The Minnesota Trip

As many of you know I (Linda) drove my parents to Minnesota for Dad's 65th high school reunion. 1200 miles. Did you hear me? 1200 MILES!!! EACH WAY!! Dad is blind in one eye, Mom has dementia. Some highlights:


Day 1: Mom and I go in a restroom. She takes forever (lots of times she falls asleep on the pot) in her stall. I keep asking if she is okay, is she finished, etc. Finally she says she needs help standing up, she's too weak to stand by herself. "Can you unlock the door" "no" "mom, you need to try to unlock the door" "I can't" "Mom I am not crawling under, you have to do something". After about 5 minutes she finally is able to stand up and unlock the door. For the remainder of the trip I wouldn't let her lock the door.


Day 2: Dad took the early morning driving shift because I don't drive well in the dark (dark would be 5am). He drives better with one eye than I do in the dark which is a very scarey thought. He kept saying he was having a hard time getting his eyes to adjust. I stayed awake and helped him watch for signs, deer, cars, his lane, etc. We stopped and ate breakfast. I drove til we stopped at lunch. We sat down at lunch and when I looked at him I said "Dad why do you have Mom's glasses on?". Yep, he really did. Mom had his on. He wanted to know how I noticed - duh, it's the little frilly things on the sides of the glasses.

Day 3: Robin and Reegan flew and met us in Buffalo. Her 2nd day she wanted to go to Mall of America. I didn't want to leave Mom and Dad without a vehicle so we tried to rent one. They didn't have any but assured us they would have one the next day. Next day - no vehicle. Finally Dad insists we take their car. It was a 45 minute drive so I told Robin we could only stay 2 hours because I didn't want to leave them without a car too long. When we left the mall it started pouring rain, really heavy rain. When we returned to the motel, Dad said the weather people had said there was 2 to 3 inch hail at Mall of America. Did he call to warn us? No, he went next door to the new car dealership and looked at cars!! He thought he might get a good deal on a hail damaged one! He really thought his would be a mess. Thankfully that didn't happen. But on the way home from the mall the check engine light came on in the '96 Lincoln town car!(picture this, no rent cars available, we have to get back to the 83 year olds, and Robin has to leave for the airport by 6am...AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON!) Luckily the guy at the shop said it was a false alarm. Whew!

All days: Because Dad is blind in one eye he has no depth perception. I didn't know you have to have both eyes to have depth perception but that's what the doc told us. He gets SO close to things on the right side, I mean INCHES from things - cars, curbs, signs, it doesn't matter. He scared the crap out of us.

The motel in Buffalo MN: Dad and I had gone to the swimming pool - don't be alarmed, I was fully clothed. When we went back to the room, Mom had turned the deadbolt lock inside. She can't hear ANYTHING. We knocked, banged, then just waited. About 30 minutes later she opened the door and looked ouside.

Day 4: Robin went and knocked on the door of the house that Dad grew up in and asked if we could walk through! With some hesitation the lady did let us come back the following day. This made the old folks very happy to reminisce!

OH back to day 3...Robin woke up about midnight itching all over. She's watched way to many 20/20 specials on bedbugs and insisted on climbing into my bed! the next morning 2/3 of her body was covered in a huge itchie rash (despite popular belief it was not bedbugs)! We had to go to a random Doc. and get meds!! Still not sure what it was. Rash doesn't quite describe it, it was huge welts. We'll post a picture later.

Anyway we lived through the whole trip....I think only because there was a Target in Buffalo!

Note to Mike: If you think you are getting half the inheritance you are WRONG!! You owe me for this.

The last few weeks...

Ashley (Koby's niece) and Blaine's wedding. Koby walked her down the aisle. It was so sweet!

Reegan in the motel in Rosenberg. She was excited that the TV was at HER eye level!

Heather and Reegan swimming in the Veil's pool

Heather, Jonathan, Mere, Ryan and I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter! (Mimi stayed home with the kids!) We got to bed about 3am! I haven't intentionally been up that late in a long time! We had fun!

There were tons of people that dressed up for the movie!!!

Reegan and Koby's favorite thing is to share a pop-ice!

This is my school....It burned last week... no kidding!

This is where it really took off! Apparently a fireball chased some people out of the building!

Obviously we wont be having classes in the High School! We will be in portable buildings for at least the first semester. I am hoping that I will have a computer lab...and they won't "assign" me to do something else.....seems to be a possibility....uuuugggg.

I have a new backyard! Ok so just more concrete and a pergola(sp?).

If you look where the white posts are thats where the porch use to stop. It is so nice and roomy out there now!!! Woo-hoo!

Reegan and I are going on our first plain ride in exactly one week...just the 2 of us! We are meeting my grandparents and my mom in Minnesota (they're driving...can you imagine!!!)for my granddads 65th class reunion....Poor Koby is going to stay home and work...I wish he was going with us.

1. Who was your first prom date? Matt somebody. He was a consolation date because my original one made it to state and it HAD to be the same weekend!
2. Who was your first roommate? Angela
3. What was your first alcoholic drink? Margarita I'm sure
4. What was your first job? Snow Castle snow cone stand
5. What was your first car? 1986 blue Mercury Cougar
6. Who was the first person that texted you yesterday? hmmmm i think my mom
7. Who is the first person you thought of this morning? Reegan. She slept all night and woke up and just played in her bed! It's a great sound to wake up to!
8. Who was your first grade teacher? Mrs. Gilly. Meanest teacher in the world! I'm sure she buried some children in the playground!
9. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?I think to Disney world with my mom and the Cuellar family
10. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was with you? I enjoyed my sleep to much to sneak out!
11. Who was your first best friend and are you still friends with them? I would have to say Amy, and yes we are still friends and she is buying the house next door!!!
12. Where was your first sleep over? hmm not sure. prob at Amy's. Wed morning was sausage gravy and biscuits morning! It was the BEST night to sleep over!
13. Who was the first person you talked to this morning? Koby
14. Whose wedding were you in the first time? not sure....
15. What is the first thing you do in the morning? go get Reegan out of her bed
16. What was the first concert you ever went to? Willie Nelson
17. First tattoo or piercing?Piercing in the ears - 6, second hole - 4th grade, first tattoo 21
18. First foreign country you went to? Mexico(walked across the bridge to Acuna if that counts), otherwise Germany
19. First crush? hmmm...not sure. I remember a guy named Mike that had a crush on me in Elementary. He brought me flowers that he had picked in a wadded up paper bag! He was clingy....and I was NOT interested!
20. When was your first detention? 7th grade English, the whole class got detention for talking
21. What was the first state you lived in? Texas
22. Who was your first kiss with? Patrick
23. Who was the first person to break your heart? Grant
24. Do you still think about that person? nope.

the trip

Well I am quickly learning that a 20 lb 9 mo old requires more room in the suitcase than I do! In fact her stuf almost takes up all of the suit case!

We are headed to the Needvilleish area for Ashley's (Koby's niece) wedding! It will be good to see everybody and for Reegan to see them. However, I do dread the drive! I thought I would never be the Mom that did it, but I am borrowing a friends DVD player for Reegan's road entertainment!

I considered going to work this summer, there's a lot I could be doing. But about the time it pops in my mind, it pops right back out. Imagine that. I'm sure in August I'll be sorry I didn't go.

I wish Meredith would blog more...so tha I could keep up with her pregnancy better. I guess the main reason is I enjoy looking back over my blogs when I was pregnant. It reminds me of my uncertainties, and how clueless I really was!! It will be great for Reegan to go back and read someday.

Life Changing...

Reegan in Gus's Kennel

I read the following paragraphs before I had a child...and I thought to myself 'how sweet'. A friend of a friend posted this on her blog today, and it was the first time I read in SINCE I have been a mom.....It's amazing how differently I feel about a few paragraphs.

Being A Mom

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family.

""We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.

"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations.

"But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.

I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I considered warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?"

That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish clothes and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of " Mom!" will cause her to drop a souffle or her best crystal without a moments hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for child-care, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at work, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about her self.

That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a Cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this, most wonderful of callings.

I have a friend who is pondering the idea of having children. I have tried to think of how to explain to her how Reegan has changed not only my LIFE but ME as well. I AM a different person...My priorities have shifted...she is absolutely without a doubt NUMBER ONE in my life, far beyond myself. No one could have explained it to me...I don't think these feelings can be explained in words.

I don't miss the 'good ol days'....yes I think of them with fond memories....but my priorities now are playing with my daughter and making sure she gets fed appropriately, and gets to bed on time so she is the happiest most productive baby she can be!!! People say 'don't have kids until you're ready'.........I'm glad I didn't wait another day! I LOVE BEING A MOM!

Mere, I can't wait!!!

Morning Routine...

Ok heather here's mine! BTW if I EVER get this out of order there is NO telling what I'll come out looking like!

Wash hair, wrap it in a towel, put on moisturizer.

Go in bedroom and pick out clothes and lay them on the bed.

Back to the bathroom, foundation, blush, eyeshadow, and mascara. Dry hair, plug in straightener, brush teeth.

Into the bedroom to get dressed, back to the bathroom to straiten hair. find appropriate jewelry. Add a touch of hairspray, and cologne and were done!


Lately I haven't been a "I can't think of anything to write" blogger, or the "I shouldn't blog at work" blogger, I HAVE been the "I'm at home with a 9 mo old and DON'T have TIME to blog" blogger.

Reegan is doing excellent! She is a super crawler! She's practicing walking by cruising around the furniture. She babbles ALL the time!(wonder where she go that from!) We went for her 9 mo check up today, she is in the 60th percentile for her height, and the 75th percentile for her weight! (malnourished child!!)

For those of you that haven't heard the best news in the state....Mere is pregnant!!! Woo-Hoo!!!

Maybe her baby will like to eat dog food too! :)

Good Grief

I suspect the owner of this blog will never again post so, one more time, I'll do what I can. Not much news here. That sweet little baby has cut 4 teeth in about 10 days. Needless to say, she's been a grouch. Her mommy and daddy haven't had much sleep. This too shall pass. She has a couple of tricks, she can cough to get your attention - it's a really fake cough and is very funny. She can roar like a tiger. She is crawling everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE and is pulling up on everything. She says bye bye. She's growing so fast! We are going to Abilene tomorrow to see Heather and Meredith and Laine and Bowen and Sue. I can't wait - we don't spend near enough time together so I really am looking forward to it. Okay, so it's a lame post but it's more than you-know-who has done.

It's Mom...

Okay, I'm hijacking this blog. It's been a long time since the Easter blog so I'm taking over.

Let's discuss the dilemma of my employment or rather my unemployment. I don't know why making a decision is so difficult for me. Maybe it's because I've never been fired from a job before. It's quite a blow, believe me, especially when I believe there was a snake in the woodpile so to speak. Enough of that.

Working at another real estate company is a possibility. However, Koby is now a partner with another realtor (a very very good friend of mine) at the old company where I worked. In my heart this is very much a conflict of interest. I could work for another company but I would always make referrals to Koby. Of course I would, he's my son, the provider for my daughter and granddaughter.

I could be a full time sub in ISS (on campus suspension) at Christoval. It's located in a separate building at the elementary school. It would be boring but I like to be on the computer, I like to read. The money would be okay, having summers off is appealing.

I could cook for Koby's hunts. His schedule is really filling up. I'd work tons during deer season, turkey season. He does lots of exotic hunts. The money would be okay and I'd have a lot of the summer off.

Why is this so hard for me? I've decided I can make a choice for just one year, then I can change if I want to. It's like all my decision making capabilities have left me. HELP!!!

Okay, I'll be in trouble but I'll post one picture.

Easter Pics

All this for Meeee?

Thanks for the cool head gear Aunty Kim!


Mom, do you really think these socks will keep me warm enough on this 37 degree day?

Camoflage eggs are the best!

Can we do it again?

Whew!

WOW I am such a bad blogger. Part of the reason is that I can't ever remember how to spell my new blog address! Ha, thanks Paco!

Let's see....our lives.....hmmmmmmm.... Reegan is rolling all over the place. She can roll or scoot to get to anything withing a 4 foot radius! She can hold her bottle (when she wants to) and she can sit up on her own...until she puts something in her mouth, and somehow that seems to weigh her down and she goes tumbling backwards. Reegan is eating fruit, vegetables, and meats now. She had Guava last night and loved it....I wouldn't know what a guava was if it hit me over the head!

Koby is finished with his real estate classes. All he has to do now is take the test! Woo-hoo! He is planing on selling residential, commercial and ranch real estate. He will still have the Outfitting business too.

My mom has no J-O-B. Yes you heard me correctly. My 55 year old retired mother got FIRED from her part-time job!!!! Yeah...long story....If you want to hear the story CALL ME! I'd LOVE to talk about it. It chaps my butt more than you will ever know! The song "I've got friends (or a boss) in low places" comes to mind!!!

Turkey season is in full swing. 1 down and 4 to go. I'm already tired! :)

I'm considering going back to school this summer...not sure what for though...I'm such a nerd.

34 days of school left!!!!!!!!!!

2nd post in 1 day!

Reegan's Accomplishments

1. She eats cereals, fruits and vegetables. So far I haven't seen her get full, she just cries for more.

2. She also eats cardboard - part of a coaster at Red Lobster.

3. She rolls over - not on demand like a dog - just when she wants to.

4. She laughs out loud.

5. She sticks her tongue out and spits. How endearing.

6. She has found her feet and they fit in her mouth. Can you do that?

7. She does not like her pacifier - she would rather lay her head down on you shoulder and talk herself to sleep.

8. She gives a 2:45am wake up call whether you want one or not….we’ve tried everything!

9. She is going through the Momma’s girl phase. It’s cute until you need to do something.

10. Boy does this kid have gas! Not so much the smell that’s amazing but the amount!

11. She’s ticklish on the rolls of her legs. That’s funny, I don’t like it when ppl touch the rolls on my legs!

12. Koby says she cry’s when you get her dressed if she doesn’t witness you taking the tags off her clothes (thank goodness for Mimi!).

13. She now poops turds, not mush. And she pushes and turns red in the face. Reminds me of her father.

Here They Are .....

She will be 5 months this Sunday!

I never thought she would be this big or this much fun! My life revolves around playing on the floor, changing diapers, rocking, and feeding her! It’s great!

Ok since I haven’t blogged in a while here are the cliff notes:

Reegan is eating Rice cereal and fruit now…she cries for more!

I am within a pound of my prebaby weight. I would be under it if chocolate wasn’t my friend!

Reegan can roll from her stomach to her back and her back to her stomach (with great motivation!)

5 star outfitters is doing great…as great as you can do in the spring…but we’re booking up for fall!

I am finally caught up at school from maternity leave!

Who has time to workout?

I have a new blog address that I have to find through my favorites menu because I can’t spell it!

I have a loaner cell phone that I have had since Reegan was 3 weeks old because I’m to cheap to buy one.

Dog hair..uuck! It’s coating every surface in our house. I guess It’s shedding season.

We ordered dining room furniture at the beginning of January and it’s still not here….they say THIS TIME that SOME of it will be here Friday …we’ll see…

My mother doesn't get her fashion risk glasses til tomorrow. I'm scared for her.

Fashion Risk

This post is not from the blog owner, it is from her mother. I have something we need to discuss.

In many ways I can be a fashion risk. I know this. You know this. No surprises. The older I get, the more I think I become a fashion risk.

Well...I had my eyes checked this week and Terry helped me pick out new glasses (I need help because I'm blind). We picked out two pairs. Black ones that were her favorites but are a fashion risk, another pair that are fairly boring. I left without ordering anything. My darling daughter went with me that afternoon. She chose the boring ones. I ordered the fashion risk ones. I'M SCARED!!!!! They will be ready the end of this week. I'M SCARED!!! Please don't make fun of me.

Sold the D&#% Table

Finally a new post! The owner of this post can no longer post from school so I'm helping her out by posting new pictures of the most beautiful grandbaby in the whole wide world. Oh - did I give away my identity?

Need a Table Anyone???

Double click the flyer for a better view!

My first week back....

First and foremost 5:30 AM is really early!!! Did you know that the sun isn't even up then! I was the girl who would crawl out of bed at the absolute LAST min to get to school...I mean, I would get up at 6:50 and be out the door by 7:20. It was great. Ohhh how things have changed. I hit the floor running at 5:30 and am still gasping for air at 7:00 when Reegan and I buckle our seat belts and hit the road.

Reegan likes her school. She is apparently loosening up now and smiling and laughing at the other kids. I'm glad that she's happy, it makes coming back a whole lot easier! The other kids love having a baby around. I'm sure they are much more entertaining than spending the day with Mom! It will be good for her!

Ya know....this is going to sound bad so all of you die hard stay at home moms just close your ears....mmm...or eyes since you're reading. I love my job (I'm sure it would be tons harder if I didn't) and have had a lot of fun being back in the real world this week. PLEASE don't get me wrong I miss Reegan like CRAZY....but I like my life too. Luckily with my job I get the best of both worlds....school is out @ 3 (noon woooould be better...but beggars can't be choosers!), Christmas Break is quickly approaching, and in a few months (when she's really fun!) I'll get to spend the whole summer with her! There may come a time that I change my mind...but right now this is what works for us!!

If you haven't heard I was unknowingly trying out for Fear Factor Monday morning.....I accidentally ate a bug! Short version is it crawled onto my leftover cold pizza (not a clue how) and I took a bite! It was a black crunchy one about an inch long and it tasted nasty! The second verse to the story is that I tried to find a picture of it to post so you could visualize the nasty thing....so I went to bugguide.net .....eeewwwwww! After the first few pics I had to quit looking...bugs not only taste nasty they look gross too!

Picture Day

Cutie Pie!









Laine and Reegan
at Thanksgiving @ the T's









Baptism Day!!!!

Mimi and Reegan





















I just want to kiss the little princess!!!!











Our first day of school!

It's been a while...

Wow I had no idea that my last blog was Halloween day. Even Mere has had a few posts since then (he-he sorry Mere!). You would think since I'm not at school I would have time in my 'days off' to blog....but ya know I have learned that maternity leave definitely does not involve 'days OFF'! Reegan is getting so big! She is becoming more and more fun!

Let's see...her tricks are that she loves to smile, she can stand on your legs for a minute or so while holding her head straight up, she toots like a grown man, we're working on tummy time...but she hates it! We are presenting Reegan at church tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes!!

KOBY GOT BAPTIZED LAST WEDNESDAY!!!!! I'll have to post pics later! It was a great time! We even had an after-glow celebration at Starbucks!

Not to put a damper on that great news...but I go back to work Monday. I'm trying not to think about it much...but its hard not to. I think this is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I've pretty much decided that I'm not even going to attempt makeup until after I drop her off get to school, and quit crying.

I promise to be a better blogger starting next week....eerrrr....maybe the next...school will be nuts this week!