Back to reality!!!

wow - that week off went fast!!! We left Saturday morning at the crack of dawn and headed out on our 9 hour journey to Odessa, Texas.........the trip wasn't too bad for me - I was in the back of the car drugged out on Dramamine .........I slept pretty much the WHOLE way.....lucky for me eh?

I've had my car for two years and I just figured out how to run the DVD player and the radio at the same time! Mark told me that I had to figure it out before we left town because he could not do another trip with Barney and the wiggles blaring in his ear the whole time : )....so, I got my handy book out and figured it out....wow - the silence was golden!!!

We got to Odessa around 4:00 PM - I had to ask for coffee to stay awake! Tootsie and Alvin (Nana and Pop) stayed with her niece and we (Mark, Jake and myself) went to a hotel......it was a nice place....but, 3 days in a hotel with a 5 year old- I would not recommend it....lol.....mostly we spent the days with the family - it was good to see everyone - we would leave around 8:30 at night to head back to the hotel - where they had mirrored closet doors (old fashion ones that pull open - remember - we are in Odessa :)) and Jake had one guitar that I let him play and he would stand in front of the doors and play the guitar on low (it was electric).....carry on his little concert and he was in heaven......

sleeping arrangements weren't that great for me as Jake wouldn't sleep by himself - so mom got the lovely chore of sleeping with him - which I don't mind - except that he is all over the bed....his knees were in the curve of my back or his feet and toenails were digging into my flesh....it was not pretty!! I was so tired every morning!!!

We stayed in Odessa until Tuesday - (and yes, I did find the starbucks!!!)......Tuesday mid morning -we headed out to Fredricksburg.........I love that place! I only took one Dramamine for this trip - so I dosed on and off - shorter distance - so I didn't need that many drugs...lol

We rented an old house for 4 days.....it was built in the 1800's...it was so cool!!!!! They had refurbished a lot of it - but had kept some of the original things - it was way cool..........it was a German families home - which Alvin loved because he is full-blooded German......it had a front porch to die for with a swing!!! that is where we spent most of our time......once again - I had to sleep with Jake and it was on the pull-out couch............OMG - it was a broken down, 1800 couch, whew - I was broken down after 3 nights of that!!! The things we do for our kids :).....Jake, of course, thought it was the coolest.

Of course, we went shopping in town......such a quaint little place..................

Before I knew it - it was time to come home...............

Saturday was spent washing clothes and getting ready for church........Sunday was all day church (not really - but felt like it because I was there for both services and I was really tired!)....it was a great service - but I came home and fell asleep.......needless to say - taco bell was dinner.....

Monday came......Jake had to get up and get back in the swing of things. He was not very happy about that. It was so funny because he has been asking to go to the neighborhood pool and I keep telling him when he gets out of school for the summer - the pool will be open. So, when I told him he had to go back to school - he said "but I didn't get to go to the pool".......too cute.

Started back on my healthy eating kick - this past week I didn't focus on it at all - so, I'm sure I gained some poundage...(is that even a word?) Jesse McMahon had a posting on Facebook today that caught my attention......Proverbs 23:2 "put a knife to thy throat if given to appetite".........yawser!!!!!!

Enjoy the pictures.

Love to all
Karen

Spring break

is finally here!!! We are loading up on Saturday morning and heading off to Odessa, Texas.......what in the world - you might say - is in Odessa???? Well, not much!!! LOL

I have been having this feeling that we need to take Nana and Pop home to visit her family - it's been a nagging feeling for some time and I told my husband that I think we should give up our spring break vacation and take them home..........home is actually Abilene for them - but her sister lives in Odessa and she is her only living blood relative - Jo (her sister) is getting up in years and she is fading fast......I just have this feeling.....you know....sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do.

Nana and Pop are getting too old to drive themselves to visit - I know that Tootsie (nana) really wants to see her family.....some of her nieces and nephews could come here to visit - but they haven't.....even though that makes me mad - especially since she has gone through chemo and radiation this past year - I'm going to be the bigger person here and take her home to visit them. When we told them that is what we wanted to do - you could tell they were so excited........so, we will begin our long, long, long, long, long, LOL drive to the end of the world on Saturday morning....

We will stay and visit a couple of days - and then we are coming home by way of Fredricksburg. We have rented a house as a surprise for them (they love the hill country too) for a couple of days and we will relax and stroll through the town of Fredricksburg for a couple of days before heading back home........

We love our parents....we love to do for them. Tootsie and Pop missed our family vacation with them last year because of her cancer treatments - so we will do a couple of things with them this year - Odessa being one of them. We will also take Grammy and Popsie somewhere too - it's always fun spending time with each set of parents and watching Jake make memories with them.

So, if you don't hear from me over the next week - don't think I've fallen off the face of the earth - I probably will NOT be taking any form of computer equipment - I know - is that even possible??? - but, I'm going to leave it all here except for my cell phone.....so, if you need me - text or call me.

Love to all - happy spring break.

Karen

Rascal Flatts and Jonas Brother

Jake survived both Rodeo events............and he had a blast!!! For Rascal Flatts - it was his first - and it was during the week - so we just went for the rodeo and the concert - not the carnival with the rides etc.......he loved it. He was so intense during the rodeo - he had to watch every horse rider, every bull rider, everything.....then when Rascal Flatts came out - he was in AWE that he was really seeing them in person....too cute. It was a tough night because we rode the park-n-ride........and, with it being the first night of the rodeo - it was CRAZY......I think we got home around 12:30 AM......and, of course, Jake had school the next day - HOWEVER, being the "planner" that I am, I had taken his pj's and so, when we got to the car - I changed his clothes before we left......worked like a charm......all I had to do was carry him in the house and plop him down in his bed........getting him up the nex morning - well, that was a whole 'nother ball game!!! LOL

Side bar - Jake's ears are doing great. we are finished with our antibiotics and it seems like his hearing is restoring itself.....time will tell.

Sunday -we had a blast at the rodeo. We went early enough for Jake to ride the rides and for us to walk around the livestock show. I say every year that I'm going to go by myself without any of the "boys" because I never get to walk around all the stores when i'm with them!!!!! I wonder why that is......LOL. Jake had alot of fun doing the rides - of course, he wanted Mom and Dad to ride with him (pictures below).......it was fun though. We wore him out! By the end of the night - he was exhausted. Once again - he loved the rodeo - although - this time - he knew what to expect - so he was ready when they bull riders came out and the calf scramble....he thought that was hysterical. I thought when the Jonas Brothers came out he would be screaming and playing the air drums - but he was SOOOO serious. I think he thought they could see him from the stage and he wanted to be "cool". I kept drumming and he kept saying "mom - stop drumming!....it was so funny!!! Once we cleared the stadium - he was all about air drumming........one of the things that saved the day - I took ear plugs!!!!! Mostly for the adults (Mark, myself and Paulette) but once the "screaming (ok - wait - it's not screaming - it's a high piercing shrill) from all the girls - Jake and Hayden both were looking for those ear plugs!!!!! I have NEVER heard such noise in my life....it was crazy!!!!! Fun, but crazy.

One thing that was making me mad was this lady that was sitting in front of us. She had her son with her and he was obviously a special needs child (I'm good at noticing these kids now that I have Jake and have been involved with special needs children for 6 years now).....he was more than likely autistic and he was very scared of the fireworks. They have fireworks at the beginning of the rodeo and right before the band comes out.....well - he kept thinking that everytime a light flashed (like from the arena or the stage) that it was fireworks......instead of being patient with him (granted - she had to repeat herself over and over) she was getting agitated with him and yelling!!! Ok - I was getting ready to RIP her head off!!!!!! Ok - I have a child who has some needs - I plan ahead - I think about what is going to be happening at the venue that we are going and what will Jake need to enjoy it the most......I knew that he would more than likely need headphones, so I took them with me.......why is that so hard for people who have children with special needs...(this is my soapbox - so bare with me!).......this little boy was in TEARS - he was so scared that fireworks were going to go off at anytime.....I finally leaned up and ask the lady if she would like some of my ear plugs for her little boy......she looked at me kind of funny - but she took them. He was like night and day - he endured the concert without hardly flinching. why is it so hard to go the extra mile sometimes? I know it's hard and tiring to have children with special needs and I, myself, get tired of the extra mile that I have to go through just to get one simple thing accomplished - but, I try to always make it the most comfortable for jake and it was making me mad that she was more upset because he was ruining her good time than she was about making it comfortable for him............

ok - I'm done......you can tell this is a sore subject for me.......I know that God has blessed me with Jake so that I can help people who have children with special needs - and it was very hard for me not to rip her head off and smile while I was doing it LOL LOL LOL - but, instead - I politely gave her ear plugs........

My 40th birthday is tomorrow.....I can not believe that I have lived long enough to say the following:

Wow - I'm 40
Wow - I have been out of school for 25 years!!!!!
Wow - I have known some fo you for 20 years
Wow - my mom has been gone for 26 years
wow - my little brother is 38
wow - I have two sisters in their 50's (ok - they are going to kill me!) LOL
wow - that means - if I'm 40 - some of you are pretty old.....(and I mean that in the most loving, caring way!!!!) ROFL


love to all

so, so sorry I'm behind in my writing

it's hard to keep up when you have a sick child at home! So, I think I left off on Wednesday of last week where Jake had lovely puss coming out of his ear...........I called the doctor- she prescribed ear drops and told me to call her in the morning if Jake's fever had persisted......it did!

Wednesday night - it was 101 and early Thursday - it was like 103.....CRAZY!!! So, Thursday morning - I called her back and she made us come back in. She checked him for pneumonia - he passed (Praise God!) and she said that the zpac just wasn't doing the job. She gave him a shot (which actually turned into 2 shots because it was a gram of medicine and jake is so tiny - she had to give him two) to jump start the antibiotic and then gave him Amoxicillin for 10 days - 2x a day!!! It's like night and day now.........much better!!!

Saturday - my husband worked in the yard and I went to our ladies ministry meeting....it was great to get out of the house for a change. We had a guest speaker who has a homeless ministry and we are getting involved in an outreach where we will help feed the homeless and prepare care packages for them. I am so pumped about it......

Also, I'm so glad Jake is doing better this week because it's Rodeo time and we are going tomorrow, Tuesday to see one of his favorite bands - Rascal Flatts - and then on Sunday (after church) we are going to take him to see the Jonas Brothers!!! For those who aren't familiar with them - they are 3 brothers who have a band - they are 14, 16 and 18. Jake pretends that he is one of them.............it is hysterical. He will FREAK out when we get there.....as I haven't told him yet because i don't want him asking me every 5 seconds if it's time to see them yet!!!!!

Jake did go to school today........I told his teacher that she would have to speak louder than normal because he is suffering from some hearing loss after the bad ear infection and busted ear drum......once his antibiotics are completed - I'm going to have his hearing re-tested. He has some hearing issues anyway and if needed - we'll need to see what to do about permanent aids. My saying is always - whatever it is - it is - it's just stuff! Jake is here and healthy and all this other stuff is just stuff........sometimes painful stuff - but stuff none the less....

hope that everyone has a blessed week......scripture today that i read was great - it is in Psalms 143:8 (amplified version) "Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for on you do I lean and in you do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk - for I lift up my inner self to you.

love to all
karen