When it rains it pours

Can I just say, I told me so? Wednesday we called the plumber to come fix the leak under our kitchen sink. We found out we had a leak in the wall between our kitchen and bathroom. After Nick had to cut a hole in the wall and the cabinet, we found that the leak had ruined the sub-floor under the cabinets and in the bathroom So, we had to bust up the slate tile (we just put down about two years ago) and bust the ceramic tile up to fix the leak and replace the sheet rock. The ceramic tile was that original 1960's powder blue so no big loss there but we really weren't at a place in life to be able to do a remodeling job on our kitchen and bathroom. We also have to replace the cabinets. We were going to go ghetto and just replace the bottom cabinets but after talking to the cabinet guy we decided we might as well replace all of them. I know what you are thinking. Your insurance will pay for that. Guess again. The lovely people at Cotton State Insurance company denied the claim because it wasn't a "sudden accidental" leak. I explained that the leak that lead us to find the major leak was "sudden accidental" . I have gotten nowhere so far. We thought we would be moved out of this house by the time we have our next child but the way things are going why would we want to leave? We will have a new kitchen and bathroom. Dave Ramsey has ruined my life!! It just seems like ever since we took that class everything around us is crumbling. Dave, I don't think a $1000.00 emergency fund is going to fix this one, buddy. I am beginning to agree with my husband. It is easy for Dave to sit and judge when he is getting rich off me. How ironic is it that we pay money, money that we apparently don't have, to have some guy tell us how to save money? Tonight is the first night we have stayed here since Wednesday. Gabby must have missed her bed because she went right to sleep when Nick put her to bed. So, please pray for us. It is very stressful to be living in a construction site. It really test your marriage. Maybe that is what I will do. Write a book titled," Survive This, Survive a Marriage". Kind of a workbook type deal filled with scenarios. Example: You just brought your child home from the hospital to find your washer and dryer are broken. What do you do? You sit down to email pictures of your new baby and realize your computer has 12 viruses. Your husband gets in his truck to go buy a new washer and dryer and software to fix the viruses and his check engine light comes on and you find out it is something major. What do you do. Your husband works full-time and goes to school and you are fixing to go back to school, when you realize your "dripping" faucet is a mask to a wall full of soaked drywall and ruined floor. What do you do? I think I would prevent a lot of divorces because couples wouldn't survive my workbook and never get married. I hope I don't sound too negative. :) Lori, sorry for dissin' your man, Dave.

How come when one thing goes bad it seems so many others follow? Just this morning as Rebekah and walked and tried to solve all the world's problems as we always do, we discussed finances.We both agree that although staying home with our children, life would be easier if we had and extra full time pay check coming in. I told her how it seems like everything has happened these last few months. We had our car tags due in August, Nick got a ticket for following too close, and we had to call the plumber for a $400 pipe repair. This morning as I was fixing Nick's breakfast, I ran the water in the kitchen sink and heard it dripping under the house!!! This was the new pipes, too! I 464, sorry that was Gabby (she just 8uuuuuuuuuuu woke up, has been asleep since 9:30 last night! :)I debated whether or not to even tell Nick about it before he went to work but I had to. That put a bad start to both of our mornings. 9;lp[5rf, sorry I am trying to type and entertain a 754, 7 month old .Plus, I am having to perform the drea9ded c67
\n balancing of the checkbook today! Monday night at work I heard someone singing a Christmas song! I just cringed in disgust. I should be looking forward to Gabby's firstgb j6tgbv Christmas. ;pp I am thinking I might just get her a computer keyboard since she is having so mu/ch fun with this one. yhy6g67hbnvhgbhhbgfv5rf7unbjbnnnnnnnnn. Oh well, the only thing to do is leave it in God's hands. Anyone need a typist? She doesn't know how to make coffee, can be a real stinker(diapers and air freshener included), and occasionally pulls hair, but as long as a nap can be worked into her schedule I think she would put a great asset to any company. Come to think of it, I think a demolition job would be more up her alley.

Happy Fall Ya'll!

It is finally here! My favorite time of year! Okay, I know I haven't blogged in a while but in my defense, I warned you. Plus, I have had a busy past few weeks. My father-in-law had a heart attack last Tuesday. He is okay, but it was a big scare for all of us. I will try to update you on the last few weeks.

Topic #1-Nanny

I can't believe the kind of fan base my grandmother has! I don't know how many people have asked when I am going to blog another Nanny story. You people think I add to her stories but I don't! This is 100% her! I went for her monthly house cleaning a few weeks ago. When I got there she had pictures covering her kitchen table and was staring intently at this one picture of our family reunion back in July. I asked what she was doing and she replied, " This picture frame isn't big enough for the picture so I am trying to decide who to cut out." Who knew they made picture frames in only one size. Do you see now why I do the thing I do for my grandmother? One wrong move and I am cut out of the family picture. She also found her Oklahoma driver's license from 1951. Look out Limestone County PD. I have a feeling she is going to try to use it to drive since she failed Alabama's driver's test. When I was leaving I jokingly (not really, I was pretty serious) told her not to be chasing after any boys. She used to tell me that when I was in high school. She informed there would be no boy chasing, just men chasing and asked if I knew where any single ones were. I reminded her that she had a widower living next door. She said, " There wouldn't be much chasing going on there, he can barely walk! That wouldn't be any fun!" This past Friday night mom and dad took her grocery shopping. Dad was in the automotive section, when he looked up he saw my grandmother. When she realized he saw her she took off running, running NOT walking. To be 87 she can really book it. When they got to the car she realized she forgot to get cough medicine. He told her if she hadn't have been running from him she would have remembered. She said," I wasn't running, just walking fast." I remember using that defense when I was about 9! I really think she has gone back to her childhood.

Topic # 2-Gabriella

In the last few weeks she has gone from awkwardly scooting to crawling. She is trying to stand up but hasn't gotten very far. Soon I will have to baby proof the house. I am so amazed on how time has flown by. It seems like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. Friday, since the weather was so nice, I took her to the park. After an hour of wrestling with her and calling Nick for reinforcement, I finally got some really good pictures. Well, I have got to go to work. Tomorrow is "Pajama Tuesday" and the only thing on my agenda is spending time with Gabby. I doubt I will get to blog but I promise Wednesday I will type an entry.

"Bring the Rain"

Today has been a frustrating day. As you can see she has learned to pull my glasses off. I think Gabriella may have let me put her down for a total of thirty minutes today. In the middle of piles of laundry I had been folding, I sat with a child clung to me and I began to worry about all the small, petty things that were bothering me. You know, bills, work, marriage, etc. And as Gabby began to use me as a jungle gym, I started to wonder if I would be happier working full time. My days are spent cleaning up spit up and poop, I scramble to get laundry done and the house cleaned and find something for supper. I have no adult conversation for the majority of the day. The conversations I do have are with a six month old and consist of "You pooped again!" or "I'm gonna get your belly!" And after all my time spent, Nick walks through the door and Gabby starts crying for him. I am ashamed to admit that I was jealous of Nick getting a "break" two weekends in a row. Here I was just wanting five minutes to myself, and he was getting days! After Gabby went to bed, I began reading emails and catching up on blogs. I just happened to remember a friend from work telling me about a lady starting a blog right after she found out her fourth child would be born with several terminal illnesses. I decided to just scroll through her blog and catch the highlights. Fortunately, when I got to her blog it was so long I had to start from the beginning. I got through one entry before I began to break down crying. Here I was, all day long grumbling because my daughter wanted me to hold and love on her all the time. Here I was doubting whether or not staying home with her was the right place for me and this woman sat pouring her heart out to whoever would listen about how God had blessed her and would be with her and her family through this difficult time. After I dried my eyes, I crept into Gabby's room, picked her up, and rocked her. I thanked God for giving me such a wonderful, spunky, beautiful daughter. As I sat staring at her, I couldn't help but cry thinking of how she is the product of an amazing love I have for Nick. God gave me the answer to all my small and petty worries. I am right where I need to be. My job is molding Gabriella into a smart, kind, God-fearing little girl. For anyone who wants to read the amazing story, Google, Bring the rain. It puts everything in perspective.

Weekend Wonderland

After walking with Rebekah Friday morning, I ran home and took a shower, dropped a pie off at a work, and stopped at the farmer's market, all before going to Cullman to meet my older sister at 7:30 in the morning! I brought the girls to Nana's for the weekend. So, Friday I had a three year old, one year old and a six month old. Talk about a handful! Ramah and Gabby refused to nap at the same time and Anja refused a nap all together. On the way to Nana and Poppy's they all passed out. Saturday, Nick went to the Alabama/Clemson game so Gabby and I hung out with my family. Just as we were getting ready to leave for Chuck E. Cheese, I got a phone call from Rachel, Rebekah's sister. Apparently my grandmother called her at 10:00 o'clock Friday night, after we just dropped her off at her house, wanting Rachel to take her to the grocery store. Mom and Dad told her they would take her Saturday. Rachel has been dealing with kitchen remodeling on top of her mother and wife duties. Plus, she had to get someone to watch Aaron while she took Nanny to the store. I'm sure she didn't have time for Nanny drama! On top of that, Nanny did her usual "runaway" bit once they got to Wal-Mart so what was supposed to be forty-five minutes turned into an hour and a half! Good thing Rachel called and Dad headed to town to get her, because once Dad got back to Nanny's house she realized she had forgotten her key! They would have been locked out and we would have been in Decatur. So, I am sorry Rebekah and Rachel, but it looks like Nanny has decided to invite you into "her world" Enjoy the crazy ride!

Diet Coke Wishes and Chicken Sandwich Dreams

Since my parents are on a cruise, I took supper to my grandmother tonight after church. Of course out of all the places to eat in Athens, she wanted McD's. As I was watching the closing ceremony of the Olympics, my grandmother asked," Are those men just painted or are they made out of stone?" She was referring to the Asian men dancing that were painted in white. I just looked at her and asked, "Nanny, what do you think?" Later, she informed me that my television would stop working in the year 3000 and I would have to get a new one. I am sure she has been seeing those commercials about T.V. stations going digital next year, but I just told her I didn't care I would be long gone before the year 3000, besides I am sure I would have needed a new television by then anyway. As I watched her put her tomato and cheese, (cheese she sliced herself because sliced cheese is too expensive), onto her sandwich I remembered something from my childhood. We lived just north of Birmingham until I was about five. After that we would take turns during the summer going and staying with my grandmother who still lived there. Every day we would go to Hardee's and every day my grandmother would pack her lettuce, tomato, and cheese before making the two mile trip to go eat. I always wondered why Hardee's didn't offer lettuce, tomato, and cheese on their burgers. I remember thinking I was going to make that suggestion one day and then I would be rich! Not until years later did I realize that Hardee's served lettuce, tomato, and cheese everyday! My grandmother was just too cheap to spend the fifty cents extra to add it to her sandwich. I remember turning around and going back to her house because she realized that she forgot that precious little Tupperware container that held her garnishes inside. She still has that container and still fills it and puts it in her purse when she goes to McDonald's. I don't know if I have told you but when my aunt got sick and came to stay with my grandmother, she forwarded her mail to my grandmother's house. A few weeks after this took place my parents decided to get the mail forwarded to their house (six houses down) because they were paying my aunt's bills and Nanny would get the mail and then lose it. They still have my grandmother's mail forwarded to their house. They are taking care of her bills and it just makes since. It's not like they keep things from her, they just sort the bills and then give her the rest. Anyway, a few weeks ago my parent's found out that my grandmother was walking up the their house and stealing the mail. She got caught because she asked if I received an invitation to a family reunion and said that she and my parents had. My parents never saw the invitation. Well, tonight as I was leaving I told her I was going to go get the newspaper from my parents' driveway. As she was walking back inside she yelled,"If you see any mail up there steal it and bring it to me!" I am beginning to think I should be scared of this woman because as she gets older she gets more sneaky! Okay, there is my Nanny story for the night! This week my DH has been working so hard on our dining room! He has the light fixtures, baseboard and crown molding left and then we can move everything in the room. Thank you Nick for taking your vacation and doing this! Well, I better finish up! Rebekah and I are going waking at five again!

Okay, this will be quick since I told Rebekah I would get up and walk with her at five in the morning. We did it today and I have to say......It was great. Starting your day off like that kind of puts the rest of the day into the right motion. Since my first couple of weeks of Weight Watchers has been a flop (I gained 3 pounds!) I have to do something drastic. Since I have someone counting on me it makes it easier to get out of bed. Tomorrow we brave Northtown. I seriously thought about going to Walmart and buying some pepper spray. Other than the walk, my day has been spent cleaning up after Gabby and helping Nick's parents get their rental property ready to rent. If I don't blog anymore you know it is the result of walking in the semi-bad part of Athens in the dark. Pray for us!! :}