Thanks Nate

What a day we had yesterday! Yes, this probably will sound like a PLUM (poor little ole me) party, but anybody that knows me knows that I love to complain, so oh well. It all started when I woke up and Nikki had not only peed on our bed but all over me as well. Nice, since I don't like mornings to start with. Then, I think the best word to describe her attitude all day long would be "contrary." Whatever I suggested she do, she had to do the complete opposite. We had three different kinds of cereal and two kinds of oatmeal to choose from for breakfast, but ALL she wanted was the kind of cereal we ran out of the day before. Then, I had to call around to make an emergency eye appointment since Nikki broke my glasses the night before diving off of a chair onto me. I left her at Nate's office while I went to my appointment because by that time I was sure she would demolish the doctor's office if I asked her to sit in a chair and be quiet. I also thought it might help Nate gain a little sympathy for what I was going through, but of course she was an angel for him. The price of new glasses and contacts left me thinking that laser eye surgery might not just be nice but a very practical investment. Then there was a mountain of laundry to be washed and the grass to be mowed with our only half-way functioning lawn mower. Good grief. I guess Nate must have noticed my mood because he put the girls to bed and then got out the fondue set. Oh, how I love chocolate. It was abolutely wonderful and exactly what I needed. Thank goodness for my wonderful husband.

Lawn mower maintenance

My dad would have been so proud of me this morning. How many times did I watch him take apart our lawn mowers? At least two or three times each summer. And he had this aluminum pie plate that he kept spare parts in because every time he took something apart there were always leftover pieces when got finished putting it back together. I think I've mentioned before the pitiful state of our lawn mower. Well, Nate & I took it apart this morning. I was going to do it myself and that must have scared him because he got out the owner's manual and was reading it while I was dumping out the old oil. I didn't do much to it -- just changed the oil and cleaned out this sponge thing that I think was some kind of air filter whatever. But I had seen my dad do it so many times I wasn't too worried about it. I didn't know if it would work when I was done since Dad didn't always have such good luck with it, but it turned out really well. When I started cutting the grass last night I thought for sure I would be at Lowe's this morning buying a new mower, but it's amazing what a little maintenance can do. It almost sounded like a new machine, and it certainly wasn't blowing that black smoke out at me anymore! =) So, thanks Dad for showing me how to take apart a lawn mower.

a college drop-out no more

This morning I took my first final exam in almost six years! I can't believe I have been out of school for that long. I was pretty nervous about taking the test, but I really shouldn't have been. It was just true/false and multiple choice questions. I've always been pretty good at those kind of tests. Now, essays would have been a different story. I was really glad they broke me in easily. I had to go to the ECU testing center, which is almost an hour away, since that was the nearest approved testing center. My mom and dad went to ECU, so I thought it was kind of neat to be taking a test on the same campus where my parents had taken their own finals years ago. I can have such sentimental thoughts about the silliest things sometimes. Anyway, it feels really good not to be a drop-out anymore. This first class was just a 1.0 credit hour introductory course to independent study classes. It was interesting material, but the best part of it was getting back into the school mindset. I had forgotten that school was hard, but that only makes the accomplishment of completing the class feel even better. I'm really looking forward to my next classes.

summer fun

Our weather has been absolutely gorgeous this week, and we are just loving it. We have been swimming about three times. Our pool from last year had a few leaks in it, so we had to get another one. Nate decided to try this one that you don't have to blow up. I think it will be fine, but it took Hannah, Nikki, and me all holding the sides up for the longest time to wait for it to fill up with water so it wouldn't collapse. They were great helpers. The girls started asking me at about 8:30 this morning if they could go swimming. This summer is going to be a lot of fun.

my brown thumb

I had to take a picture of this flower bed before it all turned brown. I planted some tulips in there a couple of weeks ago, and they were the first to die. I just replaced them with these pansies that I thought were going to be a variety of colors, but they are all purple. At least I kept them alive long enough to see them bloom! If I keep the bulbs of the tulips and plant them this fall, will they grow next spring or are they just dead now? I must be a disgrace to my parents and the Littles. How did they keep greenhouses FULL of plants alive when I have a hard time keeping a couple of flower beds going? While I was working in the greenhouses I used to say that I would have a landscaper do the job if I ever wanted flowers in my yard. I thought that would be because I wouldn't want to mess with flowers anymore -- little did I know that I would need a landscaper because I can't grow anything on my own!

Easter eggs

Yesterday we went to two Easter parties. The first was at Hannah's preschool in the morning, and the second was at church last night. Of course they both had Easter egg hunts, and the girls loved it. Well, all they have done this morning is have their own Easter egg hunts in the house. Hannah will fill the eggs with little toys and things, and then have Nikki and me come find the eggs. When Nikki and I try to hide the eggs, Nikki can't stop herself from showing Hannah where all the eggs are. Will they ever get tired of this? I think they have almost had more fun today than they did yesterday. We have the cutest girls. I just love them so much.

loading trucks

As we were growing up working in the greenhouses we used to get so frustrated with the other high school kids that were hired on for the summer. It seemed like they were always such wimps. One task that we all had to help with was loading the trucks with flowers that had been ordered and were being shipped out. It was dirty, hot, tiring and just plain hard work. We would joke that when we got married it would have to be to someone who could load a truck. Well, this Saturday I cut our grass for the first time since we've been in this house, and I was a little worried that I might not be up to loading trucks anymore. Granted, we have a cheap push mower that ate a lot of dust last summer when we had a little grass and lots of dirt in our last yard -- it kept coughing at me whenever I hit a thick patch of grass. And our lot now is about 3/4 of an acre. But still, my hands now have a line of blisters across my palms, and when I got done cutting the ditch bank I thought my legs weren't going to hold me up anymore. I couldn't help but laugh at myself and think what a comfortable life I'm leading. Things certainly are different for me now than they used to be when I was the daughter of a truck driver (that was my mom, not my dad =}) and the girl who didn't know what her fingernails would look like without dirt under them.

Lightning

This past Monday morning we were all sleeping in a little bit, since Nate didn't set his alarm clock, when the biggest thunderstorm came through. Lightning struck our house, and I didn't know you could jump straight up from a laying down position -- but that's exactly what I did! The girls called it a big pop, and I think that is a good description of what it sounded like. It was soooo loud. All of the smoke detectors went off for about 5 seconds, just long enough for me to worry about how we would stay sane while going around trying to disconnect them all. Thank goodness they all stopped on their own. The girls were pretty shaken, but we were very grateful that everything was okay. Our internet connection was the only thing that was fried. So, I guess we were really lucky. We had electrical storms throughout the day, and I must say that I really like them. They are so pretty and almost soothing to me. Well, it wasn't soothing that morning, but once everything calmed down I enjoyed the storm again. I would say that now we don't have to worry about getting struck by lightning since it never strikes the same place twice, but I remember Sweet Home Alabama. =)

Nikki's breakthrough

Nikki has been doing really well with her fear of flies this week. She has come outside with us simply because she would have been left in the house alone for most of the past five days. But tonight we had a major breakthrough. The kids wanted to have a picnic on the back porch for supper, and of course the back door was left open for a while as everyone tromped in and out getting food and napkins and drinks, etc. Well, wouldn't you know that while I was giving the girls a bath, there was a fly buzzing around the bathroom. I was so surprised that Nikki didn't flip out. She actually wanted to stay in the bathroom and watch me get it with the flyswatter (which did turn out to be quite a show -- it was a really fast one =]). There ended up being three flies caught in the bathrooms tonight. All the kids wanted to come in and help me, and since we are watching my brother's 2 girls this weekend that was a whole lot of bodies in the smallest rooms of the house! So, way to go Nikki. I was so proud of her.