I Don't Have all the Answers

To all of the questions asked of me this past week...
I can't count how many times I had to answer
'I don't know'...
or 'I have no idea'...
or 'it's private'...so I wouldn't have to answer.
So many questions asked... Not enough answers to give.
I guess I better start figuring out some answers.

Finally Getting What He Deserves

If you follow my blog, you know that Del has been with EDS and now Hewlett/Packard for just over 7 years now. He has worked hard and been paid little - or at least, not enough - or at least, not what he's worth.
That has all changed as of this week. Del gave his 2 week notice on Monday to HP and his last day will be March 4th. Then he will start his new job on Monday the 7th. He doesn't want me to say yet where he will be as he wants to wait until he actually starts the job, but we faxed over his accepted offer and contract yesterday and things are a 'GO'. I am so excited for him.
So...now Del has agreed that I can stay home and be Kathryn's mom until I take her up to school in April and then when I get back? I can look for a job then. Whoot whoot!!!
I love being home...and doing all the things I have started doing on the side...some hobbies..some bucket list items and some other dreams I have wanted to fulfill over the past 30 years. It's been a great time for me..and now will be even better with another 8 weeks to enjoy. I'm hoping to get a few more things started so that when I DO go back to work, they will flow a little more easily with less time to devote to them...all of this will make more sense the further involved I get...
Anyways...Congratulations to Del!!! Job promotion - well done - well deserved.

The Sick and Afflicted

I had tons of plans today - appts - lunch with my sister - errands etc...
But nope - all of it cancelled and I'm tending to the sick at my house.
Poor Kathryn just isn't getting better - sore throat, body aches and stuffy nose.
So, it's now laundry, reading, blogging, dr.'s appt and cleaning house for me today.
Thank heavens I'm a homebody!!!

PS - later same day ...
diagnosis??? MONONUCLEOSIS - AGAIN!!!

Getting So Big

Is he just the cutest thing you have ever seen???
The answer would be...yes.
He's almost 5 months now - and he's been sitting up for just over a week and already has 2 teeth!! Kylie started feeding him rice cereal and baby food about two weeks ago and he is loving it...especially banana's, pears, peaches, sweet potatoes and squash.
He laughs and giggles, smiles constantly and loves to go for walks and be outside. When he comes to our house, he loves to be in his high chair and play with his spatula and cup, just to be making noise to let us know he's still the center of attention.
He has found his voice too...and it's adorable. He makes the cutest, loudest and highest pitched noises you have ever heard. And we LOVE it. We even encourage his continual jabbering by carrying on full length conversations with him.
What I find especially humorous is how Kylie will place him in his little BUMBO chair in front of the t.v.- to watch a movie like Finding Nemo or these little Baby Einstein shows and he will sit there for literally hours - staring at the colors, shapes and movements on the screen. He won't move...he literally doesn't move. So funny.
We will be watching our little guy in May when Mike and Kylie go on a cruise. By then, hopefully we will have him taking some of his first steps and we'll be chasing him all over the place to keep us young...
So fun watching my little Preston grow up.

My Best Friends

I've never had a best friend in my life. I've had friends, but never anyone that I have considered my BEST friend. I've always wanted one...and I've always needed one. But never found someone that I have been able to fit the role of what I thought was my 'best friend'.
So, for over the many years, I have found much comfort in the fact that I LOVE my children. I have loved and adored them from the moment they were born...and as they grew and became these little people with their own little personalities, I found myself choosing to spend more and more time with them over the choosing of being with other adults. They were funny, smart, happy and full of life. I have some wonderful memories of a lot of fun times with my young children.
And now as adults, I love how that relationship with them has not changed from being friends to something anything different than just better friends. I still love my kids - I still find them funny, smart, happy and full of life. And when I can, I still choose to spend time with them over any other adults. We have and tell secrets, we cry together and we laugh. We have FUN - we laugh our freakin' heads off - I have never laughed more than when I am with my kids. I love to be with them...They are my greatest joy...they are my best friends.
I'm glad that I've waited all these years to fill that role in my life with those that I love the most.
My kids...

'But I Don't Want to Grow Up'

Del hasn't said a word, mostly because he knows how much I have LOVED not working full time the past 3+ months...BUT...
it's time to be a grown-up again.
In sending Kathryn's housing deposit and rent for the Spring semester and then booking plane flights for April, I have heard the 'cha-ching' sounds ringing throughout the house. And next week, we are supposed to sign her up for classes and then pay the $1600 tuition - so all in all, we have about $4000 going out on that sweet, not yet tattooed little caboose of mine...
Cha-ching!!!
I need to get back to work.
So the job hunt has REALLY started now. I sent out 6 resumes today with craigslist and then I have about 10 other contacts that I need to reach out to the rest of this week and next week. It shouldn't be hard to get a job...the openings in my field are out there - plenty of them, and I am qualified..that's probably exactly why I have been dragging my feet. I know I'll end up starting within days...and I haven't wanted to yet. But I can't let another month go by without helping out - so, I really need to start a full time job by...probably Monday the 21st. Pouting face :(!!
But, it will mean we can do all the things I'm wanting to do - a family cruise, going to Utah and helping pay for Kathryn to be in school. Plus, we're probably looking at getting a new car in the near future and I shouldn't be expecting Del to carry this whole financial load, especially when the benefits are mine to enjoy.
But it's been wonderful having so much time - to keep up with things, cook, blog, read, music and just everything the past three months have allowed me to do and be.
But, I AM an adult..time to start acting like one..
Sure glad I already have my trip in April scheduled - my last 'young at heart' get away...
at least until, well, maybe the end of September....
that seems like a good time to go up to Utah again...

One Last Headache...For The Road...

She doesn't even leave for another month +...
But, she's wanting to go out with a bang!!!
Yes, this would be a tattoo...and yes, I was informed she is wanting to get this done before she goes off to BYU Idaho!!!! OF COURSE SHE DOES!!! WHY WOULDN'T SHE WANT TO DO ONE LAST THING before going off to college that requires the strictest honor code in all of the United States?????
I told her she couldn't. She looked at me funny and asked 'why not?' I, of course, gave her all the correct answers, finishing with 'because I'm your mom and I said so!'
The minute I said it, even I laughed... I asked her 'why doesn't that mean anything to you??'
With head in my hands I am breathing deeply....I'm surprised I'm breathing at all. Her dad stopped breathing hours ago and Kylie?? Kylie is determined she will talk sense into Kathryn before this comes to pass. I told her to knock herself out - I was throwing my hands up and crying 'UNCLE' for the last time...
I've now just had over an hour long conversation with Kylie - with both of us ending in tears.
We are desperately wanting Kathryn to understand the significance of her choices NOW - but when in reality, I have to know and understand that Kathryn will probably not understand the significance of her choices for years to come and that I have to learn patience and long suffering - and a few other Godlike qualities that are required of me to understand this concept of unconditional love.
So - for the next few weeks, I will encourage this decision of a tattoo to go another direction - but, if in the end, she chooses to get what I hear is called a 'tramp stamp', which is the tattoo on the 'small of her back', then I, for yet one more time, will smile and embrace her with all the love I have for her as my beautiful child.

They Look Like Moccasins to Me

Kathryn owns a Payless shoe store...
I have...well, I just bought a few new pairs of shoes last month before the wedding - so now?
I have about 8 pairs of shoes...1 running/walking shoes, 2 black heels, black boots, 1 flip flops, brown heels, white sandals and tennis shoes.
Yeah - I'm not big on shoes...I go barefoot all day inside the house...I wear shoes on Sunday to church, when I walk/run and then work shoes with my scrubs. Otherwise, flip flops...
But Kathryn is crazy!!! You walk in the front door and they are lined up (only because I PUT them in a line hoping she'll pick them up ) from one end of the house to the other....and she has one of everything..two of most styles. But she gets most of them at Payless or Shoe Mart, so pretty inexpensive.
But how many pairs of shoes can you wear at one time????
Today, I had to run out to WalMart for some groceries and a Valentines Day card...I was in sweats...t-shirt - gorgeous day!!! I had the windows and doors open as Kathryn and I had been dancing and jumping around the front room to music and had left my tennis shoes outside - and flip flops were no where to be found.
I grabbed some socks and had them on before grabbing Kathryn's moccasins that were at the front door. I hear her let out a squeal...'MOM, you can't wear my Minnetonka's!!!' Because I had no idea what she was talking about, I was out the door and in the car before she caught up with me...
Apparently, the moccasins I had put on are $120 shoes..and you DON'T wear them with socks. What the heck??!! How was I to know??? They looked like moccasins to me!!! She made me take off the socks and warned me to not walk in water and ruin her 'shoes'.
At that point I was HOPING there would be SOME teenager at WalMart that would notice what a cool mom I was, wearing my Minnetonka's withOUT socks. No such luck.
At least I knew I was cool - Kathryn said so...
and here I thought I was just putting on moccasins...
Ba...lessons learned every day.