Summer so far....

I have been MIA from reading and writing blogs. Life is crazy. Good stuff and Bad stuff has been going on and I wanted to get you caught up. Most importantly my Mom has been in the hospital for over 3 weeks. She has been in and out of ICU several times and has come very close to death on 3 occasions. We are so blessed to still have her with us. She was moved out of ICU into a regular room yesterday and we are all praying she is on the road to healing. Next in line is my Dad, he was also in the hospital. With Mom not home to care for him he had a bad fall. Ok, it actually several bad falls in a row because he kept trying to get up. He ended up with a concussion, 2 broken ribs (broken in half...not fractured....ouch!), bruised collarbones, messed up knee, etc. He basically hurt everything. Yesterday he was discharged from the hospital to a rehab to start his recovery. We are hoping that Mom will be well enough to join him at the rehab soon....and that they can share a room there until they are both well enough to go home.

A few weeks ago my oldest son graduated High School. Yes I am THAT old. Ugh. He is a smart BRILLIANT, handsome, honest, hard-working, young man. I am so proud of him and can't wait to see what the next stage of his life has to offer. He will be going away to college in the fall and majoring in Organic Chemistry. Yeah.....he didn't get his brains from me =D

We added a new member to our household. This is my new baby girl Molly. We got her last Monday and she is totally and completely spoiled already. I love her like crazy and she is filling our days with smiles and laughter. I would say she is perfect except she keeps peeing behind the chair. And she is allergic to beef. We found that out the hard way....ugh.

Hubby has been working like crazy. They are short-handed at work and have him running ragged. I'm not the smartest person in the world but if I had a company I would make sure that more than 4 or 5 people knew how to do each job. But what do I know! lol


We went on our first camping trip of the season. The weather was great, the campground was great.....but both R and J ended up with Pinkeye and couldn't swim for several days. Thankfully they handled that disappointment very well. Other highlights of the week were winning 2 rounds at candy bar bingo and going to see Toy Story 3D. It was the very first time they had seen a movie in a movie theater and they loved it. The movie was great and seeing it in 3D was pretty cool.


So what's new with you? Are you having a good summer so far??

Anyone else ever felt like this??

Almost everyday my husband bugs me about something. He wants to know if I have gone to the bank yet and if I have paid some bills yet. Everyday I say "not yet". The banking and bills belong to Poppop. I haven't done anything with his things since he passed. The checks are sitting here, the pictures we got together for his service, his flag, his bills, his clothes, EVERYTHING is still sitting exactly where they were 6 weeks ago.

Is this normal? I don't really know. But I can say that I understand why people leave their kids rooms exactly how they were. If you don't handle those things, if you don't finalize stuff...then part of them is still with us. I am probably weird, but that is exactly how I feel. If I go to the bank, show them his death certificate, deposit his checks and pay his bills....then I will lose another part of him.

Today I am going to force myself to gather up his banking and do that, hopefully without crying. No promises when I will take care of the clothes, pictures, etc. Right now I'm taking baby-steps.

Chore Chart

Summer is coming. J's last day of school is in about 3 weeks and I have big plans for the boys. For starters we are most likely moving them back into the same bedroom then making R's room into their playroom. I am hoping this will decrease the messiness from the boys. Hopefully. Next up on the list is making chore charts for the boys. I am looking to the blogging community for help.....please give me ideas of age appropriate jobs for a 6 and 4 year old. Right now J knows how to vacuum, sweep, take out trash and recycle, and pick up. R can sweep with a dustpan, help empty the silverware out of the dishwasher, and pick up. I plan to include making their beds each morning, cleaning their room and playroom too. Any other ideas?!?

What are your plans for your kids this summer??

Answered Prayers

God blessed me in a BIG way....head over to my other blog to see how!

Want some?!?

I love Strawberry season in the great state of NJ!!!!!!

A HUGE Favor

I am reaching out to my Blog friends to please come together in prayer.....I need your help. Please read about it HERE at my other blog.

I love you all! Thank you!!!

Blanket

Someone at the nursing home had given Poppop a handmade crochet blanket. It laid on his bed and he used it to keep warm on many occasions. That blanket was over him the day he passed away. The next morning when we went to the Funeral Home they gave me the blanket. I hugged it all the way home and for a long time afterwards. Now that blanket is in my bedroom.

After being with Poppop at the end I couldn't help but wonder about all the people who pass away in nursing homes all alone. So many have no visitors or family. I said to hubby that I wish I could do something for them, but with the boys being young I can't spend time with them like some of them need. The next best thing I could think of was to start crocheting blankets. I learned to crochet when I was a kid but it has been so long that I forgot. But thanks to Youtube I re-learned and am now working on my first lap blanket. I plan to make plenty of them to give to the residents of the nursing home.

Today J asked what I was doing and I told him about my plan. I said some of the people there don't have family to visit and I hope that the blankets will cheer them up. J said " So that means that now with Poppop in Heaven we will get a new one from the nursing home?"

Um.....no. But I guess it was a sweet thought.