A Little Bit of This...A Little Bit of That!

So, I'm done being sick...I think.
I think it was a stomach bug.
I was down & out Tuesday, and then Wednesday too.

So, clearly...I've got some catching up to do!

Saturday, we had a birthday party to attend for Hubby's step-sister. The Big 50!



Gage had a great time in the pool & out. He had a blast with their dog, Lucy.



Clearly, my child had a blast swimming....



After that, we went over to the In-law's & had a good visit. Jordan & Josh & Brad & Ramona were in town. Jordan's getting ready to move down to College Station!

Josh, well, he's growing soooooo fast. He's waaaaay taller than me (but then again...a lot of 10 year olds are taller than me)! I was joking with him about his long hair & how he looks like Shaggy from Scooby Doo. I made him hold up Gage's Shaggy figurine for a picture...





So, last Saturday was a long day, but it was a good day!
We all went home happy!




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Product Review:
Nicole by OPI, Nic Sticks ---- nailpolish in a stick.
Personally, not my favorite.
You can't control the color as much as you think you can. I dunno...maybe the bristles on the brush are too long. I don't know. I guess I expected it to be more like a Sharpie than what it was really like. I just was not impressed. I would rather just buy a bottle of polish than another one of these. And compared to a bottle of polish---they aren't cheap for the little amount of polish you get. Also, I didn't find the color on my nails to be THAT close to the color on the label. The color I THOUGHT I was getting This color that I bought, "I'm Outta Here" (gotta love those names!), well, I would probably rename it "Mrs.Roper Coral" based on how it looks on my nails. I'm just sayin'....

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I'm so sick.

Gage is at the Mother In Law's. I'm so sick.
I've been throwing up, and my head was hurting so bad that I seriously considered removing my right eyeball with a spoon.

I finally got to sleep, and since waking up, I've managed to eat a popsicle, and not puke it up.

Bridezilla Dawn ....

Are you freaking kidding me?
If you watch Bridezillas, and you've seen this episode of Dawn & Jeremy...Oh.My.Gosh. I just pray that Gage never falls in love with a witch like that. She's a mother in law's worst nightmare.

I'm watching the episode as I type this...and I just keep hoping that at any minute he'll call off the wedding.

I know that weddings can bring out an ugly side of people----but my goodness!
She just seems to be an ugly person.

Who's Up for Poker?

Last night, we had a few friends over for a little poker game.

Okay, the ones who played poker: Mark, Hubby, & Nathan.
The ones who just played: Gage & Aubri.
The ones who sat around chatting: Tera, Me, Pam.

Good times.

I got a few pics, but really, not a lot....





Hubby erected his poker table in the yellow room...the room formerly known as the dining room.
Since we gave the den furniture to our neice, we moved all the dining room stuff into the old den, and repurposed that room as a dining room. Gotta say: it's a much smaller room with a fireplace, and it overlooks the back patio & backyard. It's just a much cozier feel. And so, of course we have grand plans to repurpose the yellow room....Those details coming in the near future....

Gage & Aubri played. We've REEEEEEEEEEEEALLY been working on sharing with Gage. I have to commend my husband on his efforts in this department. In fact, last night, I put him on share-patrol. He was to monitor & discipline Gage with regard to sharing.

Anyway...Gage did well with sharing last night. It's difficult for him in general, but particularly difficult on his home turf.





This on a Friday night made for a very long day....but we had a good time.
:)

Hangin' Out....

On Wednesday night, we went over to Mark & Pam's.

They are some new friends in our neighborhood.
Let's see...we've lived here for 4 years now.
They've lived in their house for a year now.

Crew Present: Me, Hubby, Gage, Mark, Pam, Tera, Nathan, & Aubri....

And we were greeted at the door by their dogs, Apollo & Abi.
Let me tell you---I wanted to put a saddle on Apollo & let Gage go for a ride.
These dogs are Huuuuuuuuuuuuge. And they are soooooooooooo sweet!

We had a great time....the spirits were flowing, and Thursday morning---I was hating life. I was hungover, and had to go to work. I wear heels at work, and the floor in the ER is tile. Every step that I took made that little high-heel sound...it was like an ice pick jabbing into my brain with every step. I wanted to just take my shoes off! ....but um....on an ER floor? No thanks.

Anyway....here are some pictures from the night...


Apollo, Me, Gage


Nathan & Tera


Gage & Aubri


Pam & Mark


Hanging out....


Pam made Smores!!!




While we were there, Abi somehow noticed that the clock on the wall has a little second hand that moves more quickly than the minute & hour hands.
It was so funny. She was fascinated & consumed with that clock!!!!
(and yes, she's in heat, so she's wearing her "bitch's britches"...)


Gage LOVED the dogs. The above picture is of Apollo & Gage.
I think they just may be "Best Buds Forever!"
On Thursday morning, he talked about Abi & Apollo all the way out to Rockwall.
The first thing out of his mouth to Poppa (once we got to Rockwall) was to tell him all about "the biiiiiiiiiiiig dogs!"

:)
And, a good time was had by all.

Thanks........

Mom & David,
Thanks for our flowers.

It's hard to believe that one year ago today, we found out that our unexpected, pleasant surprise baby was not going to be. It's amazing how much you can fall in love with someone in such a short amount of time. How you can fill your heart and mind with hopes & dreams for a little one, and then it's just...not going to be.

Sometimes I feel like it just happened, and it feels fresh.
And sometimes I feel like it was so long ago.
Some days, I think, she'd be...however old, right now.
I imagine my life being different with two children instead of one.
How would it be different? What would we be doing right now?

But, it's been a year.
A year ago tonight I cried myself to sleep knowing that it would be my last night to spend with Masyn tucked away inside me. Not that the baby was alive, but it was my last night to be pregnant with Masyn. I just cried my little eyes out while my husband held me.

And now it's been a year.
It's hard to believe.

But, I have faith that there is a plan for us.
God has a plan for our family.

Today So Far....

Well, so far today, I've had some coffee, put gas in the rental car, and returned the rental car.

We've come back home....and played in the backyard for a bit.

I'm so glad I don't have to go to work today!











:)

Monday, Monday....

Today's Monday....

It was day #5 of work for me. Today is my Friday. Wooohoooo.

I normally only work 3 days a week, so 5 in a row was not the norm for me.
I'm ready to have a day off!!!!

So, obviously, if you do the math, I worked on Saturday.

After work, Dad & Allen came over, and we got take-out pizza & had a good ol' time. You know, with the bomb dropping and all...

Gage had fun playing tee-ball...


And...if you look in the upper right hand corner of the above photo---you'll see a brown strip in the grass. Um....about that.... well, that's what happens when you put the slip-n-slide down on your Hubby's St.Augustine, and don't move it for a week...or more. Yeah, I got in trouble.... whoops. won't do that again!

Hubby had a hose sprinkler going in the front... and a neighbors dog had a BLAST playing with it. It seriously drove Hubby nuts, but it was sooooo funny to watch!




I had a house full of silly boys while we ate pizza!




It was a pretty fun night.


After that, Dad & Allen went to Pop & Gammy's to spend the night.
Gage ended up in our bed, and I woke up Sunday morning with Gage literally on top of me! I was asleep on my tummy, and he was asleep on my back. I tried to carefully turn left & right just to see him curled up on my back, but I couldn't see it. Oh well...

Then Sunday morning, it was up & back to work.

Sunday evening, Gage was BEGGING to go to the Mother In Law's, and she said it was fine, so I took him out there to spend the night. He of course had a blast and came home this afternoon after work.

So, last night, we watched SHUTTER

It was okay. Not great, but okay.

Then...today, I worked.
Came home, cleaned a bit. Gage goes to bed in about 30 minutes.
I'm ready to be off the next 2 days!

Big Announcement........

So...today I'm going to blog about something that I haven't blogged about before.
It's something that has been going on in my world, and it's something that I'm struggling with.
Many people close to me know about it b/c we've discussed it....but I've never mentioned it here....until now.

Last night, my dad informed me that he proposed to his "girlfriend", R* (I am not going to type out her name & all that jazz....we'll just refer to her as "R*")

He only met her in June.
She's SEVEN YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME.
She turned 23 in June, and I turned 30 in June.

Gross.

There are just a lot of concerns I have for my Dad.
I am concerned about her pulling some Anna Nicole Smith shit, and marrying him for his money. I am concerned that after some period of time she'll leave him, take his life savings, and he'll wind up old, alone, and penniless!
So, of course I mentioned "pre-nup" to my Dad, and he agrees that it is in his best interest financially.

I don't want to sound greedy about that. I don't care about any future inheritance I may or may not get. That's not what this is about. I see old people all of the time who can't afford to be old. I don't want to see my dad in that same boat after working hard his whole life.

On the other hand......
I would hate for her to come into this situation believing that I hate her.
I don't hate her. I don't even freakin' know her!
I do however question her intentions.
It's not that I think my father isn't worthy of love. I simply question what they could POSSIBLY have in common!

Anyway....I was trying to lay out my positive take on this situation:
---he won't grow old alone (oh wait, he'll grow old, and she'll be like...30).
---the more people that love my father, the better.

And maybe it's because of my job...where I work...I dunno.
I have this warped way of looking at things sometimes...but I think: what if he were in some horrible accident, and then all of his medical decisions were left in her hands, and she didn't even call me! What if he never puts it in writing about his advanced directives & she just yells "pull the plug!" before I could ever even get to him!

So, I have these sick & twisted thoughts, and then I feel just horrible.
I don't even know this girl (yes, I did just refer to her as a "girl." I can. I'm her senior!).
Anyway...I don't even know her & I am making assumptions about her, her personality, and predicting future actions, and that is completely unfair of me. It's judgemental, and I wouldn't want to be judged this way....

...but I can't seem to stop myself.

This is my life.
It is what it is.
My dad's going to marry a 23 year old that I've never even met, and I'm not ready to meet her yet.
I'll puke in my own mouth if I see her kiss him. I just will.
I'm not ready to see this stuff with my own eyes yet.

But, maybe I'll love her.
Maybe she'll be great.

She's already told my Dad that she hopes she & I "will be the best of friends!"

So Dallas....

Check This out....



Do you see the white/blonde-haired lady in the background, the one adjusting her top.
Check out that hair.
I swear she looks like something out of LazyTown!

Movie Reviews!!!!

Juno
Easily my favorite movie of the year. Easily.
Loved it. Laughed, cried....loved it.


The Bucket List
I loved it. I really really really enjoyed it.


Lars and the Real Girl
I really liked it. Hubby did not. We agree that there were some parts that could have been shorter...


The Eye
Starring Jessica Alba. She's a total cutie. The movie: freaked me out!


The Ruins
Um....it's only okay if there is nothing else on. Not great. But I tell ya---you'll never look at English Ivy the same way ever again.


Strange Wilderness
I have no idea how good, bad, or ugly this movie is....the first 5 minutes were so dorky that I just turned it off & mailed it back. And I tell ya---if I'll watch "The Ruins" in its entirety, then you know THIS was pretty crappola for me to turn it off.


Maxed Out
Documentary about debt & Americans.
Very good. I really didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.


Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Very good. I laughed so freakin' hard at some parts. Holy-moly. Funny.


....okay....I think that's a pretty good list for now!

This & That...

Kind of boring lately.

Well, there's been a lot going on....but nothing too eventful.

My car is in the shop getting a new bumper after I got rear-ended on the highway. Sadly, they knew right away that the trunk dent was not involved in the collision, and therefore, they are not just fixing that too. Oh, they were happy to give me a quote of $1300.00, but that doesn't include replacing the trunk door---just pulling out a dent & basically doing the minimum possible amount of work.
Mmmmm....no thanks.

In the meantime---they've given me a rental.
A NISSAN ALTIMA.
4-door.

My take on this car....
Pros:
---storage space rocks. Everywhere I turn there is another place to store stuff.
---cup holders: 3 up front? Lovin' it. I am.
---radio stations: I can store 3 sets of stations....for a total of 18 different stations. That's good stuff.
---roomy interior.
---huge trunk. I could definitely fit more than one body in that trunk! (how sick & twisted is that thought????)
---keyless system that's kind of cool, but completely foreign to me.
---gas mileage. It has surprisingly good gas mileage for the size of car it is...or, I think so anyway....

Cons:
---interior is fabric, and this fabric is hot & sucky. hate it.
---no rear back up safety feature.
---no navigation system, but I'm sure that's an option. I don't know. All I know---I'm used to driving WITH one, so not having one somehow makes me nervous. For example, if there is traffic ahead, and I just punch in buttons to "go home", I can turn every which way to get around the traffic, and my regular car just re-routes me back to my house. In this car---I'm on my own, and that's a scary thought.
---no radio buttons on the steering wheel. Again, something I'm used to.
---the seat adjustments: manual, and to raise the seat up (hello, I'm super-short), you have to not only locate the right lever, but then figure out that you have to pump it multiple times to raise the seat up. Yes, like you are using some type of pump to air up a bicycle tire. It's stupid. It needs to be changed.

........so, it's not perfect.....but, it's not crummy either.
And, I rather enjoy driving different cars when my car is in the shop. That's when I fell in love with the Hyundai Sonata. My jeep was in the shop & they gave it to me as a loaner. I loved it. I would not say that it is my dream car, but driving it as a rental was fun. And, it wasn't one of those cars that you see & think "man, I should check those out"....but when I had it as a rental, it was quite enjoyable.
:)

I'm working this weekend... Wow. It'll be a 5-day stretch for Th/Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon & I've been asked to work Tuesday. Hmmmm....we'll see....

I still haven't registered for school yet. I'm supposed to be returning in the Fall from my LOA, but I have to get cleared to register. At some point in the near future, I need to meet with an adviser, and just get the registering DONE.

Medical bills are ALMOST paid off from all of Hubby's surgeries. I am so proud of us for this!

Got selected for Jury Duty. Or---rather, I'm on standby for Jury Duty on 7/29. I've never done it before, so I must say---I'm kind of hoping I get called up for it. Don't get me wrong---it may be a headache to park & find the right building, and sit around & wait all day. Or.....it may be exciting & feel somewhat rewarding. We'll just have to see how it goes....

Movie reviews will be coming soon. Goodness knows I've watched plenty of movies lately!

Hope you all have a Happy Weekend!

One Year Ago....

One year ago on 7/16/7...in the evening time.... I finally took a pregnancy test....and it came back positive.

I didn't immediately know that Masyn would be the chosen name.
Coy kept coming to forefront of my mind.

...and then it just kind of all came together...
Masyn Coy D...

My Thrill on Blueberry Hill

So, this past weekend I took Gage to visit my Mom in East Texas. During our visit, she got the big idea to take us to this little neighboring town called Edom (population 326). We went to Blueberry Hill Farms to pick fresh blueberries.

IT WAS SOOOOO MUCH FUN.







The group included: me, mom, Gage, Allen, and Mario.
Here are all the blueberries we picked, totalling $11 & some change.


We were a hot & sweaty mess by the end, but luckily---they offer fresh cold treats when you're done picking blueberries!


And....we also found THIS little guy getting a drink...

YIKES!

So...if you're looking for some inexpensive family fun next year during blueberry season---I say, check this out! We had a blast. Mom read the information about their history & peak blueberry season. I think it peaks around 4th of July.

:)