your lunch box was for afternoon snack and then reassured us both that Miss J would help you with whatever you needed.

When the bus finally came around the corner is when it hit me and the tears started to come. Your bus driver was smiling and waving, welcoming you onto the bus. You were brave and excited, although a little apprehensive. You climbed aboard though and waved from your seat until we couldn’t see you anymore.

Just a little later we were parked at the school and anxiously watching for your bus to arrive. I saw your face when you saw us there waiting for you. You were so happy to see us! More pictures of course, I think I took a hundred, and we were walking to your class. At this point I was less emotional, as I was focused on the things I needed to do and the people I needed to talk to. (Primarily the nurse about the blood sugar episodes you’ve had.) We said Hi to Miss J with you and watched from the doorway as you unpacked your backpack and put it where it belonged. Miss J was so welcoming and encouraging. Soon you were playing and we headed down the hall. I went in to see the nurse and didn’t find out until later that Daddy had gone back down the hall to peek in on you. I must admit I was a bit jealous that he got to see you again and see what you were doing.

The day went fast, there was plenty going on, but everything I did included thoughts of how you were doing, what you were doing, and how long until dismissal. And then, finally, it was time. I headed back to the school to pick you up, stopped in the nurse’s office again, and then headed to the gym where you were waiting. As I was asking someone what the procedures were I heard “MOMMY!” and you were running toward me with a huge grin! I can’t tell you the relief I felt to see you there smiling. I was never really worried that you would be safe, I just didn’t know if you were sad or nervous or scared. You were fine though! We sat down right there in the school so you could show me the papers in your bag. You were so proud of what you had done and wanted to tell me all about it just as badly as I wanted to know. I hope you’re always so eager to tell me about things!

As we were walking out of the school you calmly told me that you had been a little scared on the bus. It’s just like you to fight through the fear with your serious face, conquer it, and then tell us about it later. You’re a strong boy, Trey. I am so proud to be your mommy.

Camping

It's been a while, but I thought I'd share this too...

Over the Fourth of July weekend we went camping with Jeff's family like we did last year. They used to always get a cabin at Allegany State Park and camp for a week and now it seems like the tradition is back. Once again it was a fantastic time. Most of you are on FaceBook and have seen a lot of my pics, but here are some of Jeff's moms that I got on CD today. Some of these were taken while they were there with the kids before Jeff and I got there.

Trey with a fish:

Roman with his fish:

This makes me laugh, Trey does not look like a "happy camper"!
I have no idea what Chris is doing, but it's funny. This is him and his girlfriend Desarae:

Jeff and Trey when we were out for a walk one evening:
Here are Jeff and Chris and their parents at the top of Stone Tower:
And a whole group of us, the Rivera, Brackman and Schutt families:
Me and my Moe:

Playing bocce:

This cracks me up too!
These were at Thunder Rocks where we were climbing and having fun:
My parents had come from where they were camping to spend a few hours with us too:
Roman looking very mischevious:

A whole month?

Wow, have I really gone a month without posting? Life is still pretty overwhelming right now with Jeff's job (or lack thereof) situation. I'm working almost full time at the flower shop. I haven't yet figured out how to be a working mom. It just has not been an easy transition.

I've tried to fit in as many summer activities with the kids in as I can. Here are some pics from a great afternoon down at the river:

Kitty

We have a little kitty staying with us this week. She's not ours, we're just watching her. We're really enjoying her too. She's just a baby - 9 weeks old. She's so cute and fun! Tonight she purred for the first time when I was holding her. Kittens are the so great!

Bounce Party

I'm a little out of order here, but before we went to our friends' house where Roman got his with a bat we were with those friends at their kids' joint birthday party. It was at one of those bounce-house places and we had the whole place to ourselves. The best part? Adults could go on too! We had a blast jumping and sliding, it was fantastic! Here are a couple of my favorite pics:

Roman, mid-jump:

King Jeff:

The Royal Brackmans:

Bumps and Bruises

I need to write more (non-depressing) stuff...

The boys continue to be boys and acquire lots of bumps and bruises. Trey's eye has healed up nicely I'm glad to say. Then Tuesday we were at a friends house and Roman got hit in the face with an aluminum baseball bat. Ouch. It hurt a lot and had a nice welt on his cheek. It is still pretty tender, but no visible damage. I really thought he'd have a purple cheek, but I guess not this time. It was actually kind of amusing thinking back on it, most of the adults were inside and the kids were in teh back yard. Trey came running in saying "it was an accident, it was an accident, but... I hit Roman in the face with a bat." As soon as the words were out of his mouth we heard the screams from Roman's. Trey really did feel bad though.

That was Tuesday. On Wednesday Trey was running toward the car when he stumbled and fell into it. Good thing his TEETH broke his fall! I wasn't here to see it, but I guess it was a pretty nasty mess. When I saw him he was calm and clean but he has two very loose front teeth, and they weren't before. One is a little cock-eyed too, his smile looks different.

My poor sweet battered children!

Ugh.

I might be whining a little bit here, so if you don't want to hear it, stop reading now.

Things are tough. No worse than would be expected I guess, but it's not easy. Jeff's been out of work now for 8 1/2 weeks with almost no leads on a new job. He's very stressed out. I'm working about 30 hours/week at the flower shop. I do enjoy it, I have nothing negative to say about my job, except that we're not used to being in this role reversal. Jeff isn't used to being home with the boys so much, and they miss me. I miss them too. Roman especially is having some trouble with the whole thing.

Kodak hugely screwed up Jeff's termination paperwork causing all kinds of frustrating delays. I'm reviewing the termination agreement we finally got in the mail and they actually want us to sign and have notarized a statement that we received the agreement on or before April 26th and have had 45 days to review it. We didn't get it until this week. It's postmarked Jun 10. I don't imagine we'll be signing that statement.

We still have no answers as to Cobra benefits or any potential vacation pay. I'm afraid our medical coverage is going to lapse because Kodak isn't getting us the paperwork we need. We also don't have dollar answers from unemployment because they too were waiting for information from Kodak which was delayed.

I'm so frustrated. I just need to be able to make a plan. I also need some ice cream.

Black eye

Our church has a large population of young kids and they all love to run around together after the service on Sundays. Our boys are no exception. This past Sunday Trey was running and playing and somehow stumbled and took a bad fall onto a very hard floor. He hit head-first with is brow bone and was in a LOT of pain. He usually bounces back pretty quick, but this one had him out of commission for a while. Thankfully one of our good friends who is also a pediatrician was around and took a look at him, assuring us that he would be fine with a little time and ice. He also approved an adult tylenol for Trey (the only thing available), and Trey was able to take his first ever whole pill, and on the first try! That helped with the pain and he got back to his normal self. These first two pics are from later that evening, the last one is from today (Tuesday), two days later and you can see how the bruising has settled. I don't really think the ones from Sunday really give justice to the amount of swelling he had, so you'll just have to believe me that it was very swollen until the next day.

Turtle!

Trey and I stopped near the road today to check out this huge turtle! This was as close as Trey was willing to get to him, and you can see his hesitancy! I wanted to take the turtle home (away from the busy road) to let Roman see him then let him go in the field or near the river. I put a stick near his face to see if he'd snap and he didn't, so I touched his shell and he didn't move, but when I put a hand on each side to see about picking him up he swung his whole body toward me on one side... enough to scare me into leaving him there. He certainly didn't think he needed my help!

Kidsbowlfree.com

If you haven't already heard of kidsbowlfree.com check it out! We got bowling passes for the kids for the whole summer. You do have to pay for shoe rental though, so it's not totally free. Still a good deal for something fun! The boys and I went today, here's Trey:

And Roman... can you tell how slow the ball is moving already?

Waiting to see what happens...

And the final score, although by the end they weren't really playing by whose turn it was, just by whoever felt like going next. :)

Pillows

Trey has been asking me for a while if we could make a pillow for his bed. He has a standard pillow, but he wanted one made just for him. I came up with the idea to just make a pillow case instead (Alenna, I think your blog gave me the idea, thanks!), and when I explained that he could pick whatever material he wanted he loved the idea. Jeff was gone for most of today and I wasn't working, so it was a good day for a project. We went to Walmart and checked out the material. Trey quickly settled on Transformers and Roman on Lightning McQueen (from Cars). At home I got out my beloved sewing machine and started in. It was a simple project and they were done quickly. Here are the boys, happily settled into bed on their new pillows!

Summertime!

I think it's finally here! (Summertime that is.)

Jeff's parents came for a couple of days this weekend and we made our first trip of the season to the beach at Alum Creek where we had a great time even though the water was pretty chilly.

Check out Trey's pic when Jeff lifted the bucket off the first piece of sand castle!



We also had our first bonfire of the season, complete with s'mores! Yum!


The fire was Monday evening with our friends Clay and Carrie and their kids Logan and Lauren. They spent most of the afternoon and evening enjoying Memorial Day with us - grilling out, walking in the woods, and of course the fire!


Playing in (and on) and "re-designing" the fort:


Me and Moe enjoying the day:


Hanging around and getting the fire going... I think Jeff was collecting more wood:

Roman and Lauren enjoying their s'mores (and the dogs hoping they will drop something!):