Merry Christmas

We want to wish each and everyone of you a Very Merry Christmas. We hope you were able to spend the day with your loved ones. We also hope, that unlike us, you didn't eat yourselves silly.

Kurt and I are both beyond full. He is at home and I am at work. I had to work 6 pm to Midnite tonight. The boredom is the worst part of it. I've been here two hours and i believe there have been 3 calls in that time. Woooo Hooooo. I've already done all my work, cleaned out my desk, and organized my overhead. I should have brought a book to read or something.

We had a very enjoyable holiday. The kids were pretty happy with their gifts.....at least Nick and Christy were. Fred and Alex seemed disappointed....even though they got what they requested (the reasonable, non-ipod items anyway). We had our Christmas duck on Marcile's china along with her red goblets and Santa nut cups.

The six of us went to my parents for the traditional Christmas Eve with oyster stew. Kurt found a pearl in his oyster. My parents, my grandpa, my sister, my brother-in-law and my sweet little nephew were all there. I spent a lot of time holding and changing the baby. I noticed Kurt never held him. We talked about it today and he said he was afraid if he did he would want another. (Need to get that kid in his arms!)

We had to have the kids back to the PP by 10 so it was an early night. It gets harder and harder to leave them there. Hopefully we won't have to soon. It was back to my parents today for Christmas breakfast and lunch. It was very mellow involving much sleeping and looking at the baby. Not too exciting.

Tomorrow we're heading up to Rochester to get together with Kurt's family. It should be fun. We haven't been to his brother's house before.

Woooo Hoooooo!!!

Got my grades!
2 - A's and a B-!!

3.56 GPA for the semester.....3.22 overall.

Whew!

Christmas Robbers?

Last night was Christy's Christmas program. She told us last weekend that she was an elf and that other kids were Santa, cops, robbers, and a mayor. It was a hoot! The kindergarten thru 4th graders sang during the first part. Then the 5th graders put on a short play while the 4th and 5th graders acted as a chorus. The premise was that the robbers stole the key to Christmas. Christy looked scared to death. I'm sure the bright red spots on her elf cheeks made her look all the paler. She had 3 or 4 times that she spoke multiple lines. We are so amazed and proud. Being on stage in front of hundreds of people...Astounding progress for our backward, unsocialized former "home school" kid. She had a pointy green hat and pointy green shoes. Her elf smock had jingle bells on the ends. I had forgotten my camera. I still don't have the hang of this mom thing.

I got my birthday $ from my aunt so I bought the Garth Brooks cd set. It's not what i thought it would be but it's still pretty good. She also sent $ to get the dog groomed. Thank goodness. He's a little stink pot!

Fred is here today. He's gonna apply for jobs. Do I hear an "amen?"

In the Mood

...to bake cookies that is! I've got the lights lit, the Christmas carols going and the butter softening as the snow comes down outside. I wrapped a couple of presents this morning while I watched the View. I love days off!

Kurt is in New Jersey. I hate it when he is gone. Magoo is moping around too. Kurt said it's supposed to snow out there tomorrow. He comes home Saturday morning. I hope he doesn't get delayed.

I think a nap may be necessary while my dough chills.

Big Blue in the Snowstorm 

Wrap up and Review

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! I had a pretty decent day. It was my day off (what could be better than that!). I got some money from my Grandpa so Kurt and I went to pizza hut for lunch and then uptown for some pie. I came home, had a nap, and did some homework. I've had more exciting birthdays, but this one was pretty relaxing and relatively stress free. The best present EVER would be if our damn house would sell!!

I found the crock pot, the serving and mixing bowls, and the missing corning ware. They were in the bottom of the cupboard at the other house. I SWEAR I've looked there a dozen times. Kurt was convinced we'd been robbed. I couldn't see, how out of all that CRAP and 100's of boxes in the garage, a robber would have been able to single out the things i use on a daily basis.

Kurt has a huge project due tomorrow night. He didn't get home til 2 am last night (I only beat him by 15 min). Driving home in the dark and blowing snow was a special bonus. Yet another thing I for which I can thank APAC. He'll be even later tomorrow night.

Last week I took everyone to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was good! Christy thought it was a little scary, Alex was disappointed things had been left out and minimized, but everyone was glad to go. Plus it was free popcorn night!

The house is starting to shape up. The end of the tunnel is getting near for school. I may make it to the end of the year!

Uh Oh

My fortune cookie said "you will soon change your present line of work".

NOT good when there is great and realistic fear that my center will close and my job will disappear by the beginning of the year!

I wish:

• the dang house would sell
• we had the kids full time
• i were done with college
• i had a diet Pepsi right now
• Kurt and I could spend 24 uninterrupted hours together (preferably in a hotel with a king size bed, a hot tub, and room service)
• I knew if was going to have a job after dec 31
• we could find my crockpot, serving bowls, and the other box of food
• i worked regular hours so i wouldn't have to keep vampire hours
• i were asleep

It never ends

The continuous cycle of dishes, meals, and laundry that is. I'm supposed to be writing my paper, but all of these other things keep getting in the way. I did get all of my other homework done as well as getting my introduction written. Plus I have all of tomorrow as well as most of Tuesday to get it done.

We got a lot of work out of Alex this afternoon. Two girls stopped by and he kept raking the entire time (trying to impress them I guess). It's been pretty laid back around here. It's been nice to have days off from work. It would get pretty each to get used to that's for sure!

Stressing!

Stress, stress and more stress....that's the only thing we have a lot of around here!

I have a paper to write, I have 5 articles to review, and I have a take home test to do.

Work still exists, but who knows for how much longer.

We have a parenting class to take.

We need to find a recipe that calls for lots of tomato paste because that is our main food supply right now.

The Old Mill - Only 2 blocks away 

Happy Halloween

Just another exciting day here in paradise. I had chiro, school,work, school and work. I love Mondays sooo much.

Kurt took Nick and Christy trick or treating. I had the camera so no pictures I'm afraid. Nick was a duct tape Knight with sword and Christy was a Ninja. Kurt wore my Frankenstein head band/hat thing so he got some candy too!

I still haven't' taken a picture of the house, but I do have one of the Mill that's only a few blocks away...We have a slight view of the River from here.

Wednesday Kurt and I are going to Des Moines to see my nephew, Ryan and go to the Bon Jovi concert. I'm very excited. I don't think I've seen Bon Jovi since 1989!

Charging up the Batteries

I'm charging up the batteries for the camera because by this time tomorrow I should be an Aunt! My sister and Todd left for the hospital tonite and she is being induced tomorrow morning! I am incredibly excited to see the baby. I've been guessing and guessing and guessing what his name will be but so far I haven't hit on it. I'm taking Friday off to go see them (and to get away from my crappy job). I have a test Friday morning then I'm heading to DSM after that.

This place continues to be a disaster, but it is home. I told Kurt that I don't miss the old house and I'm perfectly comfortable here. Home is where he is...other than that it doesn't matter. However it is VERY nice to have enough space. He said he was thinking the same thing.

This kids seem to love the new house. They've been great the past few weekends. Lewis was a little out of sorts at first, but he shredded some Kleenex and all is well now.

I better hit the books. I hope I can relax in a couple of years once I'm done with class.

It's done

We are moved. We're completely disorganized and can't find anything but we've got it all out of the old house and into the new house.

WHAT a pain in the butt! It took 2 car loads, 1 pick up load, and 3 - 26' rental truck loads. We have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF. There was no screaming, very little swearing, and lots of snacks.

Thanks so much to Mom for bringing lunch, Dad for helping despite working 3rd shift, and to my new favorite number one brother-in-law, Greg (sorry Todd). We would have never ever gotten it done with out Greg.

I'll post some pictures once we get the trash out of the front yard.

Big Day

Today is big day. We're having a graduation party for Fred this afternoon. I'm trying to cook, clean and decorate the garage, do homework (mine and the kids) and pack to move (without messing up the house or the garage) while Kurt and his brother, Kelly change the brakes and rotors in Kurt's car.

Wierdly, I'm the first one up. The second weirdest thing is that Christy is the number 2 person up. We are ALWAYS last.

We've had a decent week. I was in training 8-430 tues-fri so kurt and I got to spend a lot of time together which was nice.

I've got major wedding details set which is also cool!

AWESOME!

Kurt and I went to Alex's 1st parent teacher conferences last night. We heard great remarks from all of his teachers. He doesn't have anything less than an A- in any of his classes. He is #1 in his art class. They all said he is articulate and stays above the fray when the other kids are misbehaving.

The one area where he is having trouble is, of course, spelling. None of the kids can spell.

We are incredibly proud of him and are SO relieved he is in school!

I HATE my job. I have to go back and close tonite from 6pm to midnite. UGH. I will be the only sup there. The list of things I CAN'T do is MUCH larger than the list of things I can do. I have to close tomorrow night too. I do have Sunday off though!

Our house is being shown tomorrow at 12:30 and there is an open house on Sunday from 3-4. I hope we get some offers!

Why?

Why is it always necessary for someone to piss on your parade?

EVEN MORE Big News!

Kurt and I have had an offer accepted on a house in Independence!!!

!!!

Move in date is October 15th.

Yikes! (And Kurt thought LAST year was the year of big changes!)

SO.....if you know of anyone in the market for a lovely house in Waterloo......

More News

Christy has joined the 5th grade band. She is going to be a trombone player. When I asked her if she wanted to go out for band she said "no." As I further explored it, she had decided for herself that it was too expensive. I hugged her and made her promise that before she makes any decisions about what she can or can not do she needs to talk to us. I told her we had a trombone. Her face lit up. I said it wouldn't cost anything for her to be in band so if she wanted to join all she had to do was tell us. She goes "I want to play trombone! I want to be in the band!"

We went to band tonight and signed the child up. Of course, she wasn't allowed to go with us. We were the only parents there sans children.

Lessons start on Tuesday!

Big News!

The stars appear to be aligning.....

Kurt and I are getting married :) It's looking like June 18th. (yes, I know it is a Sunday).

We are very excited. He told the kids. They were like, "ok". Kurt asked if any of them were listening. Christy said with enthusiasm, "I am!"

YAY!

HA!

Told ya so! I was right. The PP did, in fact, Round-up the lawn!

As my sister says, "What a freak".

Do Not Disturb

Kurt is coming home tonight!

At last

Fred finished his GED today with an 800 on the science portion. He now has an education (ha!). Plus I got him 90% signed up for health insurance. All that's left is for him and the PP to come up with the incredibly cheap premium by October 1st.

The next step is to get him off the child support and wait for him to come to his senses. We can concentrate on socializing and educating the other 3 now.

Also it is T- 2 days til my hunny bunny comes home. Thank God! I do NOT like being alone. I will gladly give up the middle of the bed to have him home.

Happy Labor Day!

It's so nice that I'm not laboring for once. I actually don't have to work anymore holidays this year. It will be first time ever since I started working that I've been able to say that!

We ended up not going to the Renfest. I looked at radar and a big storm was parked right over it. I didn't feel like drive 1.5 hours, paying $40 entrance, and then as Fred said, "Looking at a thunderstorm." I rented SAHARA instead. Everyone enjoyed it. It was pretty good; not as good as the book of course, but still fun.

Magoo and I went to my parents' for lunch today. I had ribeye and the dog had a pig's ear. My sister was up from DSM. The baby, 2.0, was kicking but not when anyone but Marn could experience it. Apparently, he doesn't like to perform.

Talked to Kurt, he was watching the ferries load and unload. He had another wonderful FRESH seafood meal. I'm jealous. This time it was big, juicy, sweet scallops. I may have to go to Red Lobster tonite!

Sugar Overload

Alex had to make no bake cookies for his foods class. It's not often that something is too sweet for me, but MAN these cookies are sweet! They turned out pretty well, but I'm wondering if he wrote the amount of sugar down correctly.

Apparently, I have an exceptional set of measuring spoons since I have an 1/8 teaspoon and a 1/2 tablespoon measure, neither of which are standard according to Mr. Food. However, the praise I garnered for the spoons was quickly replaced with scorn for my "plain salt" and "imitation vanilla". He said, scathingly, "iodinized salt is better for you." RE the vanilla I told him to look further and i have real vanilla from Mexico (no doubt harvested by exploited Mexicans).

I've decided to take the kids to the Renaissance Faire. They seldom beg for anything, but I woke up today to Nick in armor, Alex armed with a sword and dagger, and Christy picking out an appropriate medieval outfit. Fred, of course, was a lump on the coach.

YIKES!!

I had my first run in with the PP today. I went to pick up the kids since Kurt is out of town.

She got out of the van screaming and yelling; demanding to know where Kurt was. She then told me I didn't need to have the kids. I replied that we have custody on the weekends. She said, "Kurt does. You don't."

My heart was racing and I was shaking. I left and called Kurt. I drove a mile down the road and waited while he got it all straightened out with her. I ended up being able to pick up them up and bring them home. As soon as I got to the farm I turned around so I was headed out. I left the engine running and didn't get out.

Christy ran out to the car and hopped in. She exclaimed, "I love you" as soon as she got in. We got home at 2:15. None of them had eaten or bathed. Christy and Nick hadn't bathed since last weekend when they were here.

I can not imagine how Kurt lived there as long as he did. I'm shocked the kids aren't worse off than they are. I had planned on taking them to the Renaissance Fest tomorrow, but her reaction has me spooked. I'm worried that something bad might happen while we are there and it would give her fuel. I think we'll go see the March of the Penguins.

And so it begins...

I'm ill. Or I'm getting ill. My throat hurts, my eyes are itchy and watery, and I, of course, have my horrible cough. There are some nose issues too.

I have to close Friday night. I'm not very excited about that.

I ordered prints online from Walgreens tonite. I'm trying to pre-plan scrapbook pages for the Crop for the Cure on Sept 17th. I went to the scrapbook store here in town. It's been a while since I've been there. My absence has resulted in the store going out of business! Oops! Everything is 25% currently. I didn't find much I wanted however.

Tomorrow night I have Nick's 6th grade orientation. He seemed relieved that at least one parent would be there. (Obviously, Kurt can't go as he's on the coast; the PP's lack of attendance is also obvious!)

Sleepless in Seattle

Kurt is in WA right now. Just north of Seattle. He'll be there til possibly sept 9. I'm really the one that can't sleep, but thinking of titles is difficult!

I have tons to do. I should probably study 2-4 hours a day, i have work, I'm still chasing down school stuff with the kids, plus we're trying to get pre approved for a mortgage so we can move. AAAACCCCKKKK!!!

Is it over yet?

Tomorrow is the end of the first week of school. I'm exhausted already. I can't imagine how tired I would be if we had the kids full time.

I'm amazed I'm still awake.

The Gods are Smiling

We appear to have two children on the bus on their way to school.

Kurt went to the farm this morning to make sure the kids were up, clean, and ready to go to school.

The PP ordered him off the farm so he watched from across the road.

Christy goes tomorrow. We have orientation with her teacher today (which the PP has REFUSED to allow Christy to go to) saying she has an earlier appointment. Interestingly, I didn't see her name on the list when we were there.

Alex has missed yet another day of Cross Country practice. Today will make a week and a half. There a more forms we need as well as proof of insurance. If he doesn't get there soon it's going to be pointless.

Yesterday the PP chose to have Nick SKIP the REQUIRED 6th grade orientation so that he could watch the drive for customers. NICE. Kurt took flew down, got him, and took him to it. Nick was pretty nervous/shocked etc the first half but perked up the second. They met all the teachers and ran through a mock school day.

I wish we could get all this stuff straightened out. It would be nice too if we could trust the PP. HA! I crack myself up!

Raising children from across the road is pretty difficult.

Little School on the Prairie 

Albert the Bull 

Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead 

At the Falls 

Hard boiled egg on a stick 

The big Turkey and his leg 

Food of the Gods - Cheesecake on a stick! 

The Little Mermaid and the Danes 

We're back!

We had quite the trip! We started the week out in a blue Town and Country from Texas and ended up with a White Ford Freestar from South Dakota! We came home with the same amount of children with which we started out. We came home poorer and more relaxed. It was a good trip. Everyone behaved and had a good time (myself included).

We went to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead in De Smet, the Falls in Sioux Falls, and the USS South Dakota Memorial. We also had little side trips to Albert the Bull, the Danish villages of Western Iowa, the Loess Hills as well as a day at the Iowa State Fair.

My 15 year class reunion was last night. Kurt went with me. It was a surprisingly good time. About half of us were there. It was nice to visit with everyone and catch up. It wasn't nearly as wild as our 5 year (which was a relief)!

I start school and my new job tomorrow. The boys start school on Wednesday and Christy starts on Thursday. They are all excited. We hope the PP is going to be supportive. It's not looking good right now though as she is denying she ever told Alex she would pick him up from two activities a year. He is already a week late starting cross country practice. We are hoping for the best.

We are disappointed in Fred's decision to postpone going to college. He is pretty much planless. He's going to work at something somewhere. We have a terrible feeling it's going to be for free on the PP's farm.

We are now torturing the children by having them write thank you notes to Grandma and Grandpa. It's obvious that school is going to be a HUGE adjustment for them.

Vacation = Leisure right?

We are on vacation this week. Vacation is supposed to be relaxing right? Not around here. We've spent the past 3 days trying to get the kids ready for school. We decided the best plan of attack was to take 1 kid per day, get school clothes, and then school supplies. It hasn't been too bad, but Kurt was pale on several occasions. One was buying our daughter a bra and bikini underwear, the other was when I told Alex, "You're a man, you can decide what you want." Our Sears card is HOT HOT HOT. I'm surprised the company hasn't called to see if it was stolen!

Today Christy, Kurt, and I went and toured her school. She got to see everything, meet the secretary and her math teacher, as well as see where her classroom will be. There will only be 16 kids in her class which we feel will be a good transition for her. All the kids are excited about school. I don't think anyone could be more excited than Kurt and I are!

We also looked a 5 bedroom house that may be in our price range. It would be wonderful to have enough room for everyone and 2.5 baths!

I took the 3 youngest kids to get haircuts. Fred has decided not to attend college, to stay on the farm with the PP and to get a job. He said he'll start school in January. Hopefully that is true. His no school decision however has eliminated the need for us to get him school clothes and supplies.

I need to assemble everything we need for vacation tonite. I rented a minivan so that I will be able to stand the trip. It's been a never ending cycle of laundry, dishes, and meals here. Hopefully it will be cool the next few days.

IT'S A MIRACLE!!!

The PP has allowed us to register ALL 3 KIDS for school!!!

We are STUNNED!

What happened? Did she take our threats of suing for custody seriously?

Did she see us coming out of the lawyer's office on Wednesday?

Did she get struck by lightning?

Could she (gasp) be doing something that has the kids' best interests at heart?

Who cares...it is a miracle!

Now we just have to wait for Aug 24 and see if any of them actually go.

Not much new

So far the weekend has been relaxing. Christy is constructing a "Marble Course". She is quite the recycler. It is made of toilet tissue tubes, tape, yarn, and a raisin bran box. She's about to test it out on the front porch.

We were going to go to the river today for a picnic. However, I decided I can't face 4 hours in the car with the kids so I think we are going to head to Pine Lake State Park for our picnic. Tonight we may go the see a waterski show. (FREE!).

Fred continues to be Fred. Turns out Nick is a lot like him. If you want either of them to be quiet ask them a direct question. Alex has also had moments of "delightfulness" this weekend. Namely, when we told him he could ride a head on the bike trail yesterday if he kept an eye on his sister. We watched him catch up to her, lap her, and then end up on the opposite side of the lake from her. Good job, son. I scolded him, sent him back around, and then lo and behold he he came ALONE again. Nice.

We've told all the kids we're getting them haircuts during vacation. Hopefully if the PP comes near them with a bowl and scissors they will run screaming in the other direction.

Kurt was so sweet. He bought me a dozen roses without OBVIOUS PROMPTING (yeah right) at the Evil Empire yesterday. I paid for them and said (loudly), "oh honey! You are so thoughtful and spontaneous!" I'm surprised the look he gave me didn't wilt the flowers. The lady behind us laughed, her husband laughed nervously, and the 16 yr old male clerk looked frightened!

Swinging Single

That would be me! Kurt is on business in MN through Wednesday. It's just me and the dog. It's very quiet and very dull here.

We survived the weekend trip to Kurt's folks (despite no brakes in the truck). Kurt told me they went all they way to the floor. I replied, "it's an old truck". Little did I know (they still worked when I drove it!).

I thought i was going to die of heatstroke at kurt's parents. I couldn't sleep. I keep our house like a meat locker. Audra Kae had theirs at 78 degrees i think. She asked if we needed a blanket since the nights get chilly. At one point i tried to roll Kurt off the airbed so I could take it outside and sleep on the deck where it was cool.

We got 2 loads of stuff. It was nice being on the loading end for once so I could do a presort. The new fridge is NICE! Since we got home on Saturday, we called and got the kids on Sunday. We had a day of hauling stuff in and hauling the stuff we are replacing out.

I had free bowling passes so we went and bowled 2 games after supper. Nick is pretty good! Admittedly he had bumpers but he wasn't using them all that much. Alex, of course, was all about winning. At least he was a slightly better sportsman than usual. He really doesn't believe the "it's how you play the game" bit. Christy wore her purple butterfly shirt and a new denim mini skirt. The skirt is way too big, but i guess that is an improvement over way too small. It was nice to see Fred smiling again. Kurt was too tired to bowl, I believe. He probably slipped and fell at least 6 times. I bowled like usual. Some frames were HOT and some were very very bad. I did end up with 114 the second game however.

It's too bad it costs so much for 6 people to go out and do stuff. We all had some quality family time though.

Another Monkey joins the bunch! 

A Tropical Luau

The heat continued for the luau. It was sweltering. We had a good turn out. Lots of food, lots of drinks, and lots of standing in the kiddie pool. I even have the garage put back together. I think next year's luau will have to be in October so that we can breathe!

Today was AWESOME!!! All the windows are open to blow the stink outta here. Greg and Kim (Kurt's brother and sister-in-law) brought us some fun stuff from their house (so they can make space for the stuff they're getting from grandpa and grandma's house). They stayed for dinner. Kim even managed to get Fred to participate in a conversation!

I went shopping and out for apps with Rikki. It was a good day!

Hotter than H E double toothpick

Our AC has died. The repair guy is CUTE ;) He had to go to the shop to get the part. A bolt is stripped out in the blower. I almost had to get a hotel room last night. UGH.

It's going to be hot and tropical for the luau on Saturday. We still have some garage sale items we need to clean up. I got a blow up ukelele. I'm excited!

I'm drowning under laundry at the moment. I'm also dismayed at the shameful state of underwear for this family. Weirdly, I only wash undies for 4 of us. May have to have Kurt investigate what the deal is with that. Then again I may not want to know. (and yes, both Kurt and I are fully covered!)

I was supposed To be off at 4 today, but I'll have to make up time because of the AC guy. I think I'm going to attempt Fried Chicken for dinner tonite. The recipe starts out, "Take your bacon grease. If there isn't enough add a stick of butter". Should be yummy!

Potter Mania

We got two books. One for Kurt (that he is willing to share with the children) and one for me (that they have to keep their grubby little paws off). I finished it at work.

It was great!

Chapter 2 was AWESOME as was Chapter 23!!! I'm excited for the next one. I lent the book to rikki already.

OH and here's a piece of news...one of my coworkers friends met this guy online. Yep you guessed it...my ex husband. Apparently he is no longer using our wedding picture to get dates. What an idiot.

It's 80+ degrees in here. The AC is frozen or something. I may have to get hotel room.

Doldrums

We seemed to have hit the summer doldrums here. I'm scared to go outside because the mosquitos have a feeding frenzy around me. You can literally see them swarm anytime I step foot out of the house. Last week one bit me on my eyelid...MY EYELID!!! It swelled and swelled. Lovely.

Yesterday Kurt, Alex, and the PP toured a high school. Kurt said it went pretty well. I looked at the course catalog. Pretty impressive. I would think Alex would be plotting out which classes he could take while at the same time realizing the PP's totally deficient and grammatically incorrect plan is below subpar. Tomorrow, he and Kurt are touring a high school here in town. I may go along, too.

We drove Christy by a new elementary here in town on Sunday. She was pretty excited (not by anything that would actually help her get educated but we will take what we can get). I told her all she has to do is say, "Mom, I want to go to school". If only it were that simple.

Fred continues to be a pain. Kurt actually had a conversation with him though so that is progress too. Hopefully, the two of them are going to a Sci-Fi book club at Barnes and Noble tonite. The PP hadn't made up her mind if that were to be allowed yet. UGH. I pointed out that Fred doesn't need her permission he is after all 18. Kurt agreed it was a good point. I don't know if he has "processed" beyond that or not.

Nicky is going to have to be our next project. I need to figure out which school he would go to here and where it is. I think being on a swim team may be the way to go with him. It requires more thought.

The Aunt is here from CA and her friend Maria is here from LaCrosse and Guatemala. I had a morning of lunch, shopping, and debating the cosmos with them on Tuesday. That's always exhausting.

School starts for me in a month and a week. Hopefully there will be 5 of us attending classes.

Hot Tired Crabby

Pretty much sums up the state of affairs around here. OH! I forgot

• Mosquito bitten
• Headache-y

Happy Birthday America!

A calmer day here. All the children lived through the night (which is remarkable). I worked this morning til 1330. I went in early because I missed most of last week.

We're trying to get ready to go to my parents and the big Aurora celebration. We have kids doing dishes and bathing while Kurt is unloading the car.

Christy came downstairs wearing a purple and white butterfly shirt, green camouflage shorts, and grey wool socks with a red band. She did not see why she needed to change clothes. I would have taken a picture, but I realize that wouldn't have been nice of me.

We got a load of sparklers, smoke bombs, and snaps for tonite. It should be fun!

Ho Ho Ho! 

Update

It's high stress here. The children are causing us grief. Well it's mostly #1 and his crappy a** attitude.

Kurt's dad, Lyle, had heart surgery last week. It went very, very well but now he thinks he's a new man and can do whatever he wants. We spent 3 days in Sioux Falls with them. Kelly, Kurt's youngest brother was there, too.

On the way out Kurt and I stopped and saw the Jolly Green Giant in Blue Earth, MN. It's 60 feet tall! I've always wanted to go to Blue Earth (just not for that reason). Back in the 1920's 7 members of my maternal family were killed in a train crash there.

We went to the fireworks downtown last night. They were very good. Hopefully it won't rain tomorrow and we can see some in my hometown.
We've had the kids since Friday night so it's been a constant cycle of meals, dishes, and laundry.

In a Puff of Smoke 

Frederick #18 

The Fabulous Foursome 

Wet, Wild Weekend

We got 3+ inches of rain since Friday. We needed it, but thunderstorms don't exactly go with waterparks. All the kids were in a mini uproar. "Are we going to the Lost Island?" "Are we going to the Lost Island?" "I think the Lost Island is going to be FUN! Are we going?"

Saturday was nice til mid afternoon. We got everyone home, and got everyone clean. Alex looked a bit Frankensteinish with his staples, but they were much smaller than I expected. Since the wound had scabbed over it was decided he could go to the waterpark as long as he wore a swimcap (of course, we had some miscommunication and I didn't find this out until much later which led to some tension)

We had Fred's 18th birthday party on Saturday. It's the first time we've had a kid on the actual birthday. The usual suspects were here eating the usual menu + Dairy Queen cake. He got the usual presents (rollerblades and a helmet), a Barnes and Noble gift card, jeans (that he doesn't have to roll up), a shirt, and some games and cards. Overall he didn't seem very excited (until the cake appeared). But Fred is an understated kind of child.

We had loud scary thunderstorms Saturday night. One clap of thunder was so powerful it sent Christy scurrying downstairs into her Daddy's lap. There were several more during the night and I expected her to end up with us. In the morning she informed me once she is asleep she stays asleep.

Sunday morning - Waterpark Day - More storms. My Dad was going with us (it was his father's day present). He called. He and Kurt decided to postpone it. I got up to some very disappointed children. I took the day off so I could go. I was disappointed too. By 10:15 (it opens at 10:30) it had cleared off and the radar looked clear. We called Dad and rescheduled. WE'RE GOING TO THE LOST ISLAND!!

I've never seen the kids get ready and in the car so quickly! We got out there around 12:30 and stayed til 6. Dad left half way through. Lucky! Kurt and I were exhausted. The kids had a blast. I've never seen Fred smile so much.

There are 3 body slides, 4 slides that are 1 or 2 people in tubes, and one big yellow one that is 3-5 people in a tube. There is also a lazy river, and 3 medium to little kid play areas and a wave pool.

We all went for the body slides first thing. We got up there. Christy was in position and decided it was too dark and she was scared. She couldn't go down with a partner, so she walked back down. After we all made it through the tube, she, Dad, and I went over to one of the play areas. While the Hansen men continued to slide. There was a smaller slide there which she loved.

A bit later she and I went on the Tangerine Tempest which is a tube that shoots into a big bowl where you swirl around before being sucked back down into another tube. It's like a giant toilet bowl. She did good at first, then got scared. By the time we splashed down she was shaking and starting crying when we got out. I felt bad. She's usually fearless. She declared, "let's go on the lazy river. It will help calm me down." We met up with Kurt and the boys in the river. Pretty much Christy hung out with the adults and we let the boys go on their own as long as they stuck together. Alex was easy to spot with his blue swim cap so that made life much easier. We went out and had a picnic on the lawn half way through the visit, reapplied sunscreen (not that it helped. I'm burned to a crisp. I'm soo upset. I had more sunscreen on than anyone else. I think it was old and the SPF was too low) and headed back in.

Hours later we finally got everyone together in one place. We did one last time in the wave pool then headed for home. We ordered in Chinese and watched some TV. Nick said he can't wait to go back next year and Alex said it was a great weekend! High praise from our kids!

Not Such a Treat

Rice a Roni almost caused my demise today.

I came home for lunch. Made some of the "San Francisco Treat", proceeded to watch the Travel Channel, and almost choke to death.

I apparently coughed and inhaled at the same time or something. A piece of lightly browned vermicelli wedged in my throat. I started to cough, then gasp for air, then get hot and sweaty, then panic, then gasp for please God a breath of air, cough so forcefully I pee some, try to decide if i needed hemliching, stagger to the kitchen and puke repeatedly in the sink all the while gasping for air. I got dizzy. I continued to gasp for air panting, waiting for my heart to slow down. I call Kurt at work and start to cry. I've never choked like that before.

Now I'm starving (I did puke up my lunch after all) and my throat hurts. It was a scary afternoon.

Insomnia Strikes Again

Why is it I always have insomnia on the days that I have to be to work at 7 am? I woke up at 330 this morning. I finally got back to sleep around 5:15. Then Kurt's alarm went off a 530. Great. I had to be up at 615 (and that's pushing it). I came to in a puddle of drool around 6:35. I had knocked my cell on the floor deactivating the alarm. Nice. I staggered downstairs and ask " didn't you notice the time?" ( I realize it's not his responsibility to get me up but.....). He is, of course, happily munching on toast and surfing the net. He wants a kiss. I tell him I don't have time for that sort of thing.

I got showered and made it to work at 701. Not bad. I was impressed. Only a minute late. Later in the day, though, I was starving and had huge snarls in my hair. Thank goodness for scrunchies. My sister tells me growing my bangs out is liberating. So far I don't see it.

Kurt's education meeting with the PP went as expected. She thinks everything is fine. Memorable quotes include: "I have Alex teaching Nicky grammar so Alex will learn grammar" and regarding Fred not knowing Algerbra, Trig, and Geometry, "Well he has the book. He must not have cracked it". Also, she can't meet again because she is fully booked until September (with what we don't know. Child rearing and education don't appear to be two of the scheduled activities).

Fred's 18th is this weekend. We're having the party Saturday night and then going to the Waterpark on Sunday (weather and Alex's noggin permitting.) My dad is going, too. The kids are excited. Check it out at www.thelostisland.com

ER visit

I get a text message this afternoon that says, "Alex gashed head with post pounder. On way to meet them at st lukes". He is ok. Apparently he lifted the pounder too high, missed the post and cracked himself in the head. Of course it was 90 degrees today and the PP wasn't at home at the time of the incident. Nice. She got home soon after. She called Kurt to see what to do. They met at the ER. Alex ended up with 12 staples to close the wound. I called to see how he was. The PP kept asking if Kurt had to go back to work. He replied, "No, it was Heather checking on Alex". The PP replied, "wow sounds like she's more concerned about him than I was." NICE. I can't continue to express my opinion on this matter, because this is a family blog. The main thing is that Alex didn't die which is of course always a possibility when he is there.

Herd 'Em Out

I know why I stay in bed on Monday mornings. It's a lot of work to get 4 kids and 1 domestic partner out the door! (Funny story btw....) Kurt refers to me as his companion, his domestic partner, or his spousal equivalent. I KNEW it was a bad idea. There isn't a label for what I am. (plus he's not ready for the label I'm wanting :) Anyway, some woman at work...He had said something about his domestic partner. She asked Teresa (our friend with whom Kurt works) if he was gay! (Not that there's anything wrong with that). I said, "SEE! I told you!"

Back to this morning. I woke up at 3:30 to pee. Then my mind started working. I've been up ever since. I made pancakes for everyone as they straggled out of bed. Kurt spends a leisurely morning usually. Drinking coffee, checking email, getting behind schedule etc. At 6:15 he notices he has an 8:15 conference call. Two children are still in bed at this point. He goes into crisis mode which is pretty funny since he isn't all the way awake.

We start sending kids through the shower and waking the rest up. Fred takes over loading the car which usually takes at least half an hour. The dog is in the middle of everything trying to snag a pancake. Nick devours 4 or 5 pancakes and goes back downstairs. I figure he is done and clear and rinse his plate. He comes back upstairs, looks around, and asks what happened. He was just waiting for the next round of food!

I keep telling everyone to hurry up; they need to leave by 7:15. I had them way ahead of schedule. I was feeling great. Then Nick disappeared again. I heard the bathroom door slam shut. This was not good. Any time gained was about to be lost. I found out this weekend that Nicky was overdue (late) by two weeks. A clear indication of personality if there ever was one. Being slow, late, and last defines Nick, which is unusual because he is totally hyper active. Finally got everyone out the door at 7:11am. Impressive. It's all in Kurt's hands now. I did what I could. I'm having a nap.

Flash!

Yesterday was a good day. Kurt and I got up and went to the farmers market where I got some snap peas. The are so sweet and yummy. We then hit a couple of garage sales ending up at Fareway. We decided to call our friends, Kevin and Teresa, to see if they were busy. Amazingly, they were free. Yes! It usually takes months of planning to get together with them. We planned a cook out. I got a dozen brats, and 3.5# of burger as well as some baked beans, grapes, and ice cream sandwiches.

We spent the afternoon cleaning out the garage. We are down to the last little bit of sorting. Alex has boxes that he needs to go thru. I am astounded! I may end up with free space yet.

We moved the patio furniture and a card table out onto the lawn. I got everything as ready to go as possible. Kevin and Teresa brought chips, a pasta salad, and these dangerous brownies topped with m and m cookie dough. I must certainly DO NOT need the recipe for that. Their kids, Ella 7 and Austin 5 were a little shy when they first arrived. Once everyone had some food in them things got better. The kids were playing soccer, using the sidewalk chalk, skating, dragging toys out of the garage sale boxes, and playing basketball.

Once it got dark the fireflies came out in force. Everyone was trying to catch them. Christy kept saying, "flash firefly flash" and then in a really little voice Ella would repeat her. It was sweet.

It was great visit. I didn't burn any of the food, and the citronella took care of most of the skeeters. Plus we have enough leftovers for lunch!

Z pack and a Coma

The cough continues. Kurt decided to look at my throat. He said my tonsils were the size of grapes and I needed to go back to the doctor. So yesterday I went back to urgent care. I was the only patient. I thought "well this is nice". I definitely spoke too soon. Both the intake nurse and the doctor had ice running thru their veins. I believe they were both at the top of their class, Unfriendly 101. I had to explain to them, yes, I had been in before (i could see that info on the chart from my seat on the paper covered table) the reason of my visit (could see that too), and that I had a cough (which they could tell if they were listening to me at all). I convinced them the bacteria was still around. I walked out with a Z pack and cough syrup with codeine. Needless to say, most of the rest of the day was spent passed out on the couch.

My Golden Showers yellow climbing rose. Guess someone created their own 2 pk!

Nelly Moser Clematis

Weekly update

I got grief from my sister today because my blog hasn't been updated. Boo hoo. Actually, one of the reasons is that even though the virus has been conquered my computer still runs at a snail's pace. Attempting to log on it is too aggravating to even try most of the time. Now the guru thinks it's because we have too much antivirus protection on the system now.

I cropped with Jen and Marn today. It was fun. I bought some cool stuff at the extravaganza and then at the store afterwards. Jen has the awesomest tote of scrapbooking stuff. Once again I used a lot of her product.

The drive home was really pretty. Big, beautiful, tall storm clouds with the golden hour light illuminating them. I was trying to find a red barn to photograph against it but no luck.

Last night we went to Dysart to BOTTOMS UP! My friends Rikki and Tabby were back from AZ from their business trip. We got there a little before them and bellied up to the bar. Later on ALL the lights in town went off for probably 15 -20 minutes. Big excitement in Podunk! Had a couple of beers, got covered in smoke and headed home.

Earlier this week I washed windows. I got the living room ones done. I've only got 10 more to go! This may evolve into my summer project.

Kurt cleaned the gutters today. I believe Fred helped. The lawn also got mowed. Christy asked if we were doing anything exciting today. Apparently not!

Found out the sex of Marn and Todd's baby. It's a......can't tell you! I better wait until they have it on their blog. I saw part of the ultrasound video. They made me look at its foot. YUCK!!! I HATE feet.

I have to work tomorrow. I think skating is on the agenda for everyone else. I asked if I was needed today. Kurt said I was missed. I guess I'll take what I can get.

Hail the Conquering Hero!

Kurt, the mighty computer man, has Vanquished the Virus! My computer is virus free for the first time in weeks. It works much better (sort of).

It is WAY humid out today. I may not garden. I might just hang out inside in the A/C doing my domestic goddess routine.

I'm going to the scrapbook extravaganza this saturday with my sister and Jen. If I actually had some money it might be a buying frenzy. Instead I'm going to make a list and only get the things I need.

A Perfect Day

Today was pretty close to perfect. Korrena and I went garage saleing for almost 4 hours this morning. I got BAGS of stuff! Kurt sent money with me since I was looking for stuff for the kids. I could get used to being given $ to sale with! I got 10 items @.25 each of clothing for Christy yesterday. Today I got her a Old Navy bibs, some jeans, shorts, shirts and some dresses. I got all of the boys pants and shorts. Also found a pair of barely used rollerblades and gear (still in the box!) for Christy. We had the baby with us. She was really good. I got her a cute little outfit & something for the niece or nephew to be., too.

I got home and got to spend some QT with Kurt. He sorted papers and cleaned up the office while i was gone. We had a quick lunch and he headed out to get the kids. (We called ahead and told them to be sure to eat lunch). I went out to the garage and got back to sorting stuff. Once they got home the kids that weren't bathing helped sort. We got rid of a lot. I am sooooo excited.

Kurt treated us all to a movie. We saw EPISODE III - WHATEVER OF THE SITH. I've been waiting since 1977 to find out some of those answers. It was great. I remember when light sabers only came in one color and Yoda just sat there. It was an awesome movie.

We got home and much to everyone's dismay we continued to sort. The kids gave me permission to toss as I see fit!! I asked if they understood the implications of their statement........

We had tacos al fresco for supper as we were serenaded by the sounds of the Battle of the Bands in Brynes Park. Dishes are done, kids are asleep, house is reasonably picked up, I'm having some ice cream and calling it a day.

Stop and smell the Roses

I love roses. A great gift for me is a rose bush rather than a bouquet of roses. I bought a 2 pack of Jumbo roses for $10 a month or so ago. I got 2 yellow Beauty Queen "Golden Showers" climbing yellow rose. I only wanted one but it was a 2 pk! I tried to sell one to my sister but it was a no-go.

I was at Sam's today stocking up on veggies and cereal for the vultures when I noticed the 2 pks are now down to $6! So I got another. I wanted white but they were looking pretty dead and shriveled up. Therefore I got a pink "Gene Boerner". Pale pink roses on light green foliage. I am VERY excited. I stayed outside until a gigantic mosquito chomped on my ankle.

My computer is infected with a nasty virus. Kurt has been working on it for 3 days now. Apparently 2, 999,999 other people have it too. I feel soooooo special.

Tomorrow is Friday. woo hoo. As if it matters. Hopefully, it'll be nice in the morning and I can garden some more.

We have several upcoming events. We have a garage sale on July 9 and then hopefully we'll have sold enough crap there will be space enough for our LUAU on July 23. Mark your calendars!

Christy by Nicky

Alex plays Bocci Ball

Memorial Day weekend

The weather has been gorgeous! I even got to spend a few minutes out in it. I had to work for 4 hours yesterday. When I got home I found Kurt in the garage sorting and pitching. He really knows how to turn a woman on! I pulled up a chair and a trash can and started to help. We now need a dumpster for all the trash. I need to go down and fill the Wonder Twin's garbage can, too.

We are having a garage sale on July 9 to get rid of some of these treasures. I figure the valuable stuff that doesn't sell can then be ebayed. I can not believe how many toys the kids have. I sorted thru a bunch of really disgusting boxes. I'd find dinosaurs, legos, sprocket thingies, a filthy sock, some petrified French fries, and then some other piece of crapola. Then I'd open another box and do it again.

Fred sorted thru a couple of his boxes and designated some stuff for garage sale. I'm so proud!

Sunday we had a really nice BBQ at my parents. Marn and Todd were up and Grandpa was over. We had awesome burgers and slow roasted weinies and brats. I took a ton of fruit and raw veggies. I think Nicky must have eaten his weight in the stuff. My dad took 3 of 4 Hansens to Osborne. There is a wildlife display and visitors center there. They also went thru Backbone State Park. Nick and Christy filled up the memory card on my camera. That's never happened before!

We left the farm around 5 and came back here to go to a house warming party. There were a lot of kids there. It was great for our kids to be able to interact and socialize with other kids and adults. Someone brought Bocci balls so Kurt and the kids were playing that while I played with my favorite baby girl, Alytha. Her mom, Korrena, is one of my best friends. I also got to hang out with her 2 year old son, Sam (who now sports a mohawk). Nicky continued to fill up on fruit, cheese, and veggies at this party. When it was time to go all the kids disappeared back in the house. I thought they were using the bathroom. In fact they were grabbing one last scotcheroo!

Single Motherhood

I got my first "single motherhood" experience yesterday. BTW let me reiterate how this was going to be our weekend alone. Well it would have been alone all right...Me alone by myself with four children.

Kurt and I spent a productive Saturday morning working in the garage. I liberated 5 (albeit small) rubbermaids and Kurt threw out 3 boxes of papers. I'm glad the weather is warm enough for us to start pitching stuff again. We had a quick lunch and left enough food for the one child that had to go to market with the PP. We have to pick up the kids by 1 pm.

Kurt called me part way to pick up the kids. His boss called. One of their clients (the same one that kept him out past midnight two nights in a row) was having problems. We had a graduation party to attend in the afternoon but now he had to work. We decided I would get the kids showered and presentable then the 5 of us would meet him at the party. Phone call #1. A few minutes pass and I get phone call #2. "The kids haven't eaten". NONE of them. Great. We are at the end of the groceries. Ok, I'll make lunch. I'll shower while they eat and then start getting them thru the shower. I go out to the garage to get some more accomplished. What's that ringing noise? The neighbors sure have a loud phone...ooop nope wait that would be......Phone call #3. I don't even remember, but he keeps calling me on the house phone. I'm getting annoyed. I have a cell phone!

By the time the kids get home it's 2:30. They haven't had any food since supper the night before. I made a pound of spaghetti and a pot of broccoli. It got devoured. Jelly sandwiches for some of them as well. Ridiculous. It takes more to be a parent that to give birth.

I made 2 of 4 kids change clothes once they put on their clean outfits. Clean also would need to mean NOT stained and they don't have a lot of that. Fred put on khakis as a preemptive strike. He knew I'd make him change too. I hear screaming in the basement. Christy has soap in her eyes. I try to help. She's crying. The shower curtain is half open because she keeps sticking her head out and wiping her eyes. There is water everywhere. Nicky is irritated because I make him change clothes. Christy proclaims "well at least my eye is clean". I ask if we need to get her a shower visor, baby shampoo, or if she'd like to shower with her swim goggles on. She replies, "No, I just won't open my eyes again."

Finally at 4:30 we start to load. The party is an hour away and started at 4 pm. Nick is going to navigate. He did pretty good, but he's usually a mile too late. We zipped down to the party in no time. Kurt said he was 10 -12 minutes away. Yeah right. I let the kids play on the cool playground equipment admonishing them not to get dirty, rip anything, or run over smaller children. I just stood there with the card hoping I was at the right party since I knew no one. Finally the host recognized me from the pictures in Kurt's cube and came over. Kurt arrived shortly there after.

The party was very nice. Met lots of Kurt's co workers. A couple of the kids need to work on their public behavior, but they are never in social situations so I'm impressed they did as well as they did. While at the party the client called back. The system still wasn't working. So the kids and I loaded up and headed for home via a different route. We got some money from Kurt and got the Lemony Snickets movie. Of course watching a movie entails snacks, then someone needs to use the bathroom, and then of course drinks are needed. It was 8:30 before we even got the movie started. It was a late night for us. Kurt finally got home around 1230 am. I'm glad we had this holiday weekend to be alone together!

How quickly we Forget

I can't sleep. I just spent the last hour trying to figure out what my ex husband's grandparents' and sister's names were. Why I have no idea. I finally managed it though, which is pretty much the only thing I accomplished today. I guess I had a nap and I washed a load of dishes, too.

My friend Denice's husband, Brian, died in a freak accident on Sunday. Kurt and I went to the visitation tonight. The funeral is tomorrow. It was changed from the Methodist church to the Catholic church because a huge show of law enforcement is expected. Brian was a county deputy. Brian and Denice's 15 year old son, Adam, were fishing when their boat capsized. Both were wearing life jackets, but only Adam survived. I don't see Denice much, but I hurt very much for both of them. I can not imagine what they are going through. She and Brian have only been married since '99. He made her incredibly happy. I was supposed to be in their wedding, but I had a contract to photograph another one. That wedding cancelled and I was at least able to attend theirs. Maybe I'm feeling my mortality and that's why I can't sleep. I can't imagine how my life would be without Kurt and the kids.

I realize my blog hasn't been very amusing lately. Hopefully that will change! We didn't think we had the kids this weekend, but found out we do. So much for our weekend alone. So much for our plan to not have to buy groceries. I think we'll manage though. We have a graduation party, and a house warming party (free food for 6!) as well as a family cook out at my parents. Hopefully, my mom will make too much food as always!

Strep Throat

I have strep along with 100 degree temp. I never have a fever that high. Kurt decided to take the kids home early to minimize their exposure, however, right now he and Fred are at urgent care. I'm starving but my throat is beyond swollen.

We called my parents because they and my grandpa were up here for Kurt's birthday party last night. I hope I didn't infect them at all.

I'm a tired tired tired of lying down, but I better go do it some more.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Kurt! I love you babe!

Met my sister in Marshalltown today for lunch and scrapbooking. Lunch was blah, but the scrapping was good! The store is huge. It used to be a restaurant of some sort. The tables are set up in the glassed in bump out part. It was a beautiful day, too. I got 6 pages done. Marn got considerably less done.

On the way home, I plotted out what to make for dinner since we have Fred on Tuesdays. I'd left chicken out to thaw this a.m. When I got home Kurt had dinner already to serve! I'm so lucky! Plus it was good. I spent an hour or so outside planting Columbines, Iris, and Sedum that we brought home from his parents. I did some weeding, too. Later we went to Home Depot to get a trellis for my out of control stolen rose. Now I need to untangle roses and move trelli (the plural of trellis) around. Hopefully, it's nice tomorrow a.m and I can do it before work. I'm so happy I dropped my summer classes.

OH, I got my grades last Friday. 2 A's and a B!!! I have a 3.6 GPA woo hoo. I'm impressed. It's a HUGE improvement over the previous semester.

Addlepated Dumba**es

That would be Kurt and myself. We have had the most unbelievable weekend. Seriously. We survived Friday the 13th just fine. Saturday the 14th however.....good grief!

Friday night we went to Northwestern Iowa for a graduation party and then to stay over night at Kurt's parents. It's about 3 hours from here. (As a side note, Kurt has been sick with a horrible cold all week AND he hasn't had much sleep because of that and work.) Anyway back to the point. Kurt's parents have retired to South Dakota and are in the process of moving. We borrowed my Dad's truck (and left my car at their house along with my dog.) The plan was to collect the car and the dog Saturday afternoon once we got back from Kurt's parents. WAS of course is the operative word in that statement.

Also we had to be home to pick up the kids by 1pm on Saturday afternoon.

So anyway (there are going to be a lot of those in this entry). We left Friday afternoon and drove to Fenton. There is A LOT of water between here and there. Normally there is not. They've had 8 in of rain in the past few days. Water was lapping at both sides of the highway in many spots. The reason we took the truck was to bring back a queen size bed. The truck is a stick shift. I can drive stick shifts. I just don't do it often nor do I do it in traffic. People felt the need to pull out in front of us all weekend. Stuff was flying everywhere. One guy didn't receive a piece of my mind (and it would have been COLORFUL) merely because Kurt was on the phone with a client.

We got to his parents alive, we went to the party, we ate a lot, and met (at least for me) lots of relatives for the first time. I only got called by his ex wife's name once. So that was nice. Kurt's two brothers, their wives, and their 5 kids (ranging from ages 17 to 3), and the two of us were all staying at his parents' house. Which is great, but as I mentioned, his parents are in the process of moving, so there are 2 beds left in the house. Airmattresses all around. Kurt and I decided the closer you sleep to the ground the more you have to pee. It was a long night.

Saturday morning rolls around. Kurt was still sick. He doesn't think clearly when he is sick. We loaded the bed, removed a chandelier from Grandma's house, and I dug up plants. The boys loaded the bed and his parent's big screen TV. Of course the best method for removing these things from the house was to go out the window. I missed most of that process luckily. I was getting covered in mud as I attempted to wrestle what I believe was a sedum from the ground. The move was causing high stress in the house. Kurt and I needed to leave by 9:30. We were out of there by 10:30 so I thought we were doing great. I forgot a tarp but we had a drop cloth we strapped down. It looked like rain all the way home. It rained a couple of times. There were 40mph winds with bigger gusts. The plastic was about to blow off, so Kurt ripped it off. I dropped my diet coke on the floor filling my shoes with soda. People again tried to kill us in Ft Dodge. Kurt yelled at the stupid *@#&**#*#ers. We called the kids and told them we'd be a little late.

We get to Dike (with in 1/2 hour of home). Kurt asks if I put the laptop in the truck. What? NO. Great. It's his work computer. We call his parents. We arrange to meet one of his nephews on their way back to Rochester. That is going to add 4 hours to the trip. No problem. I call my parents and ask them to bring the truck and the dog to us to save driving. I will go fetch the computer and Kurt will take his car and get the kids. We drive another 20 minutes. Medicine Head says to no one in particular "the keys to the car are in the laptop bag". No problem we have a spare, I think. Next statement is "the spare is in there too, I think". Great. We can't fit the kids in the truck, my car is at the farm, the Impala keys are somewhere between here and Minnesota, and the tranny is out of the Wonder Twins suburban. Maybe we can borrow his Maxima to get the kids. He calls his sister in law about the pick up arrangements. We're going to meet them in Mason City which i think is about 1.5 to 1.75 hours away. We get home. The Maxima is gone. No luck. Call the kids tell them we are having vehicle problems. We use the bathroom and head north. Put another tank of gas in the truck. We get down the road about an hour and I remember my parents. Crap. I get the machine. I hope they haven't left for our house. Oh well. We arrive in Mason City, put another tank of gas in the truck and head for home. By the time we get home it's 430. Kurt heads down to get the kids. I start making supper (hoping the kids have had lunch) and clean out our room to make way for the new bed. As I move furniture in the living room. I find the spare keys to Kurt's car. Joy. I call my parents, tell them we are home. Mom says we need a travel planner.

Kurt and the kids get home. They get the bed moved in. My parents and the dog arrive. They stay for supper. Mom and I are looking at pictures on the digital camera. She sees a "Risky Business" type shot of Kurt. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Kurt and I are exhausted. Mom and Dad get ready to take the truck home. Yep. That's right. We've lost the keys. Kurt says "I put them on the hook". They're not on the hook. He keeps saying it. They aren't there. Then he decides he put them on the table in the garage on this picture we got from grandma's house. It's of the Pope. " I put them on the Pope. I know I put them on the Pope." I said, "5 minutes ago you insisted you put them on the hook." Mom and Dad are shaking their heads at us and laughing. Mom has a key to the truck. I had no idea. They leave. Kurt and I are going to bed. The kids will have to fend for themselves. We walk in the house and I find the truck keys. We are a bunch of addlepated dumba**es.

As Alice Cooper says.....

SCHOOOOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! I'm a big slacker-never-gonna-graduate-girl but I don't care. I dropped my summer classes. I may take a correspondence course (but I'd have to pay cash for it) so probably not. I'd rather go on vacation! Of course, we need two vacations, too. One with the whole famdamily and then one where I can relax for Kurt and myself. It's looking like Sioux Falls is the big vacay for the whole family. The we might be able to get one room and park two kids with Kurt's parents! It's all part of the evil plan.

I spent my first morning of summer vacation chatting with the WT for 45 min. We have identical back pain in our right shoulder blades today FYI. Then I mailed a present to my future niece or nephew, bought some stamps, cleaned out the car, and recycled. I need to drop 3 bags of "treasures" off at Goodwill on my way to work at noon.

For my first mother's day, I got a nice card from Kurt, a card and a bag of chocolates from Rikki, and I made child #3 cry (again)(this would be week #3)(I REALLY am the evil step mother)(joy) Needless to say, it wasn't the best day ever.

Kurt and the kids spent part of yesterday in the State park while I went to work. I felt badly about that too. I hate working on Sundays. I'd much rather be home with them.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!!

I am celebrating by doing dishes and laundry. A house spousal equivalent's work is never done (especially when one has been sick 3 days and the other one has been working late).
Kurt has some big project to get ready so he won't be home until 10 or 11 tonite. I may go out for a margarita (and hopefully some food) with Rikki and Amy.
I opened at 7 am this morning so I'm about to have nap...which means the dog will want to play tug o' war. Somethings are VERY predictable.

Brrrr!

It is incredibly cold here. I think my clematis made it through the night. It's supposed to freeze tonite again, too. I'm sick and I've lost my voice. Fred, the number 1 silent son, is here today. So resting my voice today won't be an issue. He isn't what I'd call a brilliant conversationalist. I got up to drop him off at class. I have a project to finish (start) for class. Then I will be done until fall. I'm going to attempt to hook the laptop up in our boudoir and write the paper between naps.

UGH

I took vacation today as it's our last full weekend with the kids. We go to summer custody next weekend. However, it appears that I am sick. My throat hurts and I'm pooped.
We worked on the yard yesterday. The Wonder Twin bought a new mower and we are going 1/3 in on it (on payments of course!). Kurt mowed, Fred picked up debris and cut out saplings, while Christy and I weeded. My "stolen rose" is climbing all over the fence. I think Christy is impressed that I can actually grow something. She found a bird's nest within the brambles.
This afternoon we are planning biking, hiking, and skating. Christy wants to take pictures of eagles. I'm not sure if she'll be able to find any this time of year or not.
Friday night Kurt and I went to a combination divorce/going away party for one of my co workers. We were out til 1 am...and we didn't turn into pumpkins! It was amazing. My how my life has changed in the course of a year.

Too Quiet

It's just me and the dog tonight. Kurt is in Rock Island overnight on business. I'm not used to him being gone. I miss him. I'm pathetic. I need to go cuddle my dog. (He HATES that!)

Pikmin cake

ACT results

Alex & Nicky

Spring Flowers

A BIG Day

It's been a big day around here! We are celebrating Nicky's city birthday today. His actual birthday is Thursday and he'll be on the farm that day. He's turning 12. We had an early afternoon of opening 2 presents so he would have a chance to play before dark. Alex gave him roller blades and we gave him a helmet. The rest of the presents will be later this afternoon when we have the party featuring Chicago style pizza and a Pikmin cake. I did a kick ass job on it if I do say so myself (plus I got spontaneous compliments from all the kids)(Although Alex is disgruntled because the frosting isn't done in perfect thirds).
Fred got his ACT scores back today. He did awesome!!! We are very proud of him and are feeling somewhat better about the kids' educations. He got a composite score of 31! I think he was impressed too.
Another big thing is I cleaned...no make that scrubbed...the bathroom. I should really be more diligent about it.
We stopped at an estate tag sale. I got a SOCK MONKEY!!! I am thrilled. Christy got a flat of stuff for 50 cents which included a plumed (or plummed as my brother-in-law, Todd, would say) pen. Kurt got some old dusty books to add to our collection of old dusty books.
Tonight we are going to see Sweeney Todd with my dad, and our friends, Kevin and Teresa. It'll be nice to get out.

And Then There Were Five

Adding to the chaos last night was another child. A small child. A busy child. A loud and occasionally smelly child. We watched my friend Bale's 16 month old son, Marcus, overnight. Lewis was NOT happy about having someone his size around that made weird noises and kept picking up his toys. All the kids enjoyed having Marcus around...right up until it was time to go to bed. That's when he started crying and screaming and Christy declared he was "annoying".
Today is lazy day around here. Homework for everyone. It's raining out, yet the neighbors are putting up their fence (which they didn't do last week when it was sunny and 70).
Kurt is going to make a pecan pie today, because he is always disappointed in the ones he orders. He's been assured that we have real vanilla and real butter.

Horrifying!

I just spent a HORRIFYING amount of money at Wal-Mart. I probably should have gone to Fareway, but they aren't open at 6 a.m. Since I was up at that ungodly hour I was going to get the grocery shopping done. On the plus side, the trunk was full and I had stuff in the backseat. Plus, I did get a turkey breast and a portion of Nicky's birthday gift. Another thing I bought was a bottle of tums....since Magoo ATE the entire bottle we had. When I left for class last night I didn't close the French doors that go upstairs. An hour and half later when Kurt came home from work, he heard scrambling. It was Lewis trying to get downstairs before we noticed he'd been up there. So Magoo had a lovely afternoon of devouring tums, shredding Kleenex, and chewing underwear. Nice.

Time Flies

It's been a busy week! I can't believe it's Thursday already, but I'm so glad it is. We aren't going ANYWHERE this weekend! Whew. I am exhausted. Kurt's brother, Greg, is going to bring us more treasures from Grandma's house Saturday night. Other than that it is naps, homework (for me and the kids), and hopefully some weeding and spring cleaning.

Lewis got groomed on Monday. He is seriously half the dog he was. They charged me $3 extra for the extra hair. I think the lady was afraid I wouldn't pay it. It was worth way more than that.

Fred passed his Math assessment for the GED. I had first day of school angst dropping him off for class. I packed him a little snack and made sure he had everything he needed. I chose not to press my luck so I didn't make him pose for a "1st day of school" picture.

Kurt's had super early work all week and I've been incredibly busy, too. We did however go out for a couple of hours last night. We went to a pretty pathetic drag show with my wonder twin and two other friends. We played some darts and had some laughs (mostly at the bad drag). Living la Vida Loca is forever ruined for Kurt's karaoking now.

I need to lay in supplies for the weekend sometime. I'm in need of something new to feed the hungry masses. The cupboards are getting bare!

Come to Jesus

I was so mad I was shaking! We had a come to Jesus meeting with the kids today regarding education, respect, and responsibility. Don't get me wrong, they are great kids 98% of the time, but the other 2%......

( As a side note, since becoming a bonus mom, I've apologized to my parents for my behavior as a child and thanked them for allowing me to live). Anyhoo, the children will now be doing their homework Saturday mornings before they get TV, computer, or free time. They will be doing it at the dining room table, and they will be completing it to OUR satisfaction not theirs.

I took half a day of vacation to work on a school project. I'm waiting for Kurt to get home to help me since it involves math. He and 3 of 4 kids have gone on errands. Fred is getting in driving practice while Christy and Nicky are looking at new bikes (once they arrive at their destitination). I answered a post on www.freecycle.org offering bikes that are their size.

Alex had a great party. He got roller blades, a helmet, knee, elbow and wrist guards from us. My parents got him a Harry Potter book, Fred gave him a Lord of the Rings video game, and Christy gave him a dollar. My grandpa also gave him some cash. As Gramp says "it's always the right size and color."

Party Day

Sometimes this blog infuriates me! I just lost everything when I went to allow pop ups so I could use the spell check. Ugh.

Anyway. We are celebrating Alex's 15th birthday later today (much to his dismay..he just asked when it starts). He wanted birthday brownies and Chicago style pizza. Well, I got the brownies made and frosted and managed to locate unexpired pizza coupons.

Kurt took Nick and Christy to swim lessons, Fred is out at the college taking his ACT and I'm avoiding vacuuming and dusting. I should also be working on a school project. Alex is being King of the Day apparently.

I spent the morning watching the Royal Wedding. It was cool because I've been to the town of Windsor, the castle, and St. George's Chapel where the blessing took place. I remember there being thousands and thousands of daffodils everywhere. When I got home I decided to plant lots of daffodils too. I've moved since then but I have quite a number of them naturalized into the lawn/garden here. I see some of them have bloomed in the past few days. Christy was out sniffing them last night. I think I'll pick a few and bring them in for the party.

Can't Sleep

I can't sleep. Kurt is snoring away, which is good, because he has early meetings in the morning. I'm going into work early, too, but I'm more of a night owl. I had a late lunch and no supper so now my tummy is upset too.

Another WONDERFUL thing happened yesterday! Our neighbors to the left (whose large dog takes large craps in our yard) have decided to put in a 6' wooden privacy fence. Thank goodness! They just saved us a whole bunch of money we didn't have! The surveyors and line finder guys have already been out and measured. We're soooooo excited we can barely contain ourselves!!

Nicky's birthday is coming up soon. I made the mistake of asking what he wanted for a cake. He wants pikman. I'm not even sure what that is, but I know that neither hyvee or target make cakes with it on there. I have to think of how to do it. He may just get the blue, yellow, and red colors that he wants. HELP!!

A Perfect Day

Today was about as close as you can come to a perfect day. The weather was warm and sunny. It's Tuesday, so it's my day off. I had class tonite including a test. Dr. K let us go after the test! Awesome! Plus, as an extra special added bonus, Kurt worked virtual today!! We had a whole day together with no kids and minimal class. Incredible. I grilled out Iowa Chops for lunch (a day with meat is always awesome too!) I had a nap (gotta love that!). The laundry is mostly caught up, the dishes are mostly done, and the house is reasonably clean. If I get crab legs for supper I will be in a state of bliss!

I'm upset. Earlier in the week a prong broke off of my amethyst ring Kurt gave me for Christmas. Stupidly, I kept wearing it. Before bed last night I noticed that the stone was gone. I got upset and started to cry a little. Kurt was very practical and said, "well, you know what that means....." (I didn't but I guessed, "new ring??") It was just a back up ring after all. I still liked it and will miss it though. It was the first ring he ever gave me.

On a side note, I am really liking this blog thing! It got started with my sister's friend, Jen www.hansenhappenings.blogspot.com. Marnie, my sister, sent me Jen's link so then I had to have one. Since, I have one, Marnie then decided to do it too! Hers is www.allisonavenue.blogspot.com! It's pretty cool to be able to easily see what's going on with family and friends.

Comedy

Saturday,I am cooking lunch and Nick comes through the kitchen with a walkie talkie. Not too unusual. He stops and asks what I'm making. Not unusual. I reply "roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn casserole." (ok, slightly unusual). He then radios to the basement, "uh....chicken and potatoes...lunch doesn't appear to be ready. Over." Pure comedy!

Dad and Christy say "Hello"

Horse Sale

Today Christy, Dad, and I went to the Horse Sale. Christy adores horses. We thought it would be a good chance for her to get to see and maybe pet some. We saw work horses, miniture horses, ponies, and burros as well as riding horses. We watched the auction for a while then perused the tack.

Tomorrow is Dad's birthday so he opened presents while we finished lunch. Nick and Christy had swim lessons this morning and Fred is doing driving practice this afternoon. It's pretty nice outside so I believe some yard clean-up in on the schedule, too. Luckily, I have homework to do.

Today's lesson: Quarter Pounders with cheese are bad news. I feel yicky now. We still haven't put all the books away from installing the carpet. I have a suitcase, and 3 rubbermaids left to reshelve, plus all my scrapbooking stuff. I've freed up a rubbermaid which Kurt is commendering for his own devices (none of which sound like sorting through his crap in the garage).

Changes

Today Kurt's parents had a very successful farm sale. As soon as everyone gets their items picked up they will be heading back to their retirement paradise in South Dakota.

The best thing that happened today was Kurt's last appointment of the day had no electricity which put him home around 5:15. I was running late for taking my lunch so I ran home and we had a quick lunch together. A bonus 40 minutes of awake togetherness! A true rarity for us. Wednesdays consist of us watching West Wing if we remember to tape it. We did. He has it rewound and is waiting for me on the couch. YAY!!

Lazy Days & Tuesdays

Today was pretty uneventful. I went to the dentist and got a huge filling. I spent the afternoon taking Tylenol and napping in between studying for class tonight. Fred worked on his Latin most of the day. He said he's at least a week behind. He and I had a nice lunch together. I don't get to spend much 1 on 1 time with him. We talked about the tests he took this morning, college, and his Latin class.

Kurt was running late this morning as usual, but he did remember to turn off the coffe pot. (We have a running joke how he leaves it on so I can have a hot cup when I get up - I DETEST coffee).

My class got down earlier than expected. Kurt and Fred had already eaten so I went out with my wonder twin, Brian, for his birthday. When I got home Kurt and I did some research on the www.iowasexoffenders.com There are 51 in our zip code, 1 very near my parents, and 3 or so near the kids when they are at the farm. It is very scarey business.

Monday

Well, it's Monday night. I'm home between work and class and I've decided I'm not going back to work ("are you EVER going back" asked Kurt.) I may. On Wednesday (since tomorrow is my day off). We have Fred here tonight because he's going to take some assessment tests tomorrow. I also have a dentist appointment.

Easter dinner was a success. Although the deviled eggs I made were a trial. First I couldn't get them to peel, then I couldn't get the devil filling flavored correctly, then Kurt had to be his usual overaccelerating self and when we got to the farm we had one big glop of deviled egg stuck to one side of the container. They still tasted good though!

My dad was big hit. He took 3 of 4 Hansens on a nature hike and expedition. They went to a little county park north of my parents' farm to check out the bird blind. While on their adventure they explored the blasting pill box from the old quarry, found lots of hickory nuts, and a deer carcass. Christy also got a picture of a possum before they came home. Fred stayed at the house with the rest of the adults (mostly so he could have more dessert). It was a fun and relaxing afternoon with my parents, my 90 year old grandpa, and my sister and brother-in-law.

My side of the family at my grandpa's 90th birthday

On the front porch 

A Typical Weekend

Another typical weekend around here! Yesterday, we laid carpet in the dining room which included emptying the room of all processions. We had to cram them into the dining room, the front and back porch, and the basement. There is NOT a spare foot of space anywhere in this house! I have every suitcase and duffel bag we own filled with books and scrapbooking material.

Fred (the 17 year old) and Alex (the 14 year old) helped Kurt with the cutting, moving, and laying out. Meanwhile, I went to Menards with Nick (the 11 year old) to get the (wrong) kind of nails and other suppplies. While we were there he thought he lost his wallet. His goal is to earn enough money every week to buy a big bag of Twizzlers (which he did). We also went and bought him shoes...."why do I need another pair of shoes?"

When we got home I turned around and went and got groceries with Christy (the 10 year old). Fareway on a Saturday before a holiday is NOT my idea of a good time.

We got home and made lunch as the carpet project continued. The younger kids and the dog were banished to the outside, while Kurt worked on the carpet and I then began on assembling supper, making stuff for Easter, and doing homework. I had to go see a theatre production of The Boom Boom Room by David Rabe for my theatre class. (If it's near you, don't bother). It was endless and pointless.

Today we are going to my parents' for Easter dinner, continuing to reassemble the dining room, and I have to work. Happy Easter all!