Random Thoughts-

At the moment I am waiting for a service guy to show up and look at our dishwasher and oven. Our appliances are all new and yet we still end up with something not working properly...go figure. The dishwasher is leaking water during the wash cycle and the oven (when turned on) smells of natural gas very strongly- too strongly in my opinion. I was told that this was normal and that the smell would fade with time and more use of the oven. Well, I have been cooking/baking since September and it's not any better!
It's like...hey welcome to my home...it smells like rotten eggs when I am cooking....but don't worry, my food is good. I think that if I had the option again between gas appliances and electric appliances, I would not do the natural gas- when the repair guy called yesterday and asked me a bunch of questions I could tell that he felt like I was just complaining about nothing and that it was going to be a waste of his time to come look at my stove/oven. Oh and it gets better- I asked him what time he would be over- he says between 12-2 p.m.
UGH...I wanted to scream at him...I politely ask if there is another time he could come out and he replies "NO"...my dilemma??
Lilly needs to be at speech at 1:15 and Mac needs to be picked up from school at 2:00. Could the guy have picked a better time....not to mention that I have some kind of stupid head cold again and I am a bit cranky. Hopefully by sipping my Throat Coat Tea and venting on my blog, I won't bite the guys head off when he gets here! Ha- just kidding...I am not that cranky...YET-

I can't believe that January is just about over... it did seem like a long month at times, but overall it went by quickly. Mac had a lot of time off from school this month. I kept thinking, "didn't he have enough time off for Christmas?" One of the days off was for ML King Day. Now, don't get me wrong or get your undies in pinch....I think he was an amazing individual and what he did should always be remembered/celebrated! However...do the kids really need a day off from school? Couldn't they go to school and spend the day REALLY learning about what he stood for and what he accomplished or spend the day doing some volunteering or working on a community project?? Instead of, he made a speech and you get the day off from school. I guarantee you that the majority of kids would respond that way...it's sad. I think a lot of holidays/remembrance days have turned into "just a day off from school" for a lot of kids. They do not know the real purpose of Labor Day, Veterans Day, ML King Day, Memorial Day etc.
There are some schools in Oregon considering going to a 4 day school week in order to cut costs. SERIOUSLY?? They should be ashamed...what's going to happen to our kids' futures if their education needs keep getting cut because of funding? I KNOW that WE ALL pay enough flippin' taxes to support our kids' education needs, SO WHERE IS ALL THE MONEY? Has the country not learned already that you HAVE to invest in your future leaders/society??
Just Ridiculous is all I can say-
Anyhow, enough with my random thoughts-
We have many, many things to be thankful for! Both of the kids are doing great. Mac has had a few piano lessons this month and he seems to be enjoying it! He can play Old McDonald very well. I wanted to record him, but it makes him a bit nervous, so I'll wait awhile-
Lilly is going and blowing 110% as always...she keeps us all on our toes! She has not been sleeping that great lately and Pat and I are stumped as to why. She was doing really great for a long stretch of time- hopefully, she'll get back on track soon.
Pat is still keeping busy at work and that is most definitely a blessing! I too, keep busy...never a problem there-
All in All, January was a good month!
I had a HUGE prayer answered this month.... my Dad was finally approved for FULL VA coverage and they are going to take care of his bills from his accident/injuries. There have been several people that have been working on this for OVER A YEAR and we finally won. You'd think that any Veteran would be taken care of, much less a Vietnam Vet...I mean they only fought for our freedom, witnessed horrible things and were sprayed with lovely Agent Orange....GEEZE!! Just another thing I soo love about our Government!!
Ta-Ta for now-

The MOM Song...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this video... I have said many of the same things to my lil' munchkins. Maybe the trick to get them listening to you is singing it this way!

Ha... I am NO OPERA SINGER-

Also, please scroll down to my last post if you are interested in Mac's fundraiser for The American Heart Association-

Jump Rope for Heart

Hello all,
Mac is participating in Jump Rope for Heart this year and would like to invite you to make a donation to this cause. You can mail us a check (no cash plz) or make an online donation. He has set up a web page just for this- I did notice that the online donations can not be less than $25.00. I think that is a bit ridiculous and a lot to ask for, so please do not hesitate to donate because of this. I think $5.00 is plenty!! (you will just need to mail it to us) His money is due on February 10th. His entire school participates in this event and they do all different kinds of activities for the week of Feb. 9th-13th to raise awareness of heart and stroke research. The money we raise helps people in our community learn how to prevent heart disease and stroke and also helps our local patient care. Mac's school will also qualify for gift certificates for free physical education equipment based on the donations that are collected. With school budgets cut so deep and no other funding available, this is a great way for them to obtain some much needed sports/phys ed supplies!
Click on this link to see Mac's web page and/or make a donation.

http://www.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=284641&u=284641-245772550&e=2191492776

Thanks for your support!

TOOTERS....

This may not be all that appropriate, but in the Potter House "Toots" are hilarious and Santa brought the kids Sponge Bob Whoopee Cushions this year. The kids, Pat and even innocent Henry were playing with the Whoopee cushion the other night, so I grabbed my camera. Hope you all laugh as hard as we did!

Singing Away...

Lilly has been singing away lately. She learned some Christmas songs at school for their program, but didn't get to sing them as planned because of all the snow we had. She was singing them this eve, so I grabbed my camera. The first one is my favorite. I love the Snowman song. I also love when she sings Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas star, she says "Crinkle, Crinkle Christmas star! Too cute- She has made huge leaps and bounds with her speech in the last 4 or 5 months. Potty training and eating better have been improving dramatically too! YEAH!!

On the go-

My Bunco Group!

It has been almost a week since my last post and what a week it's been!

Dad left last Monday. That same evening was Bunco night and it was our 1 year mark! I was really glad Bunco was that evening because it took my mind off saying bye to my Dad. (Never gets easier!)
The kids were back to school on Tuesday. I have been scrambling to get back in the groove of our somewhat hectic routine. I just realized this past week how all the snow days we had really slowed things down for us...I am now appreciating that slow time! The kids were kind of cranky last week. They were tired and having a bit of a time getting back to their school schedules. So far, this week has gone better. I have 8 art classes to do this month instead of my regular 4...actually, I have only 7 now. Did first one last Wednesday- anyhow, we are gettin' our groove back! Mac is getting ready to start roller hockey, piano lessons and baseball...all I can do is try to keep up! Lilly is going to start swimming lessons and we are going to take a Mommy and Me Dance class together. Ha- to be a fly on the wall when I try this class out!! Pat had left for his annual guys trip to Vegas on Thursday, so I had the kiddo's all to myself until late Sunday. Unfortunately, he did not come home as a millionaire, but at least he broke even- Ha!
Also, somewhere in this time frame I had a birthday! I can now just say I am 30 something...never have to give my actual age! COOL- I had a great birthday. I got to spend it with some of my best friends and also celebrated it with some of my awesome family. Another year under my belt, YAHOO!

Dad's Adventures-

This is the sturgeon that dad caught on Sunday. They were on the Willamette River close to where it meets up with the Columbia Gorge. It was 30 degrees out and snowing! They about froze-
Jimmy and Pat caught some as well, but I don't have pictures of them. Dad's was only 2" shy of being a keeper, but it was 40" total in length! ( a keeper has to be between 42"-60")
He enjoyed fishing for them. They put up a good fight when being reeled in.
The next set of pics is from when they went to Tillamook Bay to crab. They did well. Caught 25 total and we had a big crab feast that evening! Dad had never had fresh cooked crab before- he seemed to like it.

Grandpa Tex is headed home...

I did manage to get this very quick shot of Dad and the kids as we were loading up yesterday morning for the airport. Of course, Dad is NOT LOOKING at the camera, but I'll take what I can get! We already miss him...had a great visit.
I am going to post some pictures of his crabbing trip and fishing trip as soon as I can get them off Pat's phone. He really enjoyed the crabbing and sturgeon fishing!

Dan & Daisy...

We were very excited to get "the call' from Dan on New Year's Day! He proposed to Daisy and she said YES. Yahoo!
We are very happy and excited for them both! Daisy is going to add lots of fun and love to our big family.

Here are few pics of the Happy Engaged Couple. Above they are lovin' on Catie Lynn. Hmmm...looks like they are already up for some babes in the future....

PS: Dan, please don't kill me for that last comment! Ha-

New Year's 2009

We rang in the New Year in LaPine. It was a "Full House". We were all there except for Tim, Heidi & the girls. There was never a dull or much quiet moment... a lot of fun was had by all!
Jimmy, Kelly, Pat and I went on a "midnight ride" up Paulina Peak. It was so beautiful up there. The moon was bright and the stars were twinkling!

The kids had a grand time playing and at times bickering...but isn't that what cousins are suppose to do? Lilly seems to think that she is the "boss" most of the time. She was "helping" Tarver go Potty...

Although my Dad was with us and had a great time, I have NO PICTURES OF HIM! He does not like the camera....seems to always disappear when we get it out for pictures! He was very helpful with the sleds. They needed some mechanical work and he just tuned them right up! Everyone is now trying to convince him of moving up here for part of the year to work on projects we all have!