Just like daddy!

Decovin is just like Daddy (can you see Bob in the background?):




Decovin watched Bob intensely and then he would mimic him using his "bubble mower" that g'ma and pappy plummer got him. It was SOOOO cute!

Decovin trys to dress just like daddy too:

So I have been looking all over KC for a gently used Little Tikes playgroundish thing at garage sales and on Craigslist.com and was having NO luck. So yesterday, we met mom & dad in the city for lunch...dad's outage at the power plant is finally over...and then we headed to Toys R Us...we found one that was in our price range and tried to get it in our trunk...well, it would have worked but it would have been a long drive home and a little nerve racking...so dad offered to put it in their mini-van and drive it to us...they unloaded it and stayed long enough for a piece of diet-pop cake and then they were off...dad still had some mowing to do before dark.

Bob started mowing and I attempted to start putting together the playground thing...well, it said you needed two people and they weren't kidding...so bob stopped long enough to help put the rest of it together and then Decovin got to play on his new toy! Check it out:

What's up?

I have noticed we are all "slacking" in the blogging department, ok, so maybe just a few of us are slacking...*ahem* Amanda! LOL! j/k! I know you are pretending to be a teacher now, but ftl! Fill us in on the mishaps of school life from the teacher's perspective! There HAVE to be stories there! *wink*

Nothing new here, had a Pampered Chef party last weekend, it went really well, if anyone wants to order anything, let me know before Wednesday!

New video of D for ya...I'm sure you will all enjoy it, if you haven't already seen it!


Good times!

Love to everyone!

Scrappy!

My weekend was fun-filled! Friday afternoon, Mandy arrived and we decided we wanted grilled salmon and asparagus...I had the salmon, but not the asparagus...so we headed to WalMart in the rain to get the remaining ingredients we needed and decided it was not that big of a deal to grill in the rain.

We got back and started preparing our dinner...marinating the salmon and asparagus in EVOO, garlic & onions....YUM-O! Then Mandy made a homemade vinaigrette (sp?) which was delicious on our spinach greens, strawberries, onions, & avocados! :-)

I continued to grill in the pouring rain and just as I finished and turned off the grill...it started to SNOW!! BIG, FAT flakes of snow that were SUPER wet and slushy! It must have gotten at least an inch or two but melted completely by the next afternoon...

Saturday morning we left Warrensburg around 10ish to head to Blue Springs for a Scrap-athon with some of Judy's friends from church. It was lots of fun and I got 3 more layouts done! I am almost done with Decovin's first year! LOL!

Sunday was a lazy day...Bob got up with Decovin and I slept until 10am!!! I must have been TIRED!!! I NEVER sleep that late! Then we got ready and headed to Wal-Mart so Bob could spend the rest of his Christmas money on a basketball goal. He spent the rest of the day putting that together and I started to get things ready for my sister-in-law's garage sale...and ended up playing two rounds of H-O-R-S-E where I won the first game and Bob won the second game. All the while Decovin was playing "Ready-Set-Doh!"...His version of "go" with a tennis ball. :-) It is really cute.

Oh and I noticed today while tickling D that he has a molar tooth coming in...I saw and felt it...I guess he is skipping the "fang" teeth for now...haha!

There's a gloom about...

So today I attended one of my high school class-mates' funeral. The weirdest thing is, this will be our 10 year reunion this year and at our 5 year reunion we mourned the loss of another classmate. Both were killed in freak accidents. I hope this doesn't become a trend. So today was a "mini" reunion for all the wrong reasons. :-( It was nice to see some of my friends from the past.

I hate death though, when someone I know passes on, I tend to obsess about it for a few weeks...I will have random dreams about it, them, or me...and they aren't pretty usually. It especially freaks me out when people I know that are MY age die. That just makes it more real and scary...because you never know...I try to stay positive and not worry about tomorrow, but it is scary, the unknown, the "ever after", the one thing science can't explain to give details about.

Anyway...it was a sad day and I felt really bad for his family. He really was a nice guy...the one from high school that didn't care if he was "cool" or not...reputation didn't matter to him. So R.I.P. Jacob Neal...i'm sure you will be missed.


(P.S. Sorry about the depressing post)

Repeat Offender...

So apparently the babysitter left some fun stories out of her evening with Decovin, Katrina & McKendra...



I guess right after we all left to go to the B-day party, the babysitter said that McKendra started to fuss, so she was trying to comfort her when she hears "splash, splash, splash"...she investigates and finds Decovin is toilet dunking again! I guess he has a thing for water, he doesn't care where it's located! So she puts McKendra in the crib while she washed up Decovin and then Katrina comes barreling in the bathroom stating she has to go! Well the babysitter has to help her up on the toilet...while she is doing this...she hears: "cling, clank, clank, cling"...after Katrina is finished she find Decovin in the room where the crib is with McKendra in it and he is taking his bottle of milk and dragging it across the rungs jail cell style! Oh MY WORD! My son is a handful...haha! Had to share.


**************************************************************************

So we finally bought a GRILL! YES! Check it out:

This baby runs on gas! Oh yeah! LOL!

Isn't it pretty?! I just HAD to use it last night too...so I marinated some chicken tenders and some hamburgers and they were DELICIOUS! YUM-O! Weather permitting, I will be back out there again tonight grilling up some steaks! YES! :-)

*********************************************************************

Here is a fun video for you...Great Aunt Ruthie taught him this trick! :-)

Toilet dunk

Funny...i'm in the computer room when I hear bob yell: "Is Decovin in there with you?" To which I reply: "no"...then he says...."Did you go the bathroom just a minute ago?"..."no"..."well, I think your son just flushed the toilet" (because it was running)...I say: "Did he stick his hands in the toilet?"...bob further inspects and we see glossy hands! EWWWWW! "WASH 'EM, WASH 'EM!" I yell!

Toilet dunking apparently is fun for one year olds! Gross!

Sorry, sorry...

I'm usually the one blogging about how no one blogs anymore and it seems I am now the slacker! Sorry! I have been busy though...:-)

Let's see, since I posted last, us girls made a fun night of bowling in an elite room of just us and Jeff our bar tender/beer bit*h. St. Patty's Day was a blast! Mandy & I have been together for the past two St. Patty's Days so I say we make it a tradition from here on out! That was much fun!

Christy followed me home after bowling and spent her Spring Break with us! It has been lots of fun! When we got home Saturday night, I ran upstairs to pay our babysitter (Decovin's very first babysitter aside from family members!)...then we moved Christy in...the next day we did NOTHING...I didn't even shower! That is how much of nothing we did...it was a great relaxing day!

Monday we decided to go to the base to the commissary...only to find that it is closed on Mondays....oh well...ran into the BX then we were going to stop at the Montseratt Winery on our way back but it was closed also...scratch that...so we went to both on Tuesday...lots of fun! Then Wednesday we headed to LaCygne to visit mom and then for us to go play BUNCO!! Oh and I TOTALLY WON! YES! $30 baby! OH YEAH! We headed home that night and made it in just before midnight...Thursday we got up early again as our friend Meagan came out for a day of fun! We took her to our wine store here in town, a consignment shop (where we both found outfits for Decovin and her niece), drove her all around base, then to the commissary, then we went on a beaver hunt at the Knob Knoster State Park! hahaha! Long story short, I pointed out a beaver I saw on the side of the road and Meagan wanted a picture of it...it ran off b/f we could get reversed so then we went on a half hour quest to find another one...no luck...but Meagan found a dead one on our road as she was leaving my house and I saw one yesterday on base...haha! Oh well. Friday I spent my day on base at the doctors office for me...if you are really curious about what it wrong, call me....i'm not posting on here...lol! Anyway...the evening was nice, I made spaghetti and we watched some Law & Order and then to bed. Today I am need to finish straightening my house as my Arbonne Party is today and just in case someone decides to show up, I need to have my house decent.

Anyway...sorry it took me so long to post...just haven't had time! :-) Oh & my mother-in-law is coming to my party today and then taking Decovin with her to have an overnight at their house and then they are going to return him tomorrow! I am beside myself...what will I do with all that time to myself in my house?! LOL! At any rate, I am very excited!

Peace & Love~Jen

Giggles

Don't you just want to laugh with him? I love this picture!

The wall of shame!

Well, as most of you know we have been struggling with our yard and drainage problems for 2 years now! Ugh! Bob tried building a wall...that didn't work...it tumbled 3 times over the course of a year...Bob finally said..."I'm done, call the professionals!" haha! So I finally got some people out here last week for bids and it is crazy how you can ask for the same thing and get 3 completely different bids...

We were asking them to do several things:
1. Fix the drainage problem by building a swell (which is like a really really shallow ditch that redirects the water further down on our lawn instead of up against our house and down the hill!)
2. Put in a new retaining wall to help with our issue
3. Till, add top soil, and re-seed our entire yard.

The first guy brings in a bid at $2100, telling us that he will build a wing wall facing the northwest on our house along with a swell and add top soil and seed and hay our yard...the catch...we have to remove the back of the current wall ourselves unless he wants us to pay him more to do it...ouch!

The second guy brings in his bid at $1500, I was concerned that they forgot to include top soil for our ENTIRE yard and not just for the area being worked on. I called and made sure and they said...no, that is for everything...not only that...they are going to remove our wall for us, build us a NEW wall all together, put in the swell, fix our gutters to go directly into the ground, harley rake (fluffs the dirt) the yard with the top soil and hydroseed the entire yard (The seafoam green stuff you usually see on highway exits, etc)...I was like HOLY COW...there is no way the other guy could even come close to that even if i tried to bargain with him...so needless to say...we went with them...

The third guy brought in a bid of $6400!!!!! I was like, where do you think we live? Beverly Hills! DAMN!

I win!

Ok, so the same day that I wrote that mock up review for the Atari shirt in my previous posts...I also entered a contest at a different website: www.dirtyoldshirt.com

It was the "Dirty Old Contest" and the rules were simple: "Think you have a great idea for a t-shirt? Send it in to our contest! Every month we'll announce a winner, and reward them with a free t-shirt. And if we like your idea enough to print it, we'll hook you up with 10 shirts (of your choice) for free!"

So I won! They just emailed me today...what was my shirt idea you ask? It was as simple as this: "McDreamy in Training"

So I got another free t-shirt for Decovin! I don't know if they "liked it enough to print it" but I still got a $18 shirt for free! YES! So I orded this one:

Cute huh? Oh and this one is the one I already got in the mail for the other:

You know you wanna laugh!

Yes, those are Mr. Potato Head glasses. Decovin LOVES them...this photo really cracked me up!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

So it all started to get crazy busy on Thursday (should have known then that it was indication that March would be insane...but whatever)...I started my morning with a doctor visit for my annual exam...fun, fun! Then it was off to Wal-Mart to get my car's oil changed and for me to visit the eye doctor also...well, I got there a little after 11am and my appointment with the eye doctor wasn't until noon...so I thought, I have PLENTY of time to get my oil changed and that way I can just walk out of here when I am done with my exam...ha! Who was I kidding?
When I pulled up to the garage area of Walmart a lady came out and greeted me with paperwork and asked what I needed done, etc...I tell her, "just an oil change"...to which she replies..."Ok, how about for $4 (or whatever the cost) more we can vaccuum your car out also"...I thought...cool, sure, why not! :-) I then say: "About how long will this take?" she replies: "Oh, no time at all, there is no wait" and I watch her drive my car into the garage...I was thinking awesome, I will peruse Walmart for a bit get my eyes checked and get out of here in no time flat! Excellent! Well, I decide to window shop for about 15-10 minutes and by this time it was 11:30 so I thought I would see if I could get into my eye appt. early...I get there and the lady was with a customer and then she got me checked in and I was in and out of there in 25 minutes! So by 11:50ish I am leaving the eye docs office and go grab a few items I needed to pick up before I left for home. I take the 4 items with me back to the auto department to get my car and check out...I hand them my ticket and they said..."Oh, it's not ready yet, but should be done soon"...(this was about 12:15 at this point)...I'm thinking...wow, she said it was going to be done soon and that was over an hour ago...weird...oh well, I sit down outside the viewing area so I can watch nobody do anything with my car for 45 minutes!!! Hood is up, literally no one goes near it for 45 minutes and they only went near it after I inquired with 4 different people about my car!!!!! Long story short, I spoke with a manager and got my oil change for free...good thing too, b/c when I got in my car, not only did they NOT vaccuum my car, they didn't put the "reminder sticker" in the windshield to tell me when I need to come back in again...I wonder if they changed it at all! What a waste of 2 1/2 hours! Grrrrr...

So I finally get home with lunch around 2 and we ended up vegging out the remainder of the day. Friday morning I get up and get ready and Decovin and I met Amanda in Lee's Summit and went to the Independence mall for some serious shopping. I had some NY&CO gift certificates burning some holes in my pockets since Christmas so I figured I should use them. I ended up with 4 pairs of pants, and like 5 or 6 shirts and some undies! My cost....$40! They had everything in the store 50% off plus I got my military discount of 15% off after that! YES! It was a good shopping day! Oh and Decovin had his first meltdown in public at Lane Bryant...I'm sure the people in the dressing rooms next to us were just thrilled...he was OVERLY tired and beyond time for a nap...what can you do?! So after that we left.

When I got home, I washed clothes all night and then off to bed...got up Saturday morning and had a dentist appointment at 8am...after that was over we headed up to Shawnee, KS to help Bob's sister and bro-in-law move into their new house...it was a busy day...I hate moving...it made me cringe just thinking about it...anyway...after that was done we came home, ordered chinese, and I started feeling like poo so I went to bed on Nyquil and woke up feeling even worse...I have a sore throat and just achey all over...not sure if I am achey due to moving boxes or my illness...hard to say but I feel like crap regardless!

Today we have done really nothing...I've slept quite a bit and we had another individual come out to give us an estimate on our yard, aka spawn of satan! We have had 3 companies come and look at it and they have all expressed similar suggestions and ideas...we will keep you posted on what comes of all this. Sorry for the long blog, it has just been crazy...

Oh & you will all be happy to know that I received Decovin's free T-shirt in the mail yesterday from the company I did the review on below. :-) It is cute...it says: Buddha Belly on it and it is super cute! Anyway...thought you would want to know! :-) Cheers!

Trendy Tadpole review

The Atari shirt, a trendy shirt that reminds us of our youth and by gone days. Fun and retro, this shirt speaks mostly for the parents, a blast from the past displayed on our youth of the future. A conversation starter to other parents, an ice-breaker, a way to make friends who get your humor, what a fun display of our past! Trendy Tadpole shirts have something for everyone and for every style of humor! Fun, fun, fun, who wouldn't want one? Visit www.trendytadpole.com for more hilarious items of our past for our children to display proudly for us! :-) Thanks Trendy Tadpole for reminding our youth of today that we were cool once too!

Decovin's first real illness!

So D's had a small cold in the past...runny nose, that sort of thing...but yesterday was the real deal amigos!

The day started with him waking up quite a bit later than normal...8:30ish, he's done it in the past but not that often, so I didn't think anything of it...he drinks his bottle of milk and then later he ate a couple of small pancakes...I ask Bob: "Do you think he feels warm to you?" Bob's Reply: "No"...so we put him down for a nap and he sleeps for 4 hours! Again, nothing COMPLETELY unusual as he has done this before also...growth spurt, teething, etc...he wakes up from his nap and I think he feels SUPER warm...I ask Bob: "Do you think he feels warm to you now?" Bob replys: "No"...so I finally remember I have a regular thermometer in his diaper bag (I had attempted a temperature earlier in the day with a pacifier therm. but he wouldn't suck on it)...to my astonishment it read out at 102.6!!! I freaked of course, so we call the after-hours doctor and she calls us back w/in the 20 minute allotted time and says, give him tylenol (which we had already done) and make sure he drinks plenty of fluids and if he gets any other symptoms to call her back. Mind you, when he woke up, he had no desire to eat and just sat there in our arms and didn't move hardly at all! So unlike him...he never sits still longer than a minute! So we decide to put him back down for more sleeping...and he slept for like another 3 hours or so until we hear a cough and then some gagging sounds and Bob runs back there and yells: "Jen, he's throwing up, help!"...so we get him all cleaned up, I wash the sheets, clothes, etc and we call the doc again but it takes her 45 minutes to call us back and we had to call them twice to get them to call us! We were also in close contact with Dr. Mandy throughout the day/evening also...she basically said the same thing as our doc did, so strong work Dr. Mandy! :-) The doctor did finally call us and said that a virus has been going around and that it could last 24 hours or 5 days...and that as long as his temperature did not go above 103 to just keep monitoring him, give him liquids and that was that...oh and I forgot to mention that genius me decided that after he threw up he should probably eat something...so we gave him a saltine cracker to which he threw up in hand w/in 5 minutes of eating it...poor guy!
Well, we thought we were in for a LONG night of puking and whining, but he actually went down at 9pm and didn't get up until 8am...he drank his milk and had a waffle this morning and he actually played with his toys a little bit...I gave him some more tylenol b/c he still felt a little warm but he has been acting a LOT better...so maybe it was just a 24 hour thing for him...thank goodness! I'm just glad it is over for now!

Playdates are fun!

Playdates are not just for the kids!

Abby & Decovin played in the tent!

Decovin & Nathan stuff their faces as fast as they can! :-)

We had a really good time yesterday! I got to Stacy's house around 11:30 and Decovin was in a sea of new toys and just LOVED it...it took Nathan awhile to get warmed up but it wasn't long before everyone was playing and having fun! Aunt Ruthie came bearing herb bread and corn salsa & chips! YUM-O! Then Mandy showed up bearing chocolate and strawberries to dip in! THEN Stacy had made Tiramisu (my fave dessert ever!) and we ate it while we played Diploma Dogs while the boys napped (at the SAME time!!!)...so much fun!

Then we decided to order Imo's pizza for dinner...good call too b/c it was WACKY WEDNESDAY and it was buy one get one free and we ate both xlarge pizzas no problem! SO GOOD! BEST PIZZA EVER EVER EVER! Then we ate our chocolate dipped strawberries and watched American Idol...fun fun! I had to leave around 8 which was sad, but it was SO much fun!

A re-do is a must! I insist! :-)

New videos below...fun fun weekend!

A visitor, some dead scrolls, & parents

So Amanda was my visitor Friday evening. She made it just before the nasty snow fall and we watched Grey's Anatomy together where we gasped and cried simultaneously! We are true Grey's junkies!

Saturday Bob & I headed to KC to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Union Station. Very interesting, very unorganized, & kind of disappointing as they only had 6 real scrolls of the hundreds they found and they were TINY! It was still a once in a lifetime event to see them, but still, they herd you in like cattle and you have to elbow your way around to see or read anything! It was crazy! Anyway...

Sunday my parents call me out of the blue and say, hey, do you care if we drop by? NO! I was really pleasantly surprised...it was nice to not be the one driving to see someone! Mom & I played scrabble, dad napped (he had worked a 24+hour shift the day prior) and then we all went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant in town...it was yummy and we had a good time.

We said our goodbyes and Bob & I went to Hastings to rent some movies and we watched two of them last night (Nacho Libre, The Night Listener, The Departed, & one other, I can't remember the name of)...Oh & Mandy...the "sure" from Nacho Libre would not have been nearly as funny if your friends hadn't made it such a big deal...but it was still worth a rewind to see him say it again! hahaha! "Sure"

Changes...

Well, I knew I had a sweet deal with how much Decovin liked taking naps in the past...but I can see that road dwindling away in the sunsets! He is now fighting sleep at all cost lately and only takes one good nap a day these dasy (used to be around 3 a day)...so my spare time is now limited...oh well, I knew the ship would sail one day...**sigh**

We had a fun weekend...Friday afternoon, Amanda stopped by and spent the night and then Saturday morning, after Amanda left, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law (Tabitha & Ryan) showed up for babysitting duty while Bob & I went to KC to meet up with Kim & Crystal and their significant others for our "focused fun night"...we titled it that way b/c the last time we got to see each other was at D's bday party and we couldn't focus on just each other...too much going on...so anyway...we went out to dinner at UNO Chicago Pizzaria and then bowling at Incredi-bowl in Stanley! It was SOOO much fun! They had black lights and music videos playing of music from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and today! LOL! It was wicked fun! We are going to try to do that more often!

Anyway, then yesterday was bum day...I didn't even get out of my PJ's!!! It was kind of embarassing, but at least there were no strangers or neighbors knocking on our door...lol!

Today, I have been burning The Backyardigans on DVD for Decovin...and I plan on burning some old movies too...fun, fun! Trying to clean out our DVR...well, I should probably get back to monitoring when I need to stop the recorder....

Peace & Chicken Grease!

Per Clog Nana's request...

SKUNK ROCK RULES MOM!!!

My new Hair Do

Click ME!

Check out Dancing Decovin on YouTube!

WE DID IT!

We must be nuts! It was SOOOOOO cold! But, we did it! I think my legs are still numb!! It was totally fun though! Bob & I agree that we would both do it again, if it was held in July! haha! Just kidding!

Saturday was also the day I had to help host a baby shower for Bob's cousin so I had to leave right after I plunged and hurry over there! Then when I got done with that, I went to pick up Mandy at Melodie's apartment and then we went out to eat at American Bandstand...it was YUMMY! We all shared the Oooey Gooey chocolate Oreo Orgy! I have proof!

Melodie & Mandy Looking pretty! I sat alone on the other side! :-) We had lots of laughs...see Melodie's blog for more on that! haha!

A joke as told by an 8 year old piano prodigy, Marc Yu (paraphrased by Jen Plummer-ha!)

As you know, the Great Ghandi walked barefoot a lot of the time. He also had a poor diet as he did not eat very much which made him really weak. Due to this poor diet he also suffered from severe bad breath...This made him a Super Calloused Fragile Mystic Hexed By Halitosis

Too funny, not to share...enjoy!

Scrapbook Queen!

You can easily replace the words "Dancing Queen" with the above title! B/C that is what I felt like yesterday! Mandy, Christy & I went to a "scrap-athon"! It was so much FUN! It started at 10am and ended at 11pm! We were there pretty much that whole time! IT WAS AWESOME! I got 10 pages done! Did I mention that it was fun?! Anyway, once Mandy figures out her new schedule, we are going to TRY to do it again next month! SO MUCH FUN! Oh and I also got my name drawn for one of their "give-aways"!

Mandy, did you notice my air ""? :-)

Happy Birthday!

Well, D finally made it to his very first Birthday parties! Saturday was celebrated with my side of the family and with cousin Katrina who turned 3! It was a sight to be seen, let me tell you. Chocolate cake was EVERYWHERE! I just hope that Bob cleaned out Jeff & Marianne's bathtub good enough! LOL! The second party was celebrated with Bob's side of the family and he got a rainbow cake...it was finger lickin' good apparently! I'm sure you have all seen my Kodak Gallery pictures...if not, let me know and I will re-send them to you! :-)

Mandy is coming over tonight for a sleep-over...YES! She has tomorrow off and since she missed the bday party she is coming over tonight to see Decovin and wish him a late Happy B-day! It will be loads of fun! I still need to finish vacuuming but other than that, I think we are ready for her! Oh and I might need to run to the grocery store for last minute food items, etc.

Decovin must be going through a growth spurt b/c he is currently going on 3 1/2 hours of napping...I am waiting on him to wake up so I can finish the vacuuming...lol! He got a LOT of clothes for his birthday, which is good! I washed them all up and I packed away all the ones that don't fit him any longer...always sad to fill up a tub of those! Currently we have 3 tubs full of baby clothes! Hopefully, if we have another kid, we will have another boy...otherwise...what will we do with all those clothes?! LOL!

Well, I guess I will hop in the shower since Decovin is still asleep. Love you all! Leave me a comment! :-) I love those!

OUCH!

Poor Decovin. Yesterday was his one year well-baby visit...and although he is well, they still had to immunize him and take his blood...

We started at his doctor's office and we were running a bit late due to the mile and a half back up to get onto base! But evidentally all the medical staff was in line with us so we weren't as late as we originally thought. So anyway, we get there and the nurse starts typing in the computer and was about to ask us the "milestone" questions, when, crash, the computer's went down! So we had to wait for those to come back up, but in the meantime, she weighed him and measured him. He is now at 22.05lbs, 29 1/2 inches tall & an 18 1/2 inch noggin! So, after a little panic attack from the nurse about the computers, she runs around like a chicken with her head cut off and finally comes back in the room and the computers are working again...she starts asking us the "milestone" questions, like: Is he walking? Yes. Standing up without help? Yes. Saying 1-3 words? No...No? Ok, we will let the doctor know. GREAT! I panic a little...

The doctor comes in and she says, well we will have you back in at 15 mos. to check on his vocabulary...if he still isn't saying any words, then we will have to get his speech evaluated...BLASPHEMY! I have a Speech Therapist as a sister and my son can't talk?! Great! So then I remember...Hey, he can sign 2 words...does that count? She says, YES!, since he is trying to communicate and to not worry and to come back for the regular 18 mos well baby check up. So, now I am repeating words like crazy to the poor boy and I am hoping he will "say" one soon. She told us to teach him "mom" & "dad" in sign...so I got out the ol' sign language book last night and started showing him "mom" & "dad" over and over again...the other word I am working on with him is "Up"...he always grunts and whines until we pick him up...I don't want a grunter...so I am really enunciating my words with him and showing him my lips and tongue so he knows how to do it himself...this morning it looked like he was trying to mimick my mouth movements on the word "up" but it kept sounding like "ub"...so cross your fingers for us!

So then we move onto to get his blood drawn to test for anemia...common at one year well baby visit...but I did not realize that now that they are at this age, they get stuck just like you and me, in the arm in a vein, no holds bar! They had Bob hold him in such a way that he couldn't move or jerk out of position, but Decovin didn't even move! He just barely made a wince face when they swabbed him with the alcohol and then that was it! He was such a brave little guy! Then it was off to Immunizations...where they proceeded to give him 5 different shots! Yeah, this one did not go as well, he screamed at the top of his lungs for a minute or two and then once he was bandaged and dressed, he was fine! And, really really tired...but we can't leave yet, no, no...I still had my doctor's appointment waiting for me!

So, I get in and tell this new fabulous (and I might add...kinda cute!) doctor that Zurtec (sp?) is not working, I've been having severe sinus headaches and drainage and sneezing and itchy watery eyes, and blowing my nose every five minutes, and I can't breathe at night, etc...so he decides to put me on 3 different meds...#1. Flonase (AWESOME STUFF!), #2. Saline Nasal Spray, for the inbetweens, & #3. Allegra. So I start the regimine yesterday and I can I just say that I breathed through my nose for the very first time while sleeping since September!!! I was TOTALLY stoked! So much so that when I woke up at 3am to pee, I woke up Bob to tell him! He was like: "great" in a very drone voice...lol! I was excited! It is so nice to be able to breathe again! WHOO HOO! 3 cheers for Doc Gimel! :-)

So that was our exciting day...how was all of yours?

Decovin LOVES his food! He was laughing hysterically for every bite...it was really funny and cute! Oh and he kept giving daddy kisses...I think b/c he let him play with one of the remotes...bad daddy! But he got all kinds of lovin' b/c of it! Lucky! Too cute not to share...

So Decovin is one!

And yesterday he had a small bout of the squirts...poor guy...what a way to bring in the first birthday...he seems to be better today though...it at least has some consistency. Not sure what he ate that caused it b/c we didn't give him anything out of the ordinary...Bob mixed in some apple juice with his cereal but hardly any he said, but Decovin doesn't drink juice so I guess that could have caused it??? Anyway, he seems better now...

I, on the other hand, am not doing ok. I have been battling with sinus headaches and sinus pressure in general since September. I can't breathe out of my nose at night and I wake up sneezing and blowing my nose! It is getting really annoying! So I have a doc appt tomorrow, right after Decovin's...so it will be a Doctor visit day tomorrow...

Our driveway is a thick sheet of ice and when Bob left for work this morning, he slid down sideways...fun...NOT! So he is going to try to put some salt on it to help it...but we can't use our stairs at all as they are literally and completely covered in ice. You can't even see the stairs...LITERALLY...I took pictures to prove it...and Bob tried hitting it with a hammer and it only made very small dents...what are we trying to live like the Eskimos? What the h***?

Anyway...so far this has been a boring day for Decovin's bday...we MAY try to take him out to dinner...Maybe, depending on how I feel, etc...well, off for now...

Decovin was on TV!

I sent in his picture for the Fox 4 News channel that does a "First Birthday's" segment where they just show their pictures and names...really cute...anyway, I sent his pic up on Tuesday and it was on this morning at 7:45ish...I taped it of course! His first TV appearance...ahhhhh!

On another note! Thanks so much for those of you who donated...we are now only $35 away from our $150 goal...so if you feel up to it, even if it is $5 dollars...look to your right and click on the link! Love you all! ;-)

Polar Plunge!!!

Yes, Bob, Christy, I are participating in the Polar Plunge for the Special Olympics on February 3...we are really jumping into a freezing cold lake to help those kids out! So please, please, please donate! You can do it online at: http://www.firstgiving.com/jenplummer

Bob & I have to collect $150 total...we only have $25 so far...please help us! If you do not wish to donate online, you can still donate cash or check...There is a tax break so please help us out!

Love you all!

It's happening so fast!!!

My little boy is growing up TOO fast! **sniff, sniff** Just in the past couple of weeks he has done so many new things:

He can now sign "more" during meal time & "all done"
He can stand up without the aid of any furniture in the middle of the room! (got it on camera)
He can blow kisses.
He can shake his head "yes" & "no", although he still doesn't really know what either means I think...grrrr! LOL!
And he will give you a hug and make an "ahhhh" sound when he does it...SO CUTE! (this one is not always on demand though)

I just can't believe how quick it is all happening! I hope to see all of you at the B-day parties...whether it is on Saturday the 20th for Katrina & D's Bday or on the 21st for D's bday with the Plummer's! Hope to see you all! Love ya!

Oh and strong work on the upping of comments & blogs updated! :-)

Oh & Stacy, I forgot to say "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!" for all the shoes you sent for D...they fit him and they are super cute too! Thanks again, I can't believe I forgot to say that when I called you earlier today! DUH...I'm a blonde at the roots! :-) Love you!

Scrapbooking

So I finally dragged all my stuff out last night to start scrapbooking again. I forgot how much I really like doing it. I am working on 3 different ones currently. One is from our trip home from San Diego almost two years ago and the other I started last night was Decovin's first year! I only got one page done b/c I didn't start until 8:30 and that was when I started dragging things out...so I actually didn't start scrapbooking until closer to 9 or a little after. I am also working on filling in the scrapbook that Judy made for Decovin. Needless-to-say, I am multi-tasking and that can be hard and stressful also...only b/c I make it that way...Can we say ADD? LOL! Anway, if you are ever bored or in the area and want to scrapbook come on over! :-) I love company!

How come?

Nobody posts hardly anymore? And how come when someone does post, hardly any comments are left? This used to be fun people! What happened? We are starting to fizzle! Step it up! :-) Love you all! Now leave me a comment damn it! LOL! :-)

Well, get used to writing 2007

I always hate the first month or so of the new year b/c I never can remember to write the year right. Anyway, Happy New Year!

We rung in the New Year by me watching Christy & Bob play Play Station 2 racing video game and I fell asleep at 11:30...woke up at 4 after and said: "Happy New Year, I'm going to bed!" Haha! Anyway, so far the New Year feels like any other. Decovin will be one this month...hard to believe! We are planning two b-day parties...one for the Plummer side and one for the Long side. The one on the Long side will be a combined party with his cousin Katrina who was born on the 18th...:-) Should be fun, she will be having a Princess theme and I am not sure what to do yet for Decovin. On the Plummer side he is getting "The Backyardigans" theme. Really cute show on Noggin for those of you sans kids under 4...lol! Anyway, I am in the process of planning that one and getting invites out, etc...lots to do in a short amount of time.

I took down the ornaments from the Christmas tree yesterday and all other decorations. It is always sad to see the Christmas season pass. It is my favorite time of year...oh well. Bob took the tree down and vaccuumed and everything...it was nice to have our dining room back without a baracade blocking it off! Maybe next year Decovin will know the meaning of "no" and not touch and/or eat the ornaments, etc.

Well, enough for now. Don't forget to hang up your new calendars! I have 3 new ones and I have hung 2 of them already! I love new calendars! Adios for now amigos!

Merry Christmas & Happy New YEAR!

Well, I hope all of you had a fabulous Christmas! We sure did! MY GOODNESS! This was the year of the kitchen appliances for me. I got a Toaster Oven and a KitchenAide Mixer! YES! I also received gift certificates to some of my favorite places!! YEAH! Bob received G.C. also and money! :-) Decovin, well, he made out this year! He got a really cool MEGA FORT from Jeff & the family and he got a really cool dump truck with contstruction hat from G'ma & G'pa and a Savings Bond also! He also got a Little Tykes Workbench from Aunt Christy. He received numerous other toys and clothes also! It was a good year!

Bob & I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary today. We decided to have a short getaway to the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Crown Center. Mandy offered to take baby boy for the overnight for us and we took her up on it like hotcakes to syrup! Thanks again Mandy & Judy for watching D! We really really appreciated it! We got home and unpacked and have pretty much just been REALLY mellow! I am so tired and really ready for my bed! I haven't slept in it since the 17th of December...so needless to say, I am ready!

Oh, forgot to mention that while staying at Jeff & Marianne's last week, Decovin has taken off walking...must have been trying to keep up with Katrina! They were super cute together! He also learned how to climb up stairs while we were there also which is kind of funny b/c Katrina learned to climb up our stairs in San Diego at the exact same age as D...it was all in reverse! So cool! Oh and we decided to turn his car seat to front facing today also...he is 3 weeks away from the "actual" turn around date, but he has met the weight limit since his 9 month check up...so we figured since we had to move the carseat from Judy's van to just turn it around so we didn't have to fickle with it again in 3 weeks...he is such a big boy!

Anyway, we hope you all have a Happy New Year and all that jazz. Leave me a comment if you have time...I miss those! :-)

Little Baby, Semi-Toddler & Toddler

Boy have I had my hands full and washed several times! I can't tell you how many diapers I have changed in just the past 2 1/2 days! OH BABY! I was supposed to have some relief show up later this evening but she will not be coming until tomorrow morning...hopefully bright & early. It will be quite helpful to have another watchful eye on 3 little ones! :-) This has definitely opened up my eyes to what it would be like to have multiple children...we'll see...haha!

Well, I better go!

P.S. I stink! I need to shower.

Ho Ho Ho!

Decovin had his first meeting with Santa Claus at Zona Rosa shopping center at an event called "Breakfast with Santa"...he was neither excited or scared...but rather really exhausted! He still looked super cute in his santa outfit I got him. He is such a cutie!
He is still working on walking but he doesn't do it consistently. Only when he wants to. The most he has taken consecutively is 7 steps. He will be zooming around in no time I gather...once he builds up enough confidence. I am still searching for the perfect shoes for him. I don't want them to be too heavy or stiff...the search continues. I know that letting him walk around barefoot (or in socks) is best as it helps develop his arch, but when we are out and about it is nice to put him in some shoes. Anyway...the quest continues.
We just got home from my in-laws this weekend. We had Christmas early with them as we are spending Christmas day with my side this year. Decovin received lots of clothes, books and toys! I agree with Stacy...stores should give out punch cards and after so many purchases, you get a toy box! haha! Bob got a Carhart jacket, book light, Bathroom Reader book (full of useless facts, he loves them!), and gift certificates to Sears and Lowes. I received a year subscription to US Weekly...my favorite magazine!!, gift certificate to NY&CO, some movies, & money! It was a good Christmas! We took lots of pics and I will try to upload them today or tomorrow.
Next weekend is my G'ma & G'pa Long's dinner...Bob will not be able to go as I am going down on Thursday for my Bunco party and we don't want to drive back and forth to pick him up...my sister graciously offered to go and get him, but I am not sure what we have decided to do yet. Then next week, I will be babysitting my brother's kids for the week as Marianne's parents are leaving on the 18th and they won't have any babysitters that week before Christmas. It should be fun! I am actually only worried about my son being the handful...haha! Christy will join me late Wednesday to help me out for the remainder of the week though...that will be nice! :-)
Well, I will try to get some more pictures out for you all to see. :-) Love to all and to all a good Christmas...hehe!

P.S. Decovin now has 5 teeth and can wave "hi"...but only when he wants to...go figure. haha!

He walked!!

Bob got stuck in the traffic mess on Thursday...it took him 4 hours and 50 minutes to get home from Kansas City...it was SLOW going the entire way home! Poor guy...I felt so bad for him.

I came down to LaCygne Tuesday night so that I could go to Bunco on Wednesday night but they ended up cancelling it so I didn't get to go and then I couldn't go home either...stuck...I plan to leave on Sunday early morning.

Friday night, I put together mom and dad's xmas tree and decorations. It looks much more festive here and will be more fun on Christmas Day...they usually don't go through so much trouble with decorations these days so it was up to me if we were going to have a festive arena. I think it looks good...we put the tree in the dining room for a couple of reasons, 1. we didn't have to move any furniture except for the table and chairs, 2. this way we don't have to fight Decovin wanting to constantly tug and play with it.

On a more fun note, Decovin got to meet Santa for the first time today. He was so tired by the time he got up there he didn't want to smile for his picture...he didn't cry though...he was just too tuckered out to smile...the picture still turned out cute though. Katrina didn't like sitting on Santa's lap...she cried the whole time, poor thing. But she still sat on his lap with McKendra...she just didn't like it...wonder why Santa is so scary at that age?

So that is all that has happened thus far...I plan to finish decorating my house when I go home Sunday. I got so far as putting up the tree and then had to leave and haven't been back to finish it yet...**sigh** But I love to decorate the tree so it will still be fun!

Decovin took his first stepS...not a step...stepSSS! He took 3 steps 4 different times this evening for the first time...he is amazing! Oh and he is also doing imaginative play...if you take a play phone and pretend to ring it then say "Hello" in a higher pitch voice, he will take the phone and start jabbering in high tones...like we do! SO CUTE!!! I love him!

Gotta go, baby boy just woke up from his nap!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Oh the weather outside is frightful...HELLO! 12" of snow anybody? Yeah...that is what we got...and a lot of deeper snow drifts...tennis shoes are NOT ideal for this weather...I had to borrow dad's boots (which, as you can imagine, were WAY too big, but what can you do?) just to get to the cars! CRAZY...oh well, hopefully it won't be too bad for our drive up to Zona Rosa for breakfast with Santa Clause tomorrow morning...we will be leaving at the butt crack of dawn!

Oh well...we are still having fun inside as much as possible...Decovin has been a hoot and has a new face...we call it his "Doh!-face" since he says DOOOOOHHHHH when he makes the face...it is too funny....

The next one is when he just got out of the bath and I had lathered him up with lotion...he gets all spikey...time for a haircut? You tell me...

Move over Turkey, Christmas is on its way!

So we spent the entire Thanksgiving weekend with Bob's folks. We had a good time and ate WAY too much! Per usual! Decovin had some turkey, ham, chicken & noodles, mashed potato & gravy and he got passed around to the whole family...gave me a nice day off...I don't think I even changed a diaper that day! whoo hoo! He was SOOO good the whole day too, didn't cry once! He was such a trooper.

I made a new cake recipe from one of my Pampered Chef cookbooks and it was a HIT! Everyone loved it! It was rather tasty if I do say so myself. It was a Mocha Cappuccino Cake...YUM-O (too much rachel ray!)! I also made sweet potato casserole, a recipe from my good good friend I met back in college. It, also, was a HUGE hit! :-) My mother-in-law, who hates sweet potatoes, LOVED IT! YEAH!

I was sad not to see my family though, mom was sicker than a dog and I didn't want to expose baby boy to that, so we stayed put. However, about 30 minutes before we are getting ready to leave, my stomach starts cramping up and I end up in the bathroom for over an hour and then when we leave we no sooner got to a gas station and I had to run in to their bathroom (barely made it!), then we stopped at my sister-in-laws house to get some drugs and for me to use her bathroom! It took us over 3 hours to get home...we originally intended to leave at 7:30, didn't walk out of the his parents house until closer to 8:30, but we didn't actually leave the KC area until closer to 9:30...putting us home just before 11pm! It was a long evening. Oh well, what can I say?! It was still a really good weekend...

Stacy, I was going to ask you, are you having a b-day party for your babies? If so, when, where, time? I need to start planning ahead...haha! My weekends are getting fuller and fuller! I hope we can make it, whenever it is...

Oh and if you are not sitting down, please do, you will never believe what I didn't do! I didn't take ONE picture the whole weekend we were there! NOT ONE?! I don't know what came over me! Anyway...TTFN!

Ohhh Baby It's Cold Outside!

So I went grocery shopping today on base and I forgot how much money you can save just by shopping there...only problem is, they don't have EVERYTHING I always need so it creates two stops, but I am really thinking about making it a regular habit from now on...especially for the baby foods...quite a bit of savings in the long run. So...

When we arrived at the commissary it was pretty cold and blustery but when we left HELLO!!! The winds opened from the depths of hell and unleashed their fury! I could barely hold onto Decovin and I was trying to get him to bury his face in my shoulder but instead he kept facing the wind and sleet-like rain and kept gasping! I hated that! The bagger lady had to jog slightly to keep up with me...I tipped her so I hope she wasn't too mad! :-) It was one of the few times I was thankful for those baggers b/c as I was buckling in D she had already unloaded my groceries into my trunk and I was on my way! Thank goodness! Decovin did get to wear his mittens and super cute hat that latches under his chin to keep the hat on. He looked uber handsome...:-)

So I called Bob on my way out and asked if he had eaten lunch yet and I offered to pick some up and bring it in to him. I wanted to go anyway b/c they just moved into their new office today. It is much more roomy and clean looking than the last one. Oh and the toilet doesn't reek of nasty butt funk! That's right the I said "Nasty Butt-Funk" and you can quote me!

Well, I guess I will be seeing you all, or most of you anyway, on the 25th for Thanksgiving...anyway...here are some pics of D that I just had to share!

Oh and...

Decovin went to the doctor yesterday for his 9 month check up...he is healthy! He is 20.3 lbs, 28.5 inches tall and has an 18" noggin. All in all, they said that the measurements were all about the 50th percentile...

They didn't have any flu shots available yesterday when we went so we have to check back in Mid-November...the nurse practioner said to check after Thanksgiving...so we shall see...

I totally voted!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's back to work I go

So I have been home a full week now and I forgot how much I was responsible for at home...being at home, I had Christy or Mom that I could just simply ask: "Do you mind watching D while I go..." Well, now I don't have that luxury and I have to time everything just right so as not to leave D in a room by himself for too long...not that he minds (generally) but I just know that if I leave him in a room for too long something will get knocked over or pulled or touched that isn't supposed to be. So I tried the pack-n-play for awhile...and that works SOME days but not often...he does not like to be confined for too long...so everything is a juggling act anymore...but I am getting back into the swing of things...Decovin adjusted almost immediately and loves that he has so much more open crawling space to explore...he already broke our only lamp that was left and we have had to remove everything off the tables and up high so that he doesn't grab them. We are still working on the stereo equipment...he hasn't quite figured out "no." Anyway...

Mom and Dad came up yesterday and met us at Powell Gardens and we had a really nice afternoon. It is a gorgeous chunk of land and even though everything was not in bloom, it was still beautiful...we plan to return in the Spring when it is in full bloom...should be GORGEOUS!

Today is a lazy day, I am going to work on some xmas gifts and Bob went to clean the basement and the garage...Decovin is napping and it is pretty quiet in here...I know it won't last long...so I better go enjoy it while I can. This is D's "Lean Back" picture and the "Whaaaaat's Uuuuup?" Enjoy!

I'm home!

I know my mom is sad that I left, and I am too, but I am also so happy to be at home. You forget what it is like to be in your home with free reign over the place, etc...I cooked spaghetti tonight and it was yummy! I got to use my pots and pans...the little things that get me excited...haha!

Tomorrow we are trick-or-treating with Decovin and taking him to see his grandparents and most of his great-grandparents...should be a fun night...plus, we get the candy...heh heh heh!

P.S. Our grass looks dead...what can I say? We are not grass/garden people...**sigh** Oh and our wall managed to at least survive the hard rains, but dirt is still washing away REALLY badly and still flushing our driveway...GRRRRRRR What the heck?!

I went goth...yeah! lol!

So what do you think...I have had mixed reviews...but personally I love that it is shockingly different...I'm just sayin'

Overly Nervous First Time Mom...

So I started to get nervous about Decovin's first cold on Saturday as he started to tug at his ear quite a bit...I am thinking: "Great, here comes the ear infection!" So instead of just waiting it out, I thought to myself, I will take him to the ER (b/c I am no where near Whitemant AFB to get him checked out by his Primary Care Manager) and make sure I am being proactive...well I get there and check him in and of course he was happy as a lamb and flirting with all the nurses who were going goo goo over him and even put in the computer system: "Smiliest Baby" and all the nurses came into his room to check him out...of course he obliges...the doctor comes in and checks him over and says that he is fine and that it is probaby from teething and just to keep giving him tylenol and nasal spray for the stuffy nose...after he leaves another nurse comes in and asks if she can take him around the nurses station to show him off...I was like, "Ok"...I am sure they were secretly inside rolling their eyes at the "First Time Mom" who doesn't know anything! They were all nice enough and just doted over D but still, I was embarassed. We left with a couple of stickers and mommy's pride crushed a little bit...haha!

Decovin attempted his first step on Saturday...I wasn't in the room but Aunt Christy and Grandma were...they got to see it. He hasn't attempted it again, but I am sure it won't be long.

On a more positive note, mom is done with radiation for now and possibly for good (check her blog for full details) and so that means D and I get to go home to daddy! Bob is very excited to have us back and I am too...mom will be sad to see us go, but we will be back to visit at least once a month! :-)

Bob has some good news also...beginning November 1, he will no longer be a recruiter, he will now be an assistant Nuke coordinator. Basically he will be in charge of persuading those that are pre-qualified to become a Nuke to join the Nuke program like he was in. He will have less stress and hopefully will actually enjoy his job again. YEAH!

Oh and have I mentioned that Jeff and Marianne are now living in KC, MO? It is very nice having them so close, and fun to see Decovin with his cousins! I know they will all be friends...it is also fun to actually make plans with them too! So exciting!

Last weekend Decovin got to ride a tractor for the first time with his Pappy Plummer. It was cute to see him on there with him...I think Pappy had a good time too.










Stace: I am not sure why everyone stopped blogging as much...it makes me sad too...even though I am just as guilty...maybe we can kick it into gear again?! :-)

Hmmmm...

Well, I have either a head cold or an allergy cold, either way, I am blowing my nose so much it is raw and my head is FULL of snot still even after all the blowing and sneezing...
I was trying to avoid Decovin for fear of giving him the cold but I am not sure I suceeded...this afternoon D woke up from his nap and sounded snotty and his nose was runny the rest of the day...but he was also cranky like his teeth were hurting him so I gave him some tylenol and that helped for a bit...so I am not sure if the runny nose is due to teething or from catching whatever I have...either way this is Decovin's first "cold"...he made it 9 months...so that's not too bad.
He is trying to stand on his own and gets braver and braver each day...he is also getting better about "learning to fall" without hurting himself...he seems to know to curl his body upon landing...most of the time...I try not to react either way except with a "YEAH, you did it!" Oh and that is the other thing...I think Decovin has learned to say "I did it"...if you ask him to say it, 8 out of 10 times he will say it...or at least it sounds just like it...not sure he KNOWS he is saying it but it sure sounds like it...if anything he is at least mimicking(sp?)...cool huh? He tried "Pa, Pa" the other day and said it at least 3 or 4 times...it was cute. He also says "Ma, ma", "Da, da", and "Nana". I can't believe he is 9 months old already...CRAZY! Where has the time gone?

*Plans for Halloween* *Topsy Turvey*

Plans for Halloween include one cute bumble bee and some candy for me! :-) Hahaha! I couldn't resist putting it on him early! He is so cute! There is even a little stinger on the butt! I can't wait to show him off! :-)

****************************************************
Topsy Turvey...last night, Christy left at 9pm, mom went to bed at 9:30, and Dad stayed up past 10:30! There must have been something in the water...weird!

****************************************************
P.S. I decluttered my mom's bathroom Monday! It was 3 trashbags full of removal...the office is what truly scares me though...wish me luck!

He sat up!

Decovin pulled himself up to his knees all by himself today! It was SOOO cool! He is so amazing...pretty soon he will be pulling himself up to stand! How they grow! He also has 3 teeth now...the 4th is working its way out also...
We are currently baracading everything in sight from him! He crawls to EVERYTHING! It is quite the task to keep him contained! :-) Bob better get the baby gate ready for when we return!

Crazy Busy...

I arrived at my parents house on Friday night...we attended the LaCygne Fiesta...yeah...exciting...really...NOT! We entered Decovin in the Baby Contest and he got 2nd out of 2! He was robbed! Oh well, I have decided that I can't enter him in any more contests...too much drama...and I don't want to be a "pageant mom"...EVER! So there you go...

I had to go to the DMV to get our tags for our new car yesterday and I figured it would be 20-30 minutes tops...yeah right! 2 hours later, I had my tags...yeah, fun! I met mom and dad at the Olathe hospital to wait for dad to have his heart monitor removed...it was also supposed to be an "in and out" procedure...but his turned into 6 hours...he wins! Anyway, the finally released him around 8pm...then we ate at Chili's, mostly b/c I needed a place to feed D...then we made it home by 10! I was TIRED!

I had to get up early today again to be at Christy's to wait for the furniture people to deliver her couch, etc...then tomorrow I take mom up for her first round of radiation...then back home to go to BUNCOOOOO! Thursday is no better...up for radiation, meet my friend who is giving me some clothes for D, then drop off D at Aunt Taba's house then off to the Dinner Theatre...Then Friday, up for radiation, and then I am going to World's of Fun with Mandy (my dad scored tickets from work)...so busy, busy, busy!

Well, that is all I have for now...

11 days till Autumn!

So today is the perfect day for opening the windows! I am actually almost chilly! I love when you can open the windows...it means that fall is here! I am bummed to find that it will be in the 80s the rest of the week, but today...today it is only in the 60s! I love it...this, this THING! :-) (Reference for Christy)

Decovin actually made his first successful attempt at moving forward...it wasn't actually crawling b/c he wasn't on his knees...but he would have done the military proud with his commando crawl! :-) WAY TO GO D! It was so cute, he actually made it to the toy he was wanting...his other, more effective method, of rolling is quite humorous...he just steam rolls everywhere...and to all the places he shouldn't be, you know...near the Entertainment Center with all the sharp corners and metal fixtures, near Bob's computer cords, etc...it's uncanny how they know they can't have it, yet go for it everytime anyway! Too funny! I am up and down a lot with him now...maybe that should be my motivation to lose weight...hmmm...anyway...here is a "nanny nanny boo boo" face for ya:

Fun times!

So Mandy came to stay with us this past week and we had a blast! Her and Judy showed up on Monday and they both spent the night...Tuesday Ruthie, Stacy and kids came over also and we had a grand time! Wednesday we ran a few errands but nothing exciting...but Thursday...well, Thursday was different!

We started out our day at the Amtrak station...arriving 30 minutes prior to our departure time as per the suggestion on the tickets...well...it would have been no big deal waiting around if it were just the two of us but unfortunately a female shows up, with a horrible case of verbal diarrhea! She started dropping the f-bomb at 8:30 in the morning! HELLO! Mandy and I agreed that there should be some form of rapport developed between individuals before the f-bomb can be dropped...especially b/f morning coffee! Oh MY! So she continues to drop cuss words left and right and then asks to borrow a girls cell phone so that she can call her grandma to let her know the train is going to be late. Well, she was nice and let her borrow the cell phone...what seemed like 20 minutes later, she was finally done...but not after YELLING and CUSSING at her grandma first! YIKES! Anyway...we board the train and off we go...we stop in Jeff City to catch a bus to Hermann...they took us the most bass ackwards way through the hills of Missouri! Seriously, they could have stopped the bus, shot us all and they wouldn't have found the bodies for weeks! It was a bit scary! Anyway...we get to Hermann and Mandy & I are the only two that get off the bus...haha! They must have thought we were a bunch of winos! :-) YES! Anyway...we proceed to walk over a mile uphill to Stone Hill Winery and we only had time for a taste test b/c our train was so late getting in and we had to give ourselves enough time to get back to the train station to catch our train back...well, we did eat lunch there and then walked back toward the station and found another winery and had some more taste tests...we each bought two bottles of wine and then we got back on the train...we had a really good time...on the train back there were some other interesting characters...more verbal diarrhea, etc...really funny stuff...oh and there was a kid who totally tried to buy a beer and when asked for his ID he said..."I thought you didn't have to show ID on trains?" What a doofus! HAHA! Anyway...we ended up talking with this girl who was studying for her medical boards...the same one that Mandy just took...so they went back and forth with the where did you go to school at, etc...then we just chatted about whatever for the rest of our trip back to Warrensburg...she was totally nice and we had a good time! It was fun! All in all, it was a weird day but fun...or interesting, one of the two!

Oh and Bob had Decovin all day except for two hours when he had to have his boss's wife watch him for a bit while he went to a meeting...his first babysitter and I have never met her before! I was a bit nervous but he came home alive and well...he is cute as ever!

Dart boards are fun, budgets are not...

So Bob finally hung up our dart board that has been in storage for over 4 years b/c we never had a good place to hang it...well it is up now in our basement and Bob and I must have played 10 times or something! It was SO much fun I forgot how much I love playing darts...Thanks Jeff & Marianne for that board...it is AWESOME!

Budgets suck! When reducing your income and gaining an expense (a BIG expense) budgets become a necessary evil...oh well, we will adjust! I just hope we can shake it after we get our spending habits under control...lol!

Well...all for now!

Addicted much?

I am officially addicted to blogging or checking blogs or checking comments on blogs! I'm addicted...I check the blogs at least 5 times a day to see if anything "new" is posted...am I pathetic or what?! I need a new hobby...actually I need more yarn so I can finish a project that I started over a year ago! It might still fit the person it is intended for by the time I am done! GEESH!

Oh and I got a job...well, sort of...mom hired me! :-) I will be cleaning their house once a month and I plan to purge also (she doesn't know this yet) but their house will be clean and organized by...well soon! Since I will be doing this once a month, I also decided to join my sister's bunco group! So my trips will be for a triple reason...1. Mom and Dad and Christy can dote on baby boy; 2. I get paid to clean a house (my favorite part...well not cleaning necessarily but the money fo' sho!; 3. I get to play BUNCO! WHOO HOO!!! What fun we shall have!

I will be living with mom and dad for 6 weeks while mom goes through radiation so Dad and Christy do not have to take off of work. Bob plans to visit on all possible weekends so it should be interesting to say the least! I'm just glad that I have a bed to sleep on and not the couch or air up mattress...that might have been a deal breaker for me...maybe! ha!

Well, I am done now...feel free to comment away...I love reading them!

Suburbia HELL!

Whoever said living in a Sub-Division was awesome...LIED! So today our next door neighbor, who is the VP of the Homeowner's Association for our hood, came over and asked Bob when he was going to finish the retaining wall...she said someone in the neighborhood brought it up to her and wanted to know. She was totally nice about it b/c she knows the whole story with Bob having had hernia surgery and working 50+ hours a week at his job, etc...but still...the nerve of someone to judge us b/c we don't have the time like they have to finish up such a tedious project, on top of which, had our original builder noticed the slope there and thought to put in a wall like he did all the other neighbors yards, this wouldn't even be an issue to begin with...I hate sub-divisions...grrrrrr
I'm done venting now...

What's New Pussy Cat? Whoa whoa whoa!

Ok, so I haven't posted in awhile but it is only b/c I feel nothing exciting has really happened since I posted last.

My mom still has one more doctor appointment until she figures out what she will be doing...she has narrowed it down to getting just radiation or getting a reduction with radiation...she will know more after Tuesday. Anyway...

I went to LaCygne Monday and took dad to his G.I. doctor on Wednesday b/c he had to be sedated...he needed a driver. I ended up staying until Thursday b/c Christy invited me to play Bunco with her group on Wednesday night. It was SOOO MUCH FUN! I wish I knew enough people here to start my own group! SO FUN! So I am thinking about going next month b/c Christy says there is something "special" happening and that it will be even more fun! I can't even imagine! SERIOUSLY?! Ok, enough about Bunco.

Well, I am on hold with Embarq...they messed up our bill...awesome...story of my life I tell ya! Well, nothing else to report oh except for Decovin has now figured out how to make is walker move forward...it is so cute! He bounces until he gets enough momentum to lean forward and push! It is hilarious!

A short visit.

Well, Stacy came up on Friday and stayed the night with us. It was really fun...we even got an "Abbyism" to share! We had bought some snickerdoodle cookies and Abby wanted one...so Bob gave her one and then told her what kind of cookie it was. He said..."Go tell your mom what kind of cookie it is"...so she runs over to Stacy and says, "Mom, I have a cookie noodle"...Bob LITERALLY fell to the floor laughing...it was hilarious!

Nathan and Decovin got some play time in...it was so cute...also took some of Ruthie clogging...I must say...I was glad it was her and not me...it was H.O.T. and I would have HATED to be dancing around on a stage in 103 degree weather...forget that! But they did really good!



After the fair we departed our separate ways and Bob, Decovin and I headed down to LaCygne to "surprise" my mom for her birthday...she was VERY excited to see Decovin...lol! She had a good birthday bash too...all the neighbors showed up and we ate a lot of junk food...it was great!

Well, that is all for now.

I now know who you are...haha!

I won't mention any names but it starts with a R and ends with a "uthie"...hahaha!

A Tooth!

So Decovin got his first tooth that broke the gum surface! It is on the bottom row and you can really feel it with your finger...I tried to take a picture of it, but they were all too close and blurry...

Anyway, nothing else new to report...

Thanks for stopping by...still don't know who my anonymous poster was, but now I am filtering my posts...so if it doesn't show your post right away it is b/c I have to approve them now...

Peace & Love!

Anonymous Poster...

Will the mystery guest please sign in? Who are you? :-)

Whoever said crawling meant you had to use your knees?

So today, August 7, 2006, Decovin decided to lift himself onto his toes...I am assuming this is his way of "learning" to crawl. He ends up pushing himself backwards...it was SOOO cute! It was really hard to capture the picture so enjoy!

Maybe he is destined to be in the military (I hope not) but it kind of looks like an attempt to do push-ups! DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY! Isn't he cute?! haha!

My baby, my baby....my baby and me!

Well, let's see...My friend Julie left on the first and we had a really great time! I miss her already! She got to see Lawrence, KS for the first time...she loved the town! While we were in Lawrence I got to see my best friend, Kim while we were there also...it was fun!

On a sadder note...my mom found out that she has breast cancer. The good news is, she has low grade cancer and it is non-agressive. They caught it super early and they are going to take care of it with either a mastectomy or a lumpectomy & radiation. Either choice, the doctor said, has the same success rate so hopefully all will be ok.

Anyway, to make this a "not-so-depressing" blog, I am attaching some cute photos of my baby to brighten the mood! :-)


Look at that face, I mean how do you not want to squish those cheeks?! You can't tell that grandma loves him at all can you? :-)

What fun!

My sister stayed with me last week and we had a really good time. She loved hanging out with Decovin...I don't think she wanted to leave him...:-(

Now my friend from San Diego is visiting me until the 1st and so far we are having a jolly ol' time! She currently lives in Savannah, GA and hates it...she can't wait to move back to SD. I hope she finds a job back there so she can go home...she misses her family lots!

Decovin is getting more adventurous...he rolls everywhere and he is getting VERY good at sitting up on his own for longer periods of time. He has also discovered the joy of splashing in the tub! And when I say splashing I should say SOAKING! He gets me, the wall, the floor and anything else in splashing distance wet as can be! It is crazy how he can get his foot going!

Anyway...that is all I have for now...I don't have any new photos b/c Aunt Christy took them all...will have to wait for her to post some! :-)

6 months!

I can't believe my baby is 6 months old! It just seems like yesterday he was born! Where has the time gone?

So Decovin's new thing is rolling over and over again but only in one direction so he then makes one big circle...so I guess this is his method of "getting around" the house! I definitely have to pay a lot more attention to him especially if I have to leave the room for a minute to go cook or use the restroom...I guess we need to dig out the baby gate! It's all happening so fast!

We also got Decovin's 6 month pics taken...most of you have probably seen them on Kodakgallery, but I will share them here also. Enjoy!