Slacker

I've been slacking with my blog.  I've had plenty of time to type something up.  I just haven't made it happen.  So today's the day.

Nothing special going on in my world today.  Except that I got a picture of sweet little Xavier visiting with Santa.  That was the best part of my day.  So I'll share it.

In the first picture, he's checking Santa out.  Gotta know who's holding him.  In the second picture, he's probably clearing things with Mom to make sure all is well.

Personally, I think it's a very sweet first picture with Santa.  And I hope you get everything you asked for, little man.

I've been chatting it up with my big brother, Alan, about our plans to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra next week.  We're deciding where to do dinner and which route to take to avoid construction.  I'm starting to get excited.  It'll be me, Mom, and Alan.  Should be a good time.  And the start of another long weekend.  I like that too!

I've already started my fundraising for Relay for Life.  I've raised $385 of my $500 goal.  And last night, I finally mailed 20 donation request letters.  So I should get to $500 pretty quick now.  Then I won't have to worry about fundraising at all through the spring.  I'll be able to focus on the Survivor Dinners that I'm helping to coordinate.  One in Martin County on May 10th; one in Daviess County on June 10th.  Lord, bless those events.  Amen.

Hopefully I find the time, no, MAKE the time to blog a little more often.  And I won't have to call myself a slacker anymore.

Boo at the Zoo

So I went to the Zoo Friday night with my grandson and his Poppy and Memaw.  What a great time!  I love zoos, but I love Callan even more.  And he was such a sweet boy the entire evening.


First we drove from Dale to Evansville.  Callan and I talked in the back seat the whole way.  He told me about his cat LuLu.  We counted on our fingers.  And we sang a song about ducks.  Oh!  And we looked at pictures on my phone.  Callan was naming everyone he knew.


Then we went to dinner.  The food was good and so was the company.


Then we got his costume on.  Callan is a huge fan of Marshall from Paw Patrol.  So he dressed like a fireman and he was such a durn cutie.  We took all kinds of pictures and saw the animals.  When going up to the first table for candy, he walked right up there and said, "Do you have candy for me?"  Everyone laughed.  He was just so cute.  We then taught him that he was supposed to say, "Trick or Treat!"  He nailed it after that.

And he said, "Thank you" to everyone who gave him something.

He got scared a couple of times; Callan does NOT like spiders.  But all in all, it was a wonderful trip to the zoo.  I assure you, we all had a good time.  Thanks to Dave and Chris for inviting me.

We were hardly out of Evansville and Callan was already asleep in his car seat.  Boo at the Zoo can be exhausting, you know.

What I Did During My Labor Day Weekend

I slept in three days in a row!  Now if that's not the way to spend a three-day weekend, I don't know what is.


I got to see my grandsons.  Both of them.  At the same time!  They live in two different cities.  So seeing them in the same place at the same time is a joy you can't imagine.


I got to have a meal with my mom four days in a row.  Ribs at the Lodge on Friday.  Pizza at Bobe's on Saturday.  BBQ on the grill Sunday.  And the buffet at Lakeview on Monday.  We eat well in my family.


I read.  I'm reading Janet Evanovich's "Two for the Dough" and I'm really enjoying it.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I really like that Joe Morelli!


And the weather was gorgeous the whole weekend long.  I had a lovely Labor Day weekend.  I say we do it again NEXT weekend!

Ten Years

Although I've been inconsistent sometimes... Although I've simply copied and pasted sometimes... Although some of my blog posts are only seven words long... I've been blogging to Scripted Notions for ten years.  Actually, it'll be ten years next month.  But I thought that was something to be celebrated.  So celebrate with me as we take a look back at what the heck I've been talking about!


In 2008, I was complaining about an all-day headache.  I was also practicing inconsistent parenting.  I was very frustrated that day.  You can read all about it here.


In 2009, I didn't actually post on the 26th, but around that time I was complaining about being tired, sleeping my weekend away, and being a lazy bum.  You can read about that here.


In 2010, I didn't post on the 26th.  In fact, I only had one post during the entire month of August and it was my Mary Kay I-Story.  We all came up with a story that expressed why we chose to do Mary Kay.  I published mine on my blog.  I no longer do Mary Kay, but you can read about it here.


In 2011, I didn't post on the 26th, but that month, I thought I was in love.  Let me tell you this about that... I totally made up that relationship in my head.  I wanted to be in love, but I was the only one.  You can see that post here.


In 2012, it was a Sunday and I was posting about one of the readings I'd heard at mass that weekend.  So in this post, you'll read Joshua 24, Decide today whom you will serve.


In 2013, I didn't post on the 26th.  But around that time is when I decided to go gray.  I haven't colored my hair since then... and probably never will again.  See that post here.


In 2014, I didn't post on the 26th, but I was all about posting psalms at that time.  So you can read that here.


In 2015, I didn't post on the 26th, but I was rejoicing about being depression free for three months in a row.  You can read about that here.


This year, I've been depression free for over eight months.  I have a new job that I've been doing for about three months now and I'm really enjoying it.  It's very challenging, but good.  Really good, in fact.  Callan is three, sweet and smart and such a joy to be around.  Xavier is five months, growing like a week, and learning to say mama.  I just bought a new car and I'm rereading all of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels.  Life is good.  Life is very good in my world right now.

Seven Word Status

 

My sweet grandson truly encourages my soul.

Callan Weekend

Picture by CB Schaefer.

My grandson spent Saturday and Sunday with me.  I drove to Jasper to get him early Saturday morning and returned him to his mama at the same K-Mart parking lot late Sunday afternoon.  I love weekends with my grandson.

I love the opportunities I get to spend with an infant.  It's been a long time.  I always thought I'd have more kids...until my one-and-only became a somewhat out-of-control teen.  Then I was pretty sure I never wanted another baby.  Not to mention, I've been single since before Jeff was two...there was no way I wanted to be the single parent of more than one!  But I have to say, it's a real joy to get to spend so much time with a baby, tending to their every need, watching their expressions, and being the one to calm them when they're upset.

The fact that I love this little baby is just icing on the cake.  I LOVE the young Mr. Callan Frederick.  He's just a durn sweetie!  And really, he's such a good baby.   A little demanding when he's hungry.  But hey, who isn't?  But he's a good eater and a good sleeper.  He's easy to comfort and watches my mouth when I sing to him.  I truly enjoy spending time with him.

BUT...  he exhausts me.  I'm just not in good enough shape to get up and down every time I need to change his diaper or his clothes.  (I just lay him on the floor since I don't have a changing table.)  Getting only 3-4 hours of sleep at a time is hard on this body that doesn't sleep well even without that kind of alarm clock.  I'm not accustomed to carrying all of his things around, let alone a 10 pound baby in a carrier.  And being available to his every beck and call, I put everything else on the back burner.  So I get absolutely nothing else done.

I don't know how I did it when Jeff was an infant!  Well, except that I was 22 years younger than I am now.  That probably had a lot to do with it.  But then, I was active duty and a single parent...both full-time jobs.  Now, I'm wiped out after caring for Callan for just the weekend.  I'm definitely getting old!

But let me be clear... it is well worth it.  I want to know my grandson and I want him to know me.  I LOVE this quality time that we get to spend together.  And I can't wait to do it again!

Callan Frederick

I should have posted this more than two weeks ago, but I couldn't figure out how to get to it.  This is the picture from the Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center nursery pictures.  So he's only a couple of days old here.  How adorable is he?!

 

15 Days Old

He's such a durn cutie!

I got to see him on Fathers' Day.  I tried to share tacitos and guacamole with him.  But he preferred his bottle.  Tonight I was missing him.  So I asked Jeff to send me a new picture.  And this is what I got!  Made me smile...

The envelope reveals...

And he's expected to be here June 5th!

Congratulations, Jeff and Kelsie!