I want to Thank You

I love when readers leave their comments! I really enjoy reading them! I do moderate all of them before they go up and wanted to let you know that those with my name, or my family members names will not be posted. I try to keep a modicum of anonymity on the net. You can just call me BigM, or refer to the kids as "A, BR or little J (A.K.A Biscuit)" thank you for understanding!


Me

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Happy Anniversary Baby!!



Today is our 11th anni! So many memories over the years I would hardly know where to begin. From the stress filled fights leading up to the wedding to the crazy things before during and after. It was not funny then... but it is now (thank goodness)!

I can not TELL you how many times the flowers went in the trash and the wedding was OFF! Only for us to make up and for me to go running to the trash can praying that nothing gooey was on the arrangements I had worked so hard on. Then I would spend the next hour or so trying to fix them to get the crinkles out... ahh memories!

The night of the rehearsal we had to stop and buy rings, which made us late of course. Luckily they had a beautiful ring all ready to fit my size 5 finger. A rare thing. We had fun that night and then parted ways so that he could go to his bachelor party and I could go work on the bridesmaids dresses. I ended up pulling an all nighter, but was so hyped up I didn't seem to notice.

When the sun came up I was off to the races. I washed our blazer and hopped in to go to the reception hall and get people going on the decorations. This of course took longer than expected so I then rushed to my future brother and sister-in-laws house to shower and race to the salon.

I have to say that... the salon was a mistake. I was supposed to get a nice relaxing message, but it turned into a torture session instead. The masseuse decided that I was way to tense and was going to work it out of me even if it killed me! I was sore for a month and a half... literally. My make-up was spot on though, even if I did have a HUGE zit on my face. God bless that woman for being able to cover it and not make me look like a total freak! lol

Now, however, I'm late to the church where I was to get my hair done. As soon as I walked in the door I realized... I FORGOT MY DRESS!!!!! I was supposed to pick it up on the way to the church! Oh noooo! Luckily I caught my Mom on the phone just before they left for the church and she was able to go and get it. Breathing a bit easier I went to the organ loft to get on with the rest of the day.

Everything was going great until.... I notice the bridesmaids whispering among themselves. "What's going on?" I ask. Well, we are supposed to be married in 45 minutes and none can find the Groom! Turns out the best man had shut the alarm off and wasn't answering the phone. His wife (bless her heart) drove like a bat outta hell across town and saves the day! (Thank you Lisa!!)

There I am... stuck in a chair getting my hair done, worrying if he's gonna make it in time, when the fresh flowers arrive. The order is wrong. I could'a killed that florist right there on the spot. I was starting to wig OUT! I'm crying by this point and the only thing that had gone right that day was now a smeared mess on my face. Thankfully my Daddy steps in to save the day and offers me (get this) a get away car! lol (Have I mentioned how much I love my Daddy??)

Time to get dressed... ok.. dressed... Final touches on my hair... oh no... It didn't have time to curl properly thanks to the masseuse from hell and it just kinda hangs there like a limp rag. At that point, I didn't really care. I just wanted to get this over with. Finally Lisa (remember Lisa?) gets back and tells me the groom has arrived and is getting dressed. Hallelujah!! (I bet his mom was disappointed though.. not lol)

The music starts and down the winding stair case I go on my Daddy's arm. Good thing to 'cause I slipped and twisted my ankle. Ugh! As I'm waiting in the vestibule I notice that one of my brides maids is wearing a nice outfit... but not her dress. "Where's your dress?" The seamstress never showed up with it. You know what?? Whatever! Let's get this over with all ready!

And we're off! The music changes, the door opens and... no one is looking... no one is even standing!!!! Being in a catholic church you can not play "Here Comes The Bride" so no one knew the bride was coming! "Look at me! Loook at meeee!!" It's my wedding and we're half way down the aisle and no one has even noticed!!! Finally, someone does and they all turn around... phew! I'd have felt like a HUGE heel if I'd been all the way to the alter before anyone noticed!

Wait a second... Oh no... Is he alright?? Oh no.. he's gonna pass out... no wait... he's gonna puke! No... worse.. he's realizing what a huge mistake he's about to make and running right past me out the door screaming for his life! His mom is jumping up and cheering and screaming praises to God as she follows after him up the aisle! Whooping for joy all the way!

But it didn't happen... it was all in my head. Yes he looks about to pass out and puke at the same time, but he's still there! Maybe he wants to run and his legs aren't working... but I don't care. I breathe huge sigh of relief as we (finally) approached the altar and the ceremony begins.

It was beautiful, it really was. We had family and friends speak and a unity candle and a wonderful soprano singer. It was great, and it was OVER! Everyone files out side and they all blow bubbles and the sun is shining bright and beautiful... until...

Until that is I see a horse drawn carriage approaching. I had wanted to have one, but it was so expensive that we just couldn't afford it, but here it came. Everyone thought that someone else had ordered it for us. I thought it was my new husband. He thought it was my Daddy. Daddy thought it was my Mom, and Mom thought it was my new in-laws.

Turns out... no one ordered it for us. It turned the corner and there were people inside! My stomach took a lurch and the whole crowd collectively let out a huge, sad "ugh". Like they had all been punched in the stomach right along with me. Fortunately (not) the photographer caught the whole thing on film. He couldn't snap pictures fast enough. Thanks photo guy!

As we are all standing around discussing this event, the carriage comes back. The driver felt so bad about the look on my face that he asked/told the couple to get out so we could have a ride. It was wonderful! I think it was God's wedding gift to us, I really do.

Everyone makes sure they know where they are going for the reception and My Honey and I stay with the photo guy for more pictures. It took forever, but it was fun and I knew I'd appreciate the time spent later when we got the proofs.

We finally finish and it's off to the party! Woo hoo! But wait... ummm... where are the keys?? Turns out they are in the best man's pocket... who is already at the reception! We hurry to catch photo guy just as he's leaving and ask for a lift. He obliges and we pile into his little car headed for the reception. My dress was so HUGE that I couldn't see out the front and photo guy couldn't see out of the passenger side. Lol we must have been quiet a site that day, but we made it without any incidents!



The reception was great (even if the air wasn't working on the hottest day of the year). The cake was beautiful (even if it did taste like card board). And we all had loads of fun dancing the chicken dance and the hokey poky and cha-cha-ing our way around.

I look back at all the adversity of that day and think to myself..."Self, you are one lucky woman!"

TTFN,
Me

Friday, May 29, 2009

How Does Your Garden Grow??

Lol! we are going to try it again this year. We shall see how it goes. Over the last couple of years we have tried different things. The first year I picked a poor spot and the plants didn't get enough light. Last year, I started the plants but they never got in the ground. This year we went with Sq. Foot Gardening.

First, we built two of these boxes. It took DH a long afternoon to get them both built, but it was worth it! Then it came time to plant our seedlings.




The thing with this type of garden is that it saves space. In a traditional "dug bed" you need a foot wide space the length of one row, two feet of space for walking (the length of your row) and then another foot for your next row. Let's say you are going to plant 64 plants that need a foot of space each. You would need a dug bed that is 8' X 22'. (That's 8 plants per row, 8 rows) That works out to 176 sq.' total. We planted the same amount of plants in only 64 sq' using the boxes!! That's almost a third of the space! Can you imagine?!

Since the boxes are 4' wide, I can reach in from either side without straining. Another advantage is that I don't have to bend over as far to weed or reach the plants at harvest time! Win win! I do wish I could say that I didn't have to weed them at all but alas, that is not the case. What I will say is that weeding is MUCH easier since there are fewer weeds, and they are not well established.

I hope you will give this a try. There is the initial investment of materials, but I think it will pay for itself in the first year. We bought all the materials and even the dirt mixture and spent (roughly) $150. We will not need to make such an investment next year so our garden ill only cost us seeds. My plan (we all know how plans can go...lol) is to dry seeds from the best of our plants from this year for next year. That will help with the cost and should be a fun learning experience for both myself and the kids!

Have a blessed day!!

TTFN,
Me

Friday, May 22, 2009

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Bitter Sweet

Those friends of mine who are TTC will understand this. Those that aren't never will. That's ok. I wish that no one would have to understand it.

One of My Love's co-workers just had their first baby. That is to say, the co-workers wife had the baby, not the co-worker himself. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for them, really, I am. However, it doesn't make it any easier for me to walk away and not feel...reflective. Had we not lost our baby last November I would be eight months preggers by now.

Knowing me, I would have packed my bag of mid wife supplies a month ago. I'd have arrangements for the kids ready and most (if not all) items bought and carefully cataloged. Double checking that I would have everything possibly needed, most of which I wouldn't need at all. (chuckle) I'm a little neurotic about that kind of thing.

We went to the hospital to see the baby... I mean congratulate the parents... and she was so darling... She was just the same size as my son when he was born and the memories just came flooding in. Unfortunately, with the joy of those memories come the pain of them as well. Knowing that I didn't want to get a tubal, but doing it anyway, is the biggest mistake of my entire life... bar none. Those that know me can attest to the fact that that is saying a lot! (insert another sad chuckle)

It makes me wonder what would have been. Would we still only have three kids? Or would we have more?? Would I be totally over whelmed by it, or would I be the mother I always wanted to be?? Patient, quiet, all knowing... mostly patient.... I don't know, probably not. I would probably still be me with all my faults and failures. I guess I'll never know. At least not on this side of Heaven.


TTFN,
BigMness

Monday, May 18, 2009

Rainy days and Mondays

Always get meeeeee dooooowwwwnnnnn.....
(Name that tune)

Grey days...ugh.... They are hard enough without them falling on a Monday as well. Most people who do not know a HS (home school) family have one of two images of it drawn in their imaginations. One, where the kids are unhappy and being brain washed by psycho parents and no interaction with the outside world, or two, long haired hippies living in a commune and not really teaching their kids anything of value. While I'm sure they exist, I've not met any of these types of HSers.

The reality is that most of us are normal (neurologically speaking) people with our own challenges and faults. For our family, rainy days and Mondays are two of our challenges. Getting back into the swing of things after the weekend is always rough. DD1, being on the spectrum, has to try to get away with not doing her work every time. Forget that it never works, forget that we re-learn that it wont work every week. Doesn't matter. Not to her. She needs to try over and over just to make sure.

Rainy days are a different challenge. On rainy days we tend to feel more sluggish. I've tried more coffee... turning on all the lights... pumping up the feel good music....all I really want to do is lay in my bed and snooze... Sometimes we take a "Grey Day" off and do just that. Snuggle in my big comfy bed together and watch educational shows and nothing else. Ahhh, the warmth of it!! I figure if northern schools can have snow days, and PSers can have hurricane days, we can have our occasional Grey Days. Anyone who says different can bite a rock.

The biggest challenge is a rainy Monday. These are the worst in my mind. DD1 wants to fight and argue and I (among others) am feeling to dragged down to deal with it. However, I can't let that stop me. No way no how. Then she'll think she won and I'll never get any piece. It will turn into a struggle everyday of the week. Sad, but true.

Today is one of those days. It's grey, rainy, nasty and we are coming off of a weekend. To aggravate matters, we are learning how to take notes and write a biography. Writing is not A's strong suit, so it is a fight under the best of circumstances. We will plug through, one way or another, and all the while, I'll be humming under my breath....

Rainy days and Mondays always get meeeee dooooowwwwwnnnnn......


ME

Ladies and Gentelmen....

Start....Your....ENGINES!!!!!


We have started a new adventure in the BigM house. Quarter Midget Racing!! FUN!! DD2 had her first lesson a couple of weeks ago and did FABULOUS!! We even snapped a couple of pics!!


After going over the flags, We practice the buckle, making sure we can unbuckle it and get out in a hurry if need be.



Then we don our fire jacket (and helmet of course)....



And we're off!!!



Well, sort of. Her teacher had her drive the golf cart first while he worked the peddle. After she found "The Line" (tee hee), he pushed the QM around with the cart, nice and slow.

The QM has a governor on it so that it will only go as fast as the teacher wants it to. He adjusted it to "slow" and let her drive on her own.



By the time we finished the class, she was going almost full out!!! It was AWESOME!!!!

Speeding Beauty!!!




TTFN,
Me