November 01, 2008
Halloween Images
So another Halloween is past us and then my birthday comes and next Thanksgiving. This year for holidays will be sad for me, the last four months have been pretty sad actually.
We have had a nice fall and I'm really not looking forward to winter, but come she will!
I hope we can do some snowmaching this winter! Maybe gas won't get too crazy by the time the snow gets here.
Otherwise all is well in our home this first day of November 2008!
Posted by tracey at 07:30 PM | Comments (0)
June 19, 2008
Rusty came home!
Our kitty Rusty has returned after a month of missing in action!
He disappeared around the second week of May and we were sure he was never coming home. He's our big orange tiger cat and off he went one day and just never came back.
I had a dream last week that he had returned and I mentioned it to my mother and she said, "Must mean he's on his way home."
Then...exactly a week later I came across his vet record, I had it out to take him to the vet's for a check up before he went missing. I looked at it and thought, "I may as well put it away, I don't think he's coming home."
Well, low and behold, Hannah and I got up this morning and she went into the kitchen to let one of our other cats out, opened the door and in runs Rusty soaking wet from the rain!
He's very thin, but we are feeding him good and he won't leave your side! He's happy to be home!
Posted by tracey at 10:37 PM | Comments (0)
August 19, 2007
Kind of a rough end
to our summer days...
So we spent the last week out to my husband's family camp on the lake and it was a nice time despite some crappy weather here and there. Devon usually celebrates her birthday out there and this year it was spent inside, but turned out nice anyway. She's turning the BIG 15 on Tuesday...and of course at this age the only gift that matters is cold hard cash and that is what she got!
Poor Hannah on the other hand is quite ill and spent the day at the hospital getting rehydrated and medications for pain. Her symptoms started about 10 days ago and just progressively got worse until I finally got her in to see the doctor on Friday, not her regular, but the covering doc, which, I'm not to taken with. Anyhow, on Friday she didn't think too much was wrong with her, a virus, usual diagnosis, "nothing we can do but let it run it's course." Ok, I know that, but this seemed a little different to me. SO, she did a strep culture of her throat and said she would call Sat am if it was positive and if I didn't hear from her then not to worry. Ok, so Sat comes, Hannah is feeling even worse than on Friday, I wait til noon, no call from the doctor so, Ok, nothing is wrong, strep wise anyhow, but I still wasn't convinced. In the meantime I'm trying everything I can think of to make her feel better, salt water gargles, teaspoons of honey and lemon and tylenol, but to no avail. The poor kid couldn't swallow, she couldn't get comfortable and then yesterday all she did was sleep, which I thought was good...
To make a long story short, I decided to call the doctor again this morning as she was even worse than the day before and she said to take her in to the hospital and get some labs done. The ER nurse immediately suspected strep because of the foul odor and her voice being all distorted, she did another culture, positive. Then I asked about Mono because of her sudden sleepiness, sure enough, positive. The doctor seemed a bit surprised by all this and kept saying, "Well, she is worse than when I saw her on Friday." Course, I chalked it up to the nurse knowing more then her and getting a better culture, but anyhoo, they kept her all day to rehydrate her as she was bone dry and had some ketones in her urine. So 9 hours later we are home and she's passed out on the couch, but feeling much better, but a little bummed she missed the county fair and her big sister didn't.
I told her maybe we'll catch another fair around the county before the end of the season, she beamed from ear to ear...
Posted by tracey at 07:43 PM | Comments (1)
March 13, 2007
Honoring A Dear Friend
(on her birthday...)
~ A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be. ~
Douglas Pagels
Val is just simply the best and the older I get the more I admire her wit and wisdom and am so thankful to God that she has been and continues to be a very special part of my life.
She's like a mother, older sister and best friend all rolled into one!
We met nearly 20 years ago, maybe 20 years now actually. Let me see, it was 1989, 18 years then. I didn't realize it had been so long!
Val is older than me by like 20 years, but we have maintianed a wonderful friendship for almost that long.
We don't live far from each other and we actually don't see each other all that much, but we do stay in touch and try to make it a point to get together and do things once in a while which is what I really look forward too, her visits, outings together to shop and have lunch and just talking on the phone.
Val has a witty sense of humor, one you can only appreciate once you have gotten to know her, she's bright, intellectual, well read in politics and God's word. She knows how to give and receive unselfishly and she's always there to lend an ear or a shoulder.
I just enjoy her as a friend, confidant, and one who believes in me as a person and sees me for who I really am, one that loves my children as her own and appreciates my family and God loving ways.
Thanks Val for being such a wonderful part of my life!
Posted by tracey at 07:55 AM | Comments (0)
February 03, 2007
Time to say Goobye
to an old friend, our old Tom cat Tommy. He's 9 years old, my favorite cat, the first cat I ever had on my own, from when I moved away from home. He came to us through an animal shelter that use to bring in cats where I worked, hoping to find them good homes. He was the cutest kitten, tiger marked with a big white patch under his neck and white paws. As a kitten he was very fluffy, but his hair got shorter as he grew older.
He was a big cat and use to love to follow us on walks with the dogs! He'd always bring up the rear, meowing every so often to let us know he was still with us!
He's been very sick, bladder problems and the vets couldn't help help him even though they took $400 to try!
I feel better knowing though, that I tried to help him first, but he's just suffering now so we are taking him this morning to be put down. He just isn't coming around and I can't stand to see him suffer any longer.
It's a sad day for sure...
Posted by tracey at 09:55 AM | Comments (0)
July 19, 2006
So,
my sister is coming home to get married...Talk about short notice!!!
She's decided to get hitched on her vacation home from Florida. My mother isn't stressed or anything...No, just driving everyone crazy with the "details." The funny thing is, my sister wants NOTHING at all fancy, she really doesn't, but I think she is in for a BIG surprise.
The big day is July 29 and she is marrying Randy, the love of her life and will become step mom to Kaitlyn and Jarrett. I've met them just once before this past March, I guess they will be known as step neice and nephew? Not sure how that works, but that sounds ok.
She plans to have the ceremony on my parents front lawn with a Justice of the Peace and then a big BBQ party afterwards.
I hope the weather holds out so I can get some good pictures!
No one ever thought she would marry, including myself! But I think this one is a keeper so congrats to her!
Posted by tracey at 08:10 AM | Comments (0)
June 09, 2006
8th Grade Graduation
Well, can it be? Devon has graduated from 8th grade. Tell me would you please? Where does the time go???
Of course it started raining that afternoon, Wed, and it's been raining ever since! Her certificate got all wet and wrinkled, but it dried out!
We all enjoyed the little ceremony they had at school and this fall she starts highschool!
Posted by tracey at 02:04 PM | Comments (0)
May 07, 2006
It's May!
Well, it's may and it's pretty darn cold today!!! Gosh! The sun is shining and to look out you would think it was a gorgeous day, well it is, kinda, if the temperature was just a bit warmer!
The girl's and I spent the weekend at Dodie and Bob's and visited with them and little Molly.
She's getting so grown up! We did some shopping and I brought Andy home a 1/2 gallon of maple syrup that Dodie's brother made this year. He LOVED that!
The newest member of the family arrived Friday afternoon at 2:30 pm. We had little Josh all day until we got the phone call that little Jacob had arrived! Safe and sound, 7 lbs 3 1/4 oz. We caught just a glimpse of him before they wisked him away to be cleaned up.
We'll make a visit this coming week and hopefully I can get some better pics of him!
While we were gone, Andy did a stroke of business here around the yard, finished painting and got the gardens all ready! He also moved my new bird feeders right in front of my window here by the computer and now I can see them all the time!
I'll try and get some pics!
Posted by tracey at 05:55 PM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2006
April Showers
bring May flowers right? But, it could be a bit warmer!! Oh well, at least spring is coming.
Hannah banana is 5 years old today! Actually, to be accurate not until 11:32 pm tonight, but at any rate she is turning 5 and the time has sure flown!!
She enjoyed a great birthday party on Saturday and tonight she gets to pick her restaurant for dinner. I think it will be McDonald's or Wendy's, but we'll see.
The roof is done!! And it looks great. What a difference! I also found some outside porch lights I want to get and Andy got that side of the house all sanded down so we can paint this weekend, if it warms up a little! (I heard snow is in the forcast!)
Posted by tracey at 06:33 AM | Comments (0)
February 28, 2006
Tonsils
our gone!!
Hannah finally had her tonsils and adenoids out yesterday. It was pretty uneventful except for the anesthesia part, which strangely enough, is what I had worried about the most.
They got her all ready to go into the OR and she was worried about everyone seeing her butt since those darn johnies don't cover up the behinds! LOL But, she finally got over that and I got to ride with her on the stretcher into the OR. There they put her to sleep and that was a little traumatic for me, but I did ok. Then they took me back out to the waiting room whereupon the anesthiesologist came back and got me about five minutes later to say they had had some trouble getting her under, her airway closed off! They had to wake her back up and wanted me to go back in as they hadn't been able to get the IV and all that established.
So, I went back in the OR and poor little thing, she's quite disoriented, looking all around, like "what the heck is going on??" She was real good though. She let them put the IV in and then they had to spray all kinds of numbing stuff down her throat and some other stuff they put on a tongue blade and had to wait until it melted down her throat, ugh! But she did it and then they intubated her, gave her more meds to make her go to sleep and I left once again only to wait and worry more and more. But, they came out after about 30 minutes and it was all over!
She woke up really well too, just laying there on her side and all of sudden her eyes open and she's looking around and wanted to get out of bed!! LOL
She did really really well and I am so glad they are out and now she breathes sooooo much better and hopefully all the nasty colds and coughs she gets will go away too!
Today has been a bit rough, but I've been getting her to drink all I can and she's doing better with some pain medicine and apple juice!
Posted by tracey at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)
February 25, 2006
Rock a bye baby
I got to rock my little nephew last night and it felt good holding a little baby in my arms again. He didn't like it at first though, he was VERY tired, and was fighting sleep even as he cried rubbing both fists into his eyes! I rocked and rocked and rocked and finally he gave in and fell fast asleep, and I rocked him some more...
Posted by tracey at 06:36 PM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2006
Excited
for my big brother Frankie! He's off to see some of the country with our cousin Michael who is a long distance tractor trailer driver. They left this afternoon from northern Vermont to travel all the way to California via the northern route! I am SOOOO excited for Frankie because this is just what he needs to get him out of the slump he's been in for quite some time now!
I am hoping he enjoys the trip, takes lots of pictures and comes home full of stories to share. I pray for their safety of course, but know they will be ok!!
Life is good, God is good!
Posted by tracey at 07:30 PM | Comments (0)
December 29, 2005
A Piggy Bank
FULL of money!!
This tiny piggy bank 
was given to me as a gift for Hannah's babyshower. Over the last few months I've been throwing loose change in it whenever I come across some.
Tonight, her big sister decided to count it up as it was getting too full to put anymore in it.
I couldn't believe how much change I had stuffed into the little thing! $15 to be exact!!!
Rolled and into the bank it will go!
I thought that was pretty cool. So did Hannah by the way!
Posted by tracey at 10:38 PM | Comments (1)
December 28, 2005
The nicest gifts
this year were the ones from my children, of course! Devon got me a cute basket filled with hand lotions, candles and things of that nature and then little Hannah, she really surprised me the most! At her preschool this year they got to go shopping and pick out donated items to buy for their families. They called it a trip to the mall even though it was just in their basement. She chose really appropriate gifts for all of us and for me she got a cute little candle holder and a ceramic plaque to hang in the kitchen.
She's 4, soon to be 5, which just doesn't seem possible, but I was just so touched by her gifts this year!
Oh, guess I am getting sentimental in my old age! Ok, older age!
It's time now too, to start taking all the decorations down. Seems like we just got them up!
Ah, another Christmas past, where does the time go?
Posted by tracey at 06:33 PM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2005
Melt Down # 2
So, we had another melt down tonight, well teenage daughter did that is. All over not being able to go into the store with me after leaving the rec center. I was buying a bottle of water and the newspaper and she was going to have to climb over her little sister to get out of the truck and her father told her just to stay in the car. Well, I come back out of the store and she's in the back seat, crying and carrying on and saying how she is going to run away and she hates her house and on and on and on!
We get home and she takes her phone and her TV and sets it outside her room, cuz her father told her she was going to lose her phone if she didn't stop her foolishness.
Now, I give up and I've asked God to grant me serenity here cuz I tend to lose my cool with her when she pulls this crap. So tonight I was very calm, cool and collected and went to her room, asked if I could come in and tried to talk to her. She says she hates, "him." (Meaning her father.) Andy is her adopted father, he's been in her life since she was 4 almost 5. What I don't understand is that when she was little, when Andy and I first got together, they got along really well. Went fishing, snowmobiling and things like that. Now that she is older, she hates him! She thinks he picks on her all the time, what it is, I think anyhow, is that he isn't allowed to say anything to her and shouldn't be allowed to tell her to do things, like feed the dog and get the mail. Big chores for a 13 year old. I told her she should count herself as lucky she didn't grow up on a farm like I did having to milk cows every night after school and rake hay by hand and sit on a horse hours on end watching cattle graze. (But maybe I shouldn't have compared my upbringing to hers!) I don't know, I just don't understand why she feels this way about her father. I will admit that they aren't very close. It's like since she started growing up they've moved apart. Now, Hannah and Andy are very close, but Andy is Hannah's biological father so naturally there would be that bondness, is that a word? I don't know, but you get my drift. Andy is not a talker, he tends to stay to himself, but he's been good to Devon in many ways. (Devon's real father btw, has never acknowledged her and I think that might be at the core of this whole thing.)
I asked her if she wanted to talk to someone other than me, she yelled and said she wasn't psycho like I thought she was. Ok, I didn't say she was psycho, but whatever. Raging hormones maybe or something. I mean I think that is part of it.
So, I asked her, I said why is it ok for you to mistreat me, not listen to me, getting mouthy, bossy, defiant etc, but your father asks you to do something or says something a little sarcastic and he's just the worst thing that has ever walked?
She couldn't answer me and when I told her I wanted an answer she said she didn't know!
I don't know what her problem is, I wish I did, but I'm taking this one to God because I need the patience of a saint to get through this. Andy just clams up when I talk to him about it. He says he doesn't know what to say or do with her. He tries to be fair and he only gets on her case when he knows she's not listening to me or doing the few things we ask her to do around the house.
Putting her own phone and TV outside of her room, is that defiance or is it me????????
So much for these peaceful thoughts! UGH!!!!
Posted by tracey at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)
October 09, 2005
Happy Anniversary Honey!
Six years ago today, doesn't seem possible!!! My hubby and I were united in marriage. We had a wonderful wedding and an even better reception!
I love you!
Posted by tracey at 09:20 AM | Comments (2)
October 04, 2005
Planning for a family vacation
In
I was thinking Florida, again...
Not that I mind Florida, we get to visit family and all, but this trip would be totally different! And gosh, does it look like fun!!!
So, here's to beginning our Vegas fund and hoping it comes true!!
Posted by tracey at 07:24 AM | Comments (0)
September 27, 2005
If a picture paints a thousand words...
Then my little girl is growing up!
I look at this picture, taken 9 years ago and I think, "awe, what a cute little girl she was!"
Then I look at this year's 8th grade picture...
and I can't believe my eyes!! She is growing up WAY WAY too fast!
My oh my, where does the time go?
Posted by tracey at 08:45 PM | Comments (2)
August 22, 2005
Family Visits, Shopping and Devon is 13!
So, we went to visit family this weekend in Connecticut and had a really nice time. Spent lots of money on school clothes and supplies and got to visit malls and stores we don't have here near to home. We also had a small celebration for Devon's 13th birthday as well! 13, my GOD!!!!
We stayed with my Aunt Phyllis and her husband Ed who now live in an apartment connected to their youngest daughter's house. While we were there it occured to me what a great story teller my Aunt is! She is such a hoot to listen too and I realized how much I enjoyed listening to her tell stories. How animated she gets and how she tells them with such detail. I noticed for the first time in years how everyone listens to her, no one says a word until she is done. Most of the time she can make you laugh too. She usually ends up laughing through them as well and she's got the greatest laugh. Her whole face lights up and her body practically bounces. My Uncle Bobby is like that too, her brother.
Phyllis is 73 this year and her husband will be 80 in October and they are doing very well for their ages. They both still work part time and are planning a trip to Yellowstone Park courtesy of their oldest son Michael.
I'd forgotten how much I enjoy my Aunt Phyllis. I spent many summers with them when I was growing up and she's always been one to stay in touch, visit and always welcomes you to her home. My family and I always made sure to stop in and visit her whenever we went to Florida and I have to make a point to visit her more often now that they are back closer to home!
Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Ed.
Posted by tracey at 09:08 PM | Comments (1)
August 06, 2005
Summer Camp
Well, summer camp seems to have had an awesome effect on my oldest daughter, soon to be 13 here in a few weeks. Lately she has just been almost unbearable, the attitude, the moodiness the everything! I can't even look at her at times and she's pouting, stomping her feet just being plain miserable!
So, she went off to summer camp this past week, returned on Friday with a whole NEW disposition and quite a pleasant one too I must add! She gave me a kiss and a hug and told me all about her experiences this year, we looked at her pictures, she ate dinner with us without complaining about it and it was just like a breath of fresh air! I think I should send her to camp more often!
She's attended this local 4H camp for the past 7 years and wants to attend the teen week next summer so she learn to become a jr. counselor. Once she does that then she would be able to go the whole summer free of charge!
Let's see, by then she'll be going on 15 and sending her for the summer sounds like a pretty darn good idea!!!
Speaking of her turning 13, I put together another little slide show of her past 13 years.
I can't believe it's been almost 13 years!
Posted by tracey at 02:13 PM | Comments (0)