Blogging

Wow, it's been nearly 4 years since I began this blog, can you believe it? With this post, I have surpassed the number of posts in 2007. I either have more time on my hands than I did 4 years ago ( doubtful, I work full time now ) or I've just gotten better at posting. It is sort of fun to look back and see what was going on when I first started ( my kids were sick A LOT!!! ) And to see pictures of them as they've gotten older. Glad I don't age with them!

I am really excited, I actually got all bedrooms in this house all clean at the same time. Now they just need to stay that way. Bradley has his friend Vincent coming over New Years Eve to stay the night and it seems like anytime he's here, there is at least something in the house that is a mess ( and it thunderstorms ) So I want the ENTIRE house clean for a change. And it would be good to end the year and start a new on a clean note! ;-) I have to work today from 10-3 and then again tomorrow 8-1 so I hope it stays clean!! I also was given a snack list of things to get... Are funions really a snack?

Almost done opening...
The red presents to the left are for Ryan from Santa and to the right are Bradley's from Santa

Ryan made a book for Santa and left him a note, he also left a picture he drew for Santa after this picture was taken, they also leave Chocolate milk with the cookies.

The boys Christmas Eve

Christmas Cookie assembly line

Michigan Snow and Cats

The cats got new beds for Christmas ( early ) This is what they do instead of going outside in the winter.
Front yard

Back yard

More back yard. And more is on the way, another 3 to 5 inches by tomorrow evening and it will continue to fall until Christmas

We bought a snowmobile for $25 this fall, I seriously thought Doug was crazy. Basically all it needed was a little TLC and to be used. It is really running well. Bradley is having a blast on it. We have it over at Johnsons, then the boys can go out and ride. Tonight Doug took them over there so I could actually get some presents wrapped!!

Tomorrow I have lunch at Clementines with the "old" office and then I have a potluck and cookie exchange at the Holland office. We haven't gotten our carpet installed in the basement yet, so I have to clean up down there, put rugs down, and get the tree up and the basement decorated before Wednesday night.... I'd better get to bed!

pictures

Brad with the hat he rarely takes off...

Ryan and Tiger

Brad with Braces, Ryan is missing teeth...


I forgot to post pictures of the boys I took this fall, it was sort of late in the day, so the color isn't the greatest.

Lake Effect Snow warning

Yup, you read it right. We are supposed to get between 6 and 12 " of snow by tomorrow, our warning is until tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 pm



Had Bradley's PT conferences last night. He better get back on track! He didn't have a pleasant evening. Social Studies, he's doing great, Art he puts too much detail in his work... is that really a bad thing? Language Arts, she wasn't there, Science Brad stares into space a lot instead of doing work, Math, teacher was sick, PE, could of gotten an A but didn't do writing about physical activity ( the written work is to make up for being absent) He knew he could of written about Cross Country, Mr. Sexton even commented on how excited his son Jeff ( HS CC coach ) is about Bradley competing at the HS level. ( although he's got another year before that in MS) Band, if he did the written work and practiced he'd have an A, in class he does great. Brad's math teacher/ BB coach will help him on the school end, I will push from home end.. He's a smart kid.

Went to Ryan's conference the night before, Academically, he's doing great, but he talks too much ,, has to stop sneaking toys to school and may have to be checked for a bladder issue, he seems to use the bathroom every 30/40 minutes... hmmmm AT LEAST HE DOES HIS HOMEWORK!!!!!!

pictures

There wasn't any snow on the ground when I went to bed the night before

And it continued to snow

I just thought you might enjoy seeing our snow.... We did get the snow blower running last night, although it does need some parts, which includes the electric start.. for my benefit..

The snow did finally stop somewhere after midnight. The back roads are still a mess but the main roads seemed fine, although, I only travel a mile to work.

Winter

Well, Looks like winter is here... We got about 8-9 inches of snow during the day today, and are still under a lake effect snow warning until 1am. There wasn't a lot of snow when I got to work, it all fell while at work and has yet to stop. It is really pretty, but I don't think anybody was ready!

Fall colors

For my Friends in the Northwest, here are our Michigan colors

Halloween

Okay, so I wasn't able to get the alien made, that Ryan requested, but I did manage to make a mummy within 3 hours and that included a trip to the hardware store for more glue sticks! Bradley wore only the T-shirt in the picture.... He decided to go... at 5:30 last night...

Fall has arrived...

Bradley announced yesterday that fall has officially arrived... How did he come to this conclusion?? They cut the corn in the field. He was still able to go out and get so corn stalks for around the lamp post though!! It is also a beautiful balmy 56 degrees today with a wind chill of 52... I guess that would be another sign. The sun is out, it really is very nice out!

Halloween costume

So Ryan finally decided what he wants to be for Halloween, which is good, because when I'm working 7 days a week I don't have a lot of spare time at the last minute. He made a drawing, and then said he wants to be fuzzy.... I'll see if I can actually make it!! Wish me luck! ( I'm actually very happy it's not a cat or a bat! )

Boys

Aren't they cute?

I had Ryan at the Dr. yet again today. He developed more spots. I found out besides the hand,foot& mouth thing, he has a staph infection on his face and poison ivy on his neck. He can't go back to school until the spots are no longer on his hands. He will be contagious for awhile. Doug will stay home with him Monday.

Brad had a cross country meet today. He can in 24th out of hundreds of kids. There were 10 schools there today. Tonight, he and Doug are in Otsego for Water Ball games with the Fire Dept.

Here is a picture of Smokey napping on the swing in the backyard. She loved to be outside. I really miss cuddling with her, as do the boys. The other kitties just aren't as cuddly.

I had Ryan at Prime Care last night. He has the Hand,Foot & Mouth disease. It's a nasty virus. He hates the medicine they gave him to numb his mouth and throat so he can eat, so he'll barely eat anything. He cant' go to school the rest of the week because it's so contagious, so I am also home with him.

Devastation

Bradley called me hysterical Thursday at about 4:50 pm. Smokey was laying in the yard full of blood, you could see her muscles.... Bekah at work told me to go, I ran home, found him laying in the yard crying petting her, she was just laying there, called the vet, rushed her there. Left here there. Dr. Fred called 2 hours later and had just finished sewing her back up. Looked like she got hit by a car and was like that for about 10-12 hours , we let her out when the kids were leaving for school, so she was in until just after 7am. They were giving her medicine and had her on a heating pad under blankets... then we pray. I called to check on her when I was on my way home from some surgery I had to have... She didn't make it though the night. Bradley still doesn't know. He's at the International Scout Rally this weekend. I'm a mess. Brad will be devastated. I miss her so much....

Work

How do I feel about working everyday?? Not liking it very much. I'm not really sure how I'll feel about it when school starts. I'll let you know next week. I'm really not very productive at home when the kids would be at school and I was off anyway, So probably better for me to be AT work. I also found a cleaning lady twice a month, she'll come in for 2 hours every other week. She can skip the bedrooms, because obviously the kids need to learn to be responsible for themselves. I think I am going to love it, and as I make more money as production goes up, I can increase her to every week ;-)

Works been really stressful. I will embellish when I have more time.

Wedding

Ben & Jamie

Chelsea & Hannah
Lucas,Ben & Hannah ( siblings)

These are some of the pictures I took at Ben McFarlands wedding. I was the photographer. Mind you , I'm not a professional photographer, but now they have over 150 pictures and can't print however many they want without going thru a pro... and it didn't cost them a dime!! ( until they print more photos! ;-)

This is how Bradley and Matthew got the canoe to the lake today, they canoed around the lake for a couple of hours.
Ryan has lost 2 more teeth in the last week. He actually just pulled his first tooth out , he was SO excited, he came running out of his room telling me he just pulled his own tooth out and it didn't even hurt!! ( I took out the last 6) .

I took Bradley to Dr. George again yesterday. He had his impressions and x-rays done a couple weeks ago, then yesterday was to see what the plan was and how much it was going to cost. He was nice and gave me a 50% discount which takes us just under $3000... for teeth! I can't imagine have to pay full price. Bradley really couldn't not have them though!! I'll be sure to get pictures. He'll be a teenager in about 2 months..... wow... I also talked to my friend Becky and today was her daughters 16th birthday...scary!

Photo

This is the Troop photo from Boy Scout Camp

vacation

Worst day ever

Today was it.... The last day I will ever work with Nancy and JoAnn... it was awful. I tried to stay strong until Nancy went to leave and wanted a hug... You have to realize I don't have any "immediate" family here, and I've always considered those two as my family. I loved to go to work everyday just to spend the day with them, and that's over. I'm sure I will adjust and at least JoAnn isn't moving away but it still..... sucks. All week Shelley ( our clinical team leader) has been with us, so I've gotten to know her a lot better, she has made me feel really comfortable about the transition. I still know it will be tough but I know I can do it! I will bother JoAnn and Nancy by calling them all the time too!!

Another new addition to family

Acutally there are 9 new additions. Bradley has gotten so many things lately, like a tent, cot, go to camp ect... That Doug thought Ryan should get something special for him... he picked out an aquarium, he had to wait until his floors were done before I could get it set up, and I got it all set up yesterday so tonight when I got done at Cranes, I picked up the boys and off we went to get fish, they look very happy... the fish do too ;-)

Cool ride

This is what we get to drive for the weekend, up to 200 miles that is. This is one of the benefits of Doug working at RE Barber Ford in Holland. It's the new Ford Flex, it is really REALLY nice, if I had $35,000 I would buy it in a heartbeat... but... I don't. I swore we'd never have a car payment again, so that could take awhile to save up, by then, I'd want something different becuase I wouldn't be toting kids around or buying as many groceries.... I'll be fun for the weekend.

Just got a call

Doug just called , they are on the south side of Holland, they should be home in the next 20 minutes!! I never did go buy groceries, Ryan is too hard to shop with, at least I saved money this week ;-) Now I will get to do more laundry! I hope they didn't pack a spider like I found with the last batch of laundry I picked up Wednesday. I hope Bradley has shopping energy!! I'm sure they are both going to want to have a nice long HOT shower.

More transitions

Wow, ever feel like your on a roller coaster that you can't get off of? Or on a boat in high seas and can't find land.... I need some Dramamine... This week at work was Michelle our hygienists last week, yesterday was her last day. She is moving to Tennessee with her husband. His job has moved him out there for up to a year. His company pays for him to live out there besides his normal salary, so they will keep their home in South Haven, but live there. They can also fly home twice a month if they wish. Next week is Libby's last week another hygienist, she is expecting her second baby in 2 months. and decided to cut back so she'll work 2 days a week in Hamilton where she's also been working. She lives in Hamilton. Then the following week will be JoAnn and Nancy's last week. Our new "CEO" doesn't want any part time people, so Jo that took over for me when I took a leave of absence when my dad died lost her job, she didn't want more than 2 days a week. Then JoAnn decided she didn't want to work more than 3 days a week, that wasn't an option, so she's leaving. And Nancy, is moving in with Dave on the other side of the state. she's also going to take her boards again to be a Med Tech which is what her college degree is in, so she'd like to utilize it again. It's a good time to make this big transition. I will really miss her the most, we've really gotten close over the last few years. So that left ... me. We have another Hygienist, Mary-pat who will work 1 day a week, but otherwise, the entire staff will be different. I will also no longer be "bull pen" which for me... is good. I prefer front desk. Deb ( "CEO" ) called me today and asked if that would be okay, I said it would be great! I will also now work 5 days a week, but Tuesdays when the office is closed, I can #1 wear anything to work and #2 only have to work 10:00 am until 2:45, so I'll be home when the kids get home. I will be there to answer the phone and direct emergencies to the Holland office. It looks as though the name of the practice will be Lakeshore Smiles. I now have to go out and buy a couple more pairs of black scrubs and a pair of black crocs to wear. Shirts will be provided.

Tonight our Dental supply rep took us out for drinks at Wally's in Saugatuck, it was Tom, Sally, Jo, Nancy and myself. We had a great time. I will really miss all that. The people I have work with for so many years are like family to me....

Last night Ryan and I went to Camp for Parents night and where they have to call out ceremony for the Order of the Arrow. We had 2 leaders and 3 boys get called out for that. Doug had to call out the names for our troop. You have to be nominated by the troop to get in and you also have to be a first class scout. Bradley just made first class last week. They are having a great time. Bradley's been really busy with his merit badge classes. He took... Citizenship in the Nation ( Eagle required) Motorboating, Small boat sailing, Camping ( Eagle required ) and Climbing, it's a pretty hefty schedule. He wishes he could do small boat sailing all day everyday. Doug called tonight, he's ready to come home. Bradley is torn, he'd like to be home, but he'd like to stay another week... I'd better get this house in order before Saturday at noon, when they come home.

Speaking of getting the house in order all Bradley has left in his room is his bed and big furniture. Today, I started on Ryan's room. Tomorrow I should get it finished, then Sunday all we have to do his get his big furniture out and put his bed in Bradley's room for a couple of days... Then I can re-assemble Ryan's room and then start on Bradley's floors... I never thought about how much work goes into the prep. I will also have to dust, vacuum, mop and clean the bathroom and buy groceries tomorrow, and get the laundry from the office and get it washed an ironed ( I only have 2 weeks left of that too ) so I won't have to do anything but be home with all my boys on Saturday and Sunday. I'd like to have a fun cook out Sunday for our anniversary.

I'd better get to bed, I'm meeting Michelle from work for Breakfast tomorrow so we can say our good-bye's...

looking back

I was looking through some pictures I've taken this summer, so I thought I'd share.



Mini golf with the boys
They are really getting big...
Harvesting our strawberries, This started as 4 plants 4 years ago.


Here are a few from just some of our nasty storms we've been hit with.






It is really hard getting a picture of lightening, you have to snap the picture before you actually see it... I think it took me about 20 shots before I got it!

Sorta sad....

Well, I just got Doug and Bradley off to Boy Scout camp for the next week. I've been so busy for the past few days getting things washed and packed and ready to go.... Now, they're gone. At least I don't cry in front of them anymore ;-) I know they'll have a good time, and I'lll get used to it being just me and Ryan, it does sort of mean I can make PB&J , Mac n Cheese and chicken fingers for supper all week... We do go Wednesday for Parent night at camp, it's a potluck where the parents bring food to feed everyone. I am making subs... I think I'll make a special batch of cookies just for my guys too since I fixed my oven this week ( all by myself!! which I have mentioned but am very proud of!!) This year I sent them with Mosquito netting for thier cots since they've been so bad this year! I made sure to pack everything on the list thier scoutmaster sent home, so they should be set. I will take a few extra towels with me on Wednesday and swap dirty for clean. I also gave them both 2 laundry bags, so I can take a load home with me. They come home on Saturday the 26th.

July 27th will be our 17th wedding anniversary. I really can't believe how fast time flies, especially when I look at my 8 & 12 year old boys. Doug already gave me my present ( he can never wait ) He got me an anniversary ring. Here's a picture of it.

On Monday the 28th we begin having the wood floors in the bedrooms done. The only floors in the house to ever be sanded/sealed are in the living room. Which has been about 12 years ago. The boys rooms have never been done and our room is carpet over wood, so we'll start with Ryans , then go to Brads, then we'll rip up our carpet and do ours and then we'll re-seal the living room. Denise's mom and step dad do this as a side job, so they will do ours for the cost of the sealer. It will be really nice to be able to go in thier rooms and clean them every week. So this week I will "shovel" out Bradley's room and then I'll be moving Ryan's bed in there so come Monday his room will be ready to go. We got Ryan an Aquarium yesterday but then I had to tell him we can't set it up until his room is done. I don't want to have to move it.

On that note, since I'm feeling better about the boys leaving I will go start on Bradley's room.

Transitions

I guess I can say something now that things have moved along further. There have been a lot of transitions going on at work. My boss ( for the past 20 years ) is selling his practice. A Dr. and his staff are buying it. Dr. Cassell will be there on Monday's and Thursdays, and Dr. Meyer will be there on Wednesday and Fridays. This has been tough, not knowing what will happen with our jobs, hours ect. Today we had our interviews. It will be a staff driven practice, which means the Dentist does dentistry and the staff does everything else. We have a "CEO" as she calls herself, Deb. and we'll have 2 "team leaders" which have also not been in dentistry very long. Shelley will be our clinical team leader and Becca will be our front office team leader. My job has changed. I will be the "bull pen" which is someone that can do front desk and clinical and keeps the practice moving and running smoothly all day. I have gained a day I will work 4 days a week. 32 hours. I have also taken a $4 per hour pay cut... but they have a production bonus plan. Deb thinks that we can double our production in the first 6 months ( pretty ambitious) But that would boost my salary ( if looking at it hourly ) past where I am now. We had a choice, either opt. in to the bonus system now, or keep our hourly salaries and buy into it later when the base for the bonus is higher. I opted to buy in now at the low base since that is where we are now. For me it was a no brain-er, I realize I will be working one extra day a week, but without any type of bonus, I will be making $8 more per week... I looked at it from the growth angle... I hope I was right. In October, we will be flying to Phoenix AZ for training for 5 days. I told Deb my sister lives there, she said I could meet her for dinner one night. I'm going to have a lot to learn and I'm going to be very busy, but for me right now I think it's a good thing. In about 2 years down the road if I'm not happy or I don't want so many hours, I will look elsewhere , but technically, I shouldn't be in a position where I'll have to work to make ends meet, that's our goal. If I'm really happy and loving my job, we'll have a nice savings account ;-)

On the job front, Doug's new ( from May ) job is going well, he really seems to like it. He works on commission but still seems to get a minimum of 45 hours on a slow week. He can also pick and choose how many hours he gets paid for a week, depending on the jobs he's got going. If he's got a lot of hours in for the week, but they know the next week will be light, he will carry over the hours. This week was a huge week for him, so he took 45 hours and he'll have about 50 hours on next weeks paycheck, which is good, since he's off all next week for Boy Scout Camp and it's not a paid vacation, so he worked it out and has such a good week, he'll still have a normal paycheck. He really likes all the people he works with. The head honchos as he calls them, were all big into scouts back in their day, so they think it's great Doug's so involved with Bradley.

I am also currently researching dishwashers, it's time for a new one, and I"m trying to find the best one, with all the options I want at a great price....

And speaking of appliances, my oven's not been working for the past year or so, but in the last 2/3 months the baking element completely quit, so I finally found the element and ordered one. I fixed it all by myself yesterday, the oven gets so hot so fast!! I can actually bake again! I tried to make cookies the other day and they were burnt on the top and doughy on the bottom. My grocery list is going to consist of bake-able stuff! ;-)

Guess that's all my updates for now.

Independance Day

What a great 4th of July we had. We spent the day at the lake with the Johnson's and the Schmuck's. Kids were tubing, canoeing and just having a great time! We had lunch, we had supper, Doug left before supper to go to work at Googs he was back before 10pm it was awsome! We watched fireworks all around Hutchins Lake. This is what freedom is all about. Being able to kick back and enjoy a wonderful day with family and friends! Tomorrow, pool party at our house! Supposed to be another beautiful day, 79 and sunny.

It's July?

Where has the summer gone? It's July 3, and it's 63 degrees at 2:21 in the afternoon. We had nasty storms roll through here again yesterday afternoon/evening. I was at work, Ryan was home with Bradley, freaking out. I called Scovill's and asked if the boys could come over, they got there quickly! I'm glad they did, because it looked like 10pm at 5:00 and the wind and rain were terrible, trees and wires down all over from here to North of GR. It was a cold front, obviously... Supposed to be a dry weekend, temps ranging from the low 70's tomorrow up to the low 80's by Sunday. Hopefully we'll get summer weather sometime before September.
We have a small vacation planned for August. We have a campsite reserved for 2 nights in the Soo, we have a sight with a view, but not right on the water. We are taking my in-laws 5th wheel camper, so I'm not roughing it! ;-) I'm really excited. I also bought tickets online for the SS Valley Camp museum and the Tower of History. Things we've never done up there. I'm still trying to find out from Doug if he wants to go out to the Island so I can order Ferry tickets and Fort tickets. I'm sure we'll also hit some of our favorite shops in Mackinaw City. Doug took a 1/2 day on a Friday so I'll get the camper packed up and ready on Thursday and he'll take it to work on Friday, then the kids and I can get our last minute groceries and meet Doug at work and leave from there, that way we can leave right at noon rather than waiting till after 1 or 2. Nice to have a plan. We haven't done a family vacation in 2 years. It'll be short but great!
Not too much else going on here. Just busy working all the time and trying to keep up on laundry!

A weather man's dream

Wow, terrible storms went through here last night. Holland/Zeeland got the brunt of it , but it just kept coming for hours... torrential downpours, intense lightening... tornado warnings... We were at a going away party for a couple foreign exchange students and we were out in a garage (moved from outside) and it was lightening and thundering and raining, I had 1 kid and a spare who was going to stay the night with us at one house across the lawn and my little one in the house where we were, when the tornado warning siren went off, Brad came running and left Vincent, Ryan was in a basement... a Michigan basement, I had one kid next to me , we couldn't get to the basement and I had the other kid I was responsible for, not with us... I was NOT happy. As some of you know, I'm really not a big fan of storms, I can at least say "Tornado" now, and I try to put on a brave face for the kids. Doug was out on a wrecker call with Dave. By the time the siren stopped, I'd had enough, I just wanted to go home to my house with all the kids in our own basement. Then I realized, Doug had the car keys... Denise said she'd take us home, cuz she was ready to go too , her daughter Sarah was crying, Ryan was crying.. we were out of there. As we're getting to her Tahoe I quick ran to the car and got my phone, Becky was on it, seeing if Vince wanted to stay with us, or go home, he wanted to go home, they ended up going to her parents house with a basement, she called often to see if I had updates, we had the scanner that would tell me of funnel clouds, since the fire dept was out spotting.... On our way to the house, Doug called me and said Denise the kids and I were to get to our house quickly and into the basement and stay there... They saw the clouds and they were not all moving the same direction.. Doug and Dave were a little stressed, and that's ' not like them, they love storms. It finally calmed down enough for the Johnson's to make their way home after 11:30pm, It continued to storm until after 3:30 this morning. The pool overflowed. We had Ryan in bed with us, and Bradley slept on our floor at the end of the bed. Doug got a call about a washed out road about 4:30am to assist Saugatuck on, he just called a bit ago, a car went with the road and they had to do body recoveries, that's about all I know so far, he's still not home. We are still under a flood warning, the sun is shining and our heat index is already almost to 80, and severe storms are forcasted for tonight again.....

Is it fall already?

The weather sure makes you think it is....

I started at Cranes again today. I work on occasional Fridays. Nancy and I split them up for the summer. In the fall, we'll work them together. I go in at 10:30 am and then today I got home just before 3:00 pm, not so bad. At least I don't have to get up early. It all came back to me, and the pace is a lot slower than fall, at least right now.

Memorial Day weekend

Doug driving the fire truck in the Memorial Day parade.
Our local vetrans.
Bradley marching with the Boy Scouts.
Those were the pictures from the Memorial Day parade yesterday. After the parade we had the Johnsons & Schmucks over for lunch ( we hadn't spent enough time with them yet) I made burritos since we'd had enough stuff from the grill. The kids swam, it was warm out, but the pool is still coooold!!! kids seemed to have fun though! The weather made a perfect Memorial Day! Thank you to all the vetrans who have served our country!!

On to our camping.....

Our campsite from the lake I took this while out fishing. Our tent is the blue one in the middle between the red one and the camper.
our beautiful campfire Saturday night. Perfect coals for s'mores!!
Ryan's sleeping area in our tent. He was on top of 2 sleeping bags and in a really warm one, with his fav. blanket inside and one on top. It was chilly at night! He was cozy. When he woke up, he slipped on his crocs and went to the beach and grabbed his fishing pole, we laughed because he didn't even look awake yet!!
Bradley and his little tiny fish when we checked out a different lake. The ride there and back was an adventure in itself.
This is what being a boy is all about. Does it get any better than this?


The view from our campsite.
Ryan playing in the water and the sand when he wasn't fishing.
Ryan and his friend Nathan fishing.
Bradley's fish, he learned to filet it and cook it and then he ate it.
Ryan's first fish. He was so excited!!!

We went camping. Can you believe I went to a rustic campground?? We went with the Johnson's & Schmucks and a few other boy scouts and the Miller family. They worked on their Fishing merit badge. Dave got up there Thursday to get our spots, he got 3 of them. The rest of us got there about 9:30pm Friday night and we left around 7:30 Sunday night. I was proud of myself for using the icky vault toilet and not having a shower. If it had been warmer, I would of been a lot more crabby about that! Technically, it was only Saturday because I showered before we left and then Sunday when we got home... but still ick! I'm not a roughing type of person, but I didn't whine. Ryan woke up yesterday morning all bummed that we weren't still camping. He loved it, he could get up and get right to the fishing. and he played in the sand and water. The pictures tell the story.