A Peek Into Bear's Day

I'm sure these pic's won't be the greatest in quality...but it shows you a quick glimpse into his day. :0)

When we first got into pre-op. He was totally chilled out and playing with his Nintendo DS.



Still chillin' with a brand new hospital gown that actually pumps warm air up in there. He brought Little B and his black belt into the OR with him. Little B has been with Kody since day 1 and the black belt, according to Kody, will give him strength of 100 warriors.
the


So, here he is feeking pretty toasted after the" make me loopy a/k/a I'm feeling a little stoned" medicine that they slipped into his IV.
He was laughing and singing songs from the 70's and he even claimed to have seen penguins walking in the hall. Hey, I think at one time in my life back when I was young, I saw the same ones. Different terms though..HA!.
See that white hose to to left? That's the warm air thingy. How hot is that? {No pun intended..LOL!!!}



And here he is soundly sleeping off the anesthesia and the morphine. How cute is he? It's so hard to believe thisinnocent sleeping angel is the same kid who hours prior, requested "hot nurses in bikini's" Gotta love him. :0)



It's about 5:30 right now and he stayed awake for a good long time while his Gramma and Poppy stopped by, he is sleeping like a baby once again.

I saw his surgical site this afternoon while his nurse changed his bandages. WOW,,,it's alot bigger then what I was expecting..but it looks great. The stitches will dissolve on their own and his hair will grow back.
Some of his hair is about the only thing Kody has lost throughout this because other then that..he is still Kody, my crazy 13 year old boy. honestly....that was the only thing that had me worried..and it turned out to not be a worry after all cuz Bear is still in the building and better then ever. :0)

Have a great night everyone and thank you soooo much for all the well wishes and words of encouragement.

PS. Dad, Kaysha and Kolin...WE MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hanging Out In Our Critical Care suite

Kody made it into his new "critical care" room and right about now he's trying to rest and let the morphine work for him.
His heads all bandaged up so I don't really know what he looks like underneath....although he did have to get some of his "hawk" trimmed, which I figure will take all of 5 days to grow back anyway. :0)
The hospital is unbelievably wonderful and I can only compare it to a Disney park, you know how they always treat you like a guest? Same here, the nurses, staff, doctors..everybody has been wonderful. He even has his own critical care team.
Kody's CC room really is a suite..it's huge! Hopefully he'll feel well enough tonight to watch a movie and eat a little something. He can't right yet because his belly isn't awake yet from the anesthesia and well, what goes in will pretty quickly come right back out. That would just cause his head to pound..so we won't go there just yet.

All in all, everything has really gone super smooth today and Bear is in the best care.
Barring no problems/fevers/etc he is free to come home by tomorrow.

I'll get some photos downloaded that I took this morning as soon as I can. Since I'm on a laptop..I don't know how they will come out but it's better then no pictures at all.

Gotta run...thanks for hangin' with us today through all this!!

The New Shunt Is In!!

We just talkied to Dr. Gegg and everything went perfect!!
Kody's new shunt is in and right now he's in recovery. Just as soon as they put in him a special care room {which should be soon}, we're going to get to see him. YAY!!!!!

Talk to you all later..thankls so much for the prayers and well wishes. :0)

Good Morning Everyone!

Here's our first Bear update of the day...

So far, so great!! We got here just before 5:30 AM and after some paperwork, and getting some classy security tags, Kody was taken back and prepped. He had his "happy juice/IV med's" and was flying higher then a kite and cracking everyone up..especailly the nurses who were flocking around him. LOL!!

We saw Dr. Gegg right before they wheeled him into the OR at exactly 7:30 on the dot.
We got the call at 8 o'clock saying that they had him sound asleep and were about to begin.

So, right now Karl and I are sitting in the parents waiting area enjoying us some Starbucks coffee, HD TV and some pretty cool wireless Internet. Gotta love technology. :0)

This hospital is AWESOME Honestly, we have been treated like royalty from the moment we pulled up to park the car. I've heard this is a first class hospital and I really do believe that.

Kody should take about 60 to 90 minutes. they will call us again when the surgery is done. Then he goes off to the recovery room and after the do the preliminaries we'll get the call to go on back and be with our Bear.

I'll be updating throughout the day.

Have a GREAT day everyone!!

The Night Before...

My Bear get's his shiney new shunt.

It was a crazy busy day today, and if the kiddo's {and Lauren!!} didn't keep reminding me, I would have totally forgot it was my 29th b-day all over again. :0)

Tonight I'm trying to finish packing for Kody and myself, and get some last minute stuff done and about 4:15 in the morning, we'll be pulling out.

I'll do my best to update from the hospital...but if I can't Kaysha will for me.

Till then..please send a prayer for the world's favorite Mohawk Bear. Thanks!



Love yaz!!

A Friendly Public Service Announcement

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES SEASON PREMIER IS ON TONIGHT!!!!!!!!



Get yourself a good seat and join in...WAA-HOOEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Sunday!

Leaving you all with this little beauty for this beautiful Sunday morning.



They look even more pretty when Viewed On Black.

During my lunch break last Friday, Kody and I walked around this small park that is walking distance from my job and has lots of cool photo spots, a small playground {wait till you see those pics..I'll work on them today, they are too funny!}, plenty of turtles and a track that goes around a pond where all kinds of lunch break peep's from city hall and other small businesses in the area like to walk. They say 8 laps equals 2 miles..heck, I've only managed 6 laps at the most...I get distracted way to easily. :0)

I've got lots of errands to accomplish today, a ton of hats to finish up and get out in the mail tomorrow, a yard that needs tending too, a Comcast bill to pay {I totally forgot all about it on Friday, thank goodness for drop boxes}, hungry kids and about 30 e-mails to catch up on.
Tuesday will be here before I know it and since I am Queen Superior of the never ending lists and paper piles..I had better get myself moving.

Have a beautiful day everyone!!!!

I "Heart" Topaz PS Plug-In's

These Photoshop Plug-In's are sooo darn addicting!! :0)



I revamped Bear a little. It's even cooler looking on Black...
View On Black

Fishermen Three

Last weekend we took off for a little R&R down at the ole' fishin' hole.
Sounds kind of "Andy Griffith" doesn't it?
OK, truth be told, it's a small park with an old train in the middle, greenish/brown water, picnic tables, cool birds and an occasional gator.
But..it's our little get-a-way, nonetheless.

The kids like to fish there..oh, look, here they are now....



They've never caught a single thing. However...after chillin' by th eedge of the water for what seemed like eternity, Kody felt a slight tug at his fishing pole, and reeled it in to find this flippin' flappin' squirmy thing...



How about a close up? Sure!




After throwing it back he decided to take a chance and take the red bobber thingy off and let his worm sink to the bottom.
Crazy? Nahhh...Bear had the best idea of the day when his pole tugged, and then pulled and then bent like heck.
He started hollering, his Dad took off for him, the kids were yellin "Don't let it go!", Kody Bear..well, he thought for sure that thing at the end of his pole was a gator. LOL..and he kept yelling "What do I do? Should I let go??"
That's when I grabbed the camera, Dad grabbed him and he reeled in this big old mud suckin' cat fish...



Another close up? Why definitely.



The thing about catfish is that they have these really sharp pointy things on them and if you get too close..your going to get hurt.
So, after Dad took that fish off and showed him where to hold it, Kody threw that one back in too.
{honestly..the water is kind of gross and though some peep's like to eat the fish they pull out of there, I think it's kind of toxic looking}

We were just fixin' to eat when Kaysha starts hoot hollering like a mad woman and dang if she didn't get the catch of the day..check out this bad boy...



There is it, can you see it? Get a little closer.
You all should have seen her face when that thing bit her right in the finger. :0)

All in all it was a pretty good day, I mean all things considered, they've never caught anything before but they never stopped trying. All of them except this fishing Dude...gotta love him. :0)



Thanks for stopping by everyone..more tomorrow!!

Have a great night. :0)

Bear's Update With A Promise From Me

First..I promise to update tomorrow..it has been hectic like you wouldn't believe.
Soooo....with today being what I thought was my last day of work, I can get back to business here.
Actually..I was offered a full time position.
I've got the weekend to really put some thought into it and as much as I want to say "Yes", I really wish it was part time because with everything going on here..I would have jumped on that in a heartbeat.

No worries though..I'll go back Monday to talk and I have a good feeling we'll work something out that will benefit everyone.

OK...now to the important news.

We took Kody to see the surgeon yesterday. His third ventricle which is located right next to his brainstem, is a just a mere tiny slit. There is virtually no CSF in there at all which is leaving his brain dehydrated badly.

So...he will be having his second shunt, a programmable one, placed in his head this Tuesday at 7:30 AM at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando.
We have to have him there at 5:30 AM, so it'll be a long day.
Hopefully I'll be able to use the hospitals wireless Internet and I'll be able to give updates throughout the day.
Fingers crossed on that. :0)

If you look at this picture, in the first block {top left} are two shunts. Kody's will be the one on the right.



See the two tips on the ends? One tip is attached to the tube that goes though his skull and into the third ventricle of his brain. The other half goes down into his pelvis.
So, much like his original VP shunt, it looks like this inside of him...




As much as this is another brain surgery, we have to keep in mind that Kody is in the best physical and mental shape he has ever been in. That in itself will get him through this next hurdle effortlessly and flawlessly. If the doc's say it'll take two weeks to recoup...I give him 3 to 5 days. The kid is a beast. :0)

Tomorrow I'll have plenty of time to get this blog updated properly with lots of photos, so stay tuned. :0)

Till then though...this Mama Bear has got a half dozen hats to start stitching up....so I'm off for the night.

Have a great night everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bright Eyed Boys Of Mine

He may not be the happiest camper..but he sure does have some bright eyes. :0)



Our computer is still pretty wonky and since we had no time to take it to the computer doc., we'll have to get it there tomorrow. Actually...the Comcast past of it is weirding out but Mozilla works like a charm, go figure.

Bummer news today, I found out that Friday is my last day of work. Ahhhh well..it was a good run while it lasted.
The good news is the hat biz is picking up now that the cooler weather is coming...so that is going to be keeping me happily busy.

Tomorrow is Kody's appt. with his neurosurgeon. We'll take him and his scans and then find out exactly what kind of surgery we're looking at and find out when he'll have it.
Kody's been kind of bluesy. He goes through so many emotions from really sad about have to stop karate for a while, to scared out how he'll be like when it's over, to totally pissed off about the whole situation.
Now that he's a teen...he's got alot more to say about it then when he was young and just went with the flow.

Tonight at his martial arts class his teacher mentioned to the class, which was all black belts, that his best warrior was going to be down for a little while. It made him feel at least 10 feet tall. Thank you Mr. Pepe. :0)

Still..I wish with everything I have that he didn't have to go through any of this. On the other hand..I know, in my heart, he'll feel so much better and be even stronger when this is over.
This photo, to me, shows alot of what he has been feeling...



Tomorrow I promise to show you all Kody's lucky fishing day...it was a riot.

Have a great night everyone......there's pumpkin hats are popping up everywhere and I've got to put those finishing touches on them and ship them out tomorrow.

I'll update either when we get home or when we get the computer back.

To Miss Hallie

Now you know I would never leave you out...your my most favorite wiener in the world. :0)
Maybe we could get together, kick back a few and do the "coyote ugly" thing one fine day, shall we? LOL!!!!

*****************************************

To all my other favorite peeps...
Our computer is trying to die on us tonight. :0(
We'll be dropping it off at the computer fix-it store in the AM. Lordie knows I cannot be without the computer..I will seriously start twitching vigorously...no joke.

Soooo....if I don't update again tomorrow or am able to answer e-mails, you'll know why. :0(

Have a great night all!!!!!

PS. Sheila...they weren't real young and they definitely didn't find any humor in my ta-ta lovin' hellians. :0)

To Miss Christie

Absolutely, positively ANY TIME!!!
Then....we'll stop off for a Starbucks. LOL!!!!

That Kewl Wall

I wish I had it in me tonight to post more...I will tomorrow though, no matter what.

Here's some of that kewl wall I told ya'all about.







I have got a few good ones from our fishing day yesterday. I have got to still pull them from the camera..so I'll do that tomorrow too. You will not believe the day Kody had!! :0)

Tomorrow is his Cat Scan and shunt series...he'll do great as always.
Thursday is the surgeon.

Gotta run and pick up Kaysha..sorry!!

Till tomorrow..have a good one!!

h..wait before I leave..a quic a day in the life story.

So, yesterday I had to stop by Publix {a grocery store} and at the entranceway were two women selling breast cancer awareness items.
One of those items were pink rubber bracelets which Kody and Kolin wanted.
I didn't know they said different things on them until I saw Kody poking around the basket.
I told him I had already gotten him a bracelet and without skipping a beat he said "Mom..I want one that says save the ta-tas but I can't find any".
And without skipping another beat Kolin says "Yeah..Daddy says ta-tas are real important".

Talk about making a quick get away. Oh how you just gotta love them boys. LOL!!

Painted Doors

This isn't the wall I told you all about, I'll get those up a little later.
We did find this pretty kickin' door.



We're off to go fishing. Ahhhh, let me rephrase, the males are fishing and us females are tending to some educated reading.
Celebrity rag mag's. :0)

I'll update later tonight.

Later Gators!!!!

The Bear Is Back

He is feeling much, much better today..thanks for all the well wishes everyone!!

I don't have much in the way of time tonight but wanted to leave you all with at least a small update..and a pretty cool green eyed kid who kept his brother company all day today. :0)



What in the world would I do without him?

Off to watch a movie with the boys tonight.

Have a great night everyone!!!!

PS. My updates will get better, I soooo promise you that.
Tomorrow I'm hoping to get home early enough to get the boys over to a rockin' wall that I found. It's a tattoo place here in Leesburg that isn't in business anymore. I've taken them there before but never took much of the flame wall that they have.
I better take advantage of it before some other business comes in and paints over it..that would stink. :0(

Converse One Star

I've always wanted them
I've always bought them for the kiddo's.
I did something totally out of the box for me.
I got me some.

I love my Converse's with all my heartagram. :0)



Just my little treat for turning 29 again later this month. :0)

Later Gators!!!

Kody's Update

I have to make this super quick..I just got home and have to run back out again to the grocery store.

Anywhos..today was probably one of Kody's most horrible days. He had a headache that just didn't quit all day.
He was really wobbly, and plain out miserable.

Sooo..since I had to work and Karl had to work a half day {the place he works at is closing down soon and there is pretty much no work coming in}, I took him with me for the first part of the day..where he was loved on and completely spoiled by Mrs. Sherri {my boss} and then Karl picked him up and took him home for the second part of the day.

It has been a loooooonnnnng day, but for my miserable Bear, an even longer day. I wish I could take every single thing he is feeling and put it right back on me, ya'all know I would in a heartbeat.

Kody's Cat Scan and Shunt Series is scheduled for this Tuesday at 2:30 and the next appt. at the neurosurgeon is on the 25th.
Unfortunately I wont be able to be with him for the scans, and it's killing me..but I will, no matter what, be there for his neuro. appt.

Anywhos..I better get going. I'm hoping to be back on later..no promises though but I really will try. I better get to the store or I'll fizzle and trust me, it won't get done.

Have a great night everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brain Surgery #4...Never Back Down

It's official...Bear will be having brain surgery #4 very soon.

We saw Dr. G in Orlando today {Kody's neurosurgeon} and judging by the amount of headaches he's had since July {I kept a log of them...there really was alot} and the size of his way too small third ventricle, a new shunt is defiantly in order.
There isn't enough CFS fluid in his brain to keep it healthy. Basically, his brain is being dehydrated and he feels like he's got a hangover just about every single day.
Plus...when he wakes up, what fluid is still in that ventricle is escaping as soon as he stands up..making him wobbly, disoriantated and miserable.

The next step is taking him for a Cat Scan and a shunt series so that Dr. G can see exactly what kind of shunt he has in there and if the new one will be compatible. If it isn't, no big deal..just a little more plumbing parts will be needed to make it work perfectly.
This new shunt will be programmable with a siphon valve. The surgeon will be able to control the amount of the cerebral spinal fluid intake and outtake.

After the new scans..which will probably be next week, we take him back to the surgeons and after that they give us the date for surgery.
He'll have a one night hospital stay {barring no problems} and have to be on antibiotics before and after.
He'll have two cuts, one on each side of the shunt he has now..so that the Dr. can slip the old one out and put the new one in. His stitches will be dissolvable and he'll need 2 weeks to one month to completely heal.
We all know Kody though, and that child will be just fine within a day or two..I can pretty much guarantee that. :0)

When I asked him what he thought of all this, his answer was strong and simple..

"Never back down...never, ever back down".



How can you not love a kid with a spirit so strong?

Have a great night everyone!!!!

PS. I'm having issues with the blog comments thing..I've only gotten two out of the seven that was supposed to be there, so if your "shout out" isn't posted....I'm working to get that fixed.
Sorry. :0(

Guess Who Came Home Early Today?

Hell's to the yeah..I did!! :0)

So...this evening, while I was outside in the front yard attemping one quick snap of this kid....



I turned my back to find this kid launching himself off the basketball hoop.



I swear...I can't take my eyes off that one ever. Please tell me there are others just like him out there or do I have the only one. :0/

Everythings going great here.

Let's see....tomorrow is Kody's appt. with the neurosurgeon. For those of you not quite in the loop of things...he's needing to have his VP shunt re-evaluated. Looks like we'll be going the programmable shunt after all, which should put an end to the mega headaches he gets in the mornings when the old shunt is over draining his third ventricle, leaving him feeling like he's got a hangover and a half on every morning that his head falls off his pillows while he sleeps.

BTW...thanks for the ideas...we've been using them. As of now, we have the head part of his mattress at a tilt, by stuffing it with foam inbetwenn the mattress and the box spring. Sometimes it works..sometimes it doesn't. You just never know.

The new job is going terrific. I really like it there and I've met some pretty awesome and interesting peep's. Yeppers..making new friends everyday. :0)

It's amazing how much you don't hear on the news, honestly, the devestation is far more then anything I've seen..on those rare moments when I can watch the news.
One of my most sweetest friend, Dana, from Grand Prairie, sent me some photos {her husband is an awesome photog. and is in Galveston helping as we speak} and all I can say is OMG...OMG. Seriously, there are no words. Lots and lots of prayers though. :0(

I do have to give props to the truck drivers who have risked their own lives to reach out and lend a hand {I even met one on the phone who gave up his own personal food he kept in his truck to a young Mom and baby who were walking around starving}. You guys and some gals too are AWESOME!!!!

Anywhos..I better get a move on. Kaysha should be needing a ride home at any time now so I'll wish you all a wonderful night!!!

Talk to ya'all tomorrow for sure!!!!!!!! :0)

Good Night Moon

Going....

To..............

Bed...............................

Good night!! :0)

PS. Hallie....Thursday for sure , for real real..no play play girl!!

PPSS. Kaysha wants full credit for taking that moon picture tonight..although I swear, I really think it's one I took.
Love you anyway gorgeous!! :0)

I'm Here..I Really Am!!

WHEW...I know, I know..I am a #1 blog neglector..I apologize!!

Also..I apologize to Miss Hallie and I PROMISE to get that questionnaire back to you..thank gawd you have 14 before me, please don't hunt me down and hurt me Hallie please.

OK..so this is our life since last week.
I'm gone all day everyday...weekends too.
But, it won't last forever, so they say. However, it will last at least two weeks so please bear with me, I'm still trying to blog away.

Incase you haven't caught up..I took on a job that I thought would be just temp. doing check calls for a local truck company. They have a contract with the state of Texas for hurricane disaster relief and are responsible for at least 300 trucks and drivers.
For 10 to 12 hours day non-stop I am on the phone and on the computer. Check calling to drivers, entering the info in the computer. Finding lost peep's, dispatching to water and ice places that re basically underwater.
I've been trying to help out truckers wives stay calm, talking sense into official "escorts" who try to lead convoys, in the dark, by going 75 mph {which is something you just can't do}, locating truckers who have no idea where they are, where they are going, how they can find food and above all...tracking down peep's without phone service.

Anywhos...I heard a rumor that this temp. job just may become permanent full time. But not permanent enough to require 10 hour days..which is waaaaayyy cool because that's burn out bigtime baby.

This is me...



Life at home goes a little something like this..
I'm not sure what goes on because I'm not here but from what I hear, Karl has got the school routine times three kids down pat, cooks dinners, washes dishes, does homework, signs school papers, takes phone calls, goes grocery shopping, mails my hat packages, makes sure I have my Hershey bar and Coke tucked in my purse every morning and feeds the cats.
He does not, however, do laundry...no way, no how, not ever. :0)
Luckily, Kaysha does.

The kids have been using soft rags to gently wipe the dust bunnies off my neglected, unused camera. :0(
The often sit around after school and wonder where in the heck their Mama has gone.
I called them today and I think it was Kolin who said "Who is this? Mom...whats a Mom?..OMG, I have a Mom!" :0)
I keep promising life will go back to normal soon. They keep making me buy them ice cream and mini wrestlers out of guilt. Good gracious I have trained them well. :0)

Thanks for stopping by..I'll do my absolute best to be back on tomorrow night.

Take care everyone....especially those of you who have been effected by Ike in any way. Hang tough!!!!

Full Moon

I couldn't help myself, I had to do it, I couldn't ignore the camera any longer.



I feel so much better now.

Good night everyone!! :0)

The Computer Used To Be My Best Friend

But spending 10 hours a day in front of it is making me a little cranky. :0)

Sorry I didn't get to bloggin' last night.
It was one of those days where I came home after..ohhhh, 11 hours away, and passed out right in front of the TV. I never even tucked the boys in bed.
So..the guilt of all that made me take them out for McD's hot fudge sundaes tonight.

OK, for those who asked {and those who could really care less} this is what I've been up to.

There is a local trucking company who is under contract with the state of Texas for disaster relief.
We've {well, not me but they} are overseeing about 300 trucks {maybe even more..there's alot} and on day 1, I dispatched {made sure they had all the correct pick up and delivery info}. Days 2 and 3 have been spent doing "call checks". We need to know where they are exactly, etc.
It's alot..I'm talking alot of phone and computer work..but you know, it's cool. I've only talked to one unfriendly person so far.

Most of the trucks are on standby at the Nelson Wolf Stadium in San Antonio. Others are scattered just about everywhere.
Today they sent out trucks full of ice and water to Galveston and Beaumont.
I'm sure tomorrow will be a long day too.
It should last a week or two, then the kids will have me back.
The boys...LOL...they are missin' on their Mama big time. :0)

I have to apologize for the lack of pictures. My camera is just staring at me as if to say "What did I do to make you mad..pick me up baby, pick me up".
So..to make that camera happy again, I'm going to drag out the tripod and attempt to get a photo of tonight's full moon. Wish me luck..the mosquitoes are out big time, not to mention the..UGH...{{{SHIVER}}} frogs. :0/

Welp everyone, I'm going to jump off for now and get some e-mails answered, or check out other blogs, or...oh, who am I kidding.
The boys want to watch "The Forbidden Kingdom", so that's where I'll be too. :0)

Have a great night everyone!!!!

Happy One Year

I just realized that the blog has been around for one year today.
In the madness of the world these days..I guess that's a good thing.

Work day #1 went really great.
Nine hours in front of a computer was just a little rough on the eyes but it was nice getting out in the world again.

I trained for about three hours and luckily picked it up quick. So, I spent the day dispatching trucks in TX.
It was crazy...there are something like 28 phone lines and at times every one of those lines was ringing.
Thankfully....while I may not be an organized person, I sure can multitask with the best of them. :0)

Anywhos...I want to end this with asking for prayers for all those in the path of Ike.
If there is any way possible..please use this blog as a way to stay in touch.
We worry alot because we have the most sweetest friends in the world who live in Texas.

Also...let's remember those who's lives were lost and the families they left behind in the 9/11 terrorist attacks 7 years ago.
Where were you that morning when the news broke out?
That's a question I think just about everyone can remember.
Some of you may recall that the kids and I were on a plane that very morning coming back home to Florida, from New York.
Not having a clue what was about to happen, we circled the city {from the sky} before we headed south and I pointed out the towers and other sites to the kids.
Who knew that morning the towers would be gone.
We also flew home over the ocean and not land, like we did when we had our flight to NY just 5 days prior. I never once had a clue it was because the pilot knew what was happening and didn't want to crash into land, should our plance have been hijacked as well.

I'll never forget the look on Karlio's face when he found us safe at Orlando airport that morning. He saw the plane crash into the second tower from a rest stop that he stopped at on his way to get us.
All he was told was that it was a plane coming out of the East coast. He had no idea whether we were OK or that he had just lost his entire family.
I had no idea what was happening until he told me.
That was a nightmare I don't ever want to go back to. :0(

Welps..I better get to going. Kaysha needs picking up and I have got to make myself get to sleep earlier.
Tomorrow is fixin' to be a very busy day..I'm sure the phones aren't going to stop for a second.

No pic's today..but, I'll make it up to you soon. LOL...you can't avoid me so don't even begin to try. :0)

Have a great night everyone!!!!!!!

A Cat's Life

Is a pretty good life.



Wake up.
Whine till your human feeds you.
Chase a few lizards.
Stretch out in the sun.
Sleep.



Yeppers...it's a good life.

Sooooo...after having a truly miserable past few days {OK..week and a half}, something promising happened today.
Well..for one, I made a super sweet e-mail friend. We have so much in common and "S" was definitely an "Angel" sent when I needed one most.

Two...

Tonight, I got hired for a "check all operator" for a local trucking company who is doing the disaster relief for the state of Texas.
I start training tomorrow morning and after that I'll be trained for the billing auditor (same company}.
They have flexible hours and are very family orientated..so I know this is going to work out great.
One thing though...my blog entries may become a nighttime thing for a little bit until I figure out hours.

Three..

Kody and Kolin tested to the next highest rank in PWCST {weapons/hand/combat fighting}. I wish ya'all could have seen them. It was a fast paced, super intense hour and a half..and they rocked it!!

Four..

Kaysha had her senior pic's taken yesterday. My baby girl is growing up. :0(
I also went to her open house at her high school and every one of her teachers said she is a doll....a very talkative doll. LOL!!

Thanks for stopping by everyone. I've got to get the kids to bed, watch Nancy Grace and then get myself some sleep. No more late nights for me.

Later Gators!!!!!

FMHTYH Update

From My Heart To Your Head has been updated today. :0)



Enjoy!!!!!

Well...Dang, Another Headache Day For Bear

I woke Kody up for school this morning and when he rolled over and said "I feel like a$$"...I know it's another headache day and I had better medicate him and leave him be.

So...I'll leave ya'all with a never been seen before, almost forgotten about, snap of him from a couple of weeks ago..



BTW..I don't remember if I had mentioned this but he has a follow up appt. at the neurosurgeons on Sept. 18th to reevaluate his old VP shunt vs. a new programmable shunt.
His shunt, we are pretty positive, is whats causing all the morning headaches.
His brain is over-draining at night {when he falls off his 3 propped up pillows} and when he wakes up with a dehydrated brain, it feels much like a nasty ole' hangover. :0/

I'm off to get some stuff done for the hat site..new things!!!

Have a super cool day today...

Whacha' Readin'?

I hardly ever have time to sit down and read a book. Magazines, yes. Books...mostly never.

Though..Kaysha bought this one a couple of weeks ago and I borrowed it....OMG, read it..seriously!!
And, ummmmm.....have a stack of tissues, you'll need it.



BTW..if you get a chance to find "The Last Lecture", by the late Randy Pausch, on the web {we saw it on Oprah}..you have to see it, unbelievable.

Not much in the way of time to update right now..Monday's are that way.

So...I'll wish ya'all a great day and be on my way!!

Later Gators!!

***EDIT TO ADD***
Incase you wanted a copy of this book...Kaysha got hers right at our local Wal-Mart. I think she paid about $14.00 for it.

Make An Offer

The yard sale is over...Thank Goodness!!
Holy Cannoli..it was so hot out yesterday which may have lead to not alot of people getting out and about.
All in all....we made about $40.00, which I so very kindly spent in about 20 minutes yesterday with one trip to the gas station and one trip to the grocery store. :0)

We're thinking about trying again next weekend...we'll see.

However, if anyone is interested...I have these two items left...



I don't know if you can see it, but the stickers say "Make Offer"
They soooo owed me that snapshot since they placed that sticker on me and I had no idea I was walking around with it on my "apple bottom" until the end of the day when they tore it off and confessed.

Make me an offer....take them please! :0)

Not much else going on around here except that I have three guys {one big, two smaller} wanting to watch Nascar and the Jets/Miami game..which comes on at exactly the same time.
Decisions...decisions.
I'm thinking now would be a great time to learn how to use the "picture in picture" feature our TV has but we've never used since we bought it about 6 or 7 years ago.

Welp..I'm out for now.

I have got to tell you all about my Joanne's grand opening/gift card experience...tomorrow good for all of you? It works for me. :0)

Have a great day everyone!!

PS.
Christie...
That's the 50mm 1.4.
I've been neglecting that lens and decided a couple days ago to snap that baby back on and go for it. I'm still wondering why I took it off in the first place..isn't it delicious?
Oh..I think I had it set at 2.8. Maybe it's just me but I find it to be the "sweet spot" for that lens.

Yard Sale Day Two

The sun's shining.
There's no chance of rain.
Everything is going pretty good.
And, today I have Kolin a/k/a "The Go To Guy" {watch Clean House to understand} helping me.

Other then the humidity being at around 9000%, and a spitting migraine on my part...we're doing just fine today.

I'll check in a little later but for now..I'm going back to my regularly scheduled bad habit.....



Have a great day everyone!!!!

Yard Sale Day One-Part Two

Ho-Hum..the rain has stopped.
So has the traffic along my road.

My grand total so far...are you ready?
Can you stand it?

$10.25!!!!!

Go me.

Now, how to spend it, so many decisions...car gas, milk, bread, one trip to Starbucks.

Darn that life is so full of decisions.

OK..so for those of you who can't make it to the sale, or at least make it here to keep me company and off the computer..here's another sneak peek....

Lots of legos, perfect for painful experiences when stepped on in the dark..



"MMMOOOOOOve over legos, we need a home..buy us!!"



Many brightly colored, photogenic clothes worn only a few time by two boys who outgrew them way too fast..



And the best item of the day.
I can't believe this hasn't sold yet..what's wrong with people?

My helmet..yes this is mine, I wore this, no joke..



I know, I know, the stickers are fascinating. Shall we have a look at the other side?



I was soooo born to be wild!

Yard Sale Day One

Sort it.
Clean it.
Tag it.
Drag it outside.
Hang it.
Display it.







And then...

Quickly run around like a maniac, every 15 minutes, covering everything with tarps, raincoats and blankets all because..

Mother Nature is not on my side today, not at all.
I'm pretty sure that's the Diva of Rain on the left...and that's me on the right...



It's going to be a looonnnnng day today.

I'll update a little later on about my Joanne's Grand Opening experience. Oh...you won't wanna miss that. :0/

Have a great day everyone!!!!!!!

Sunny Days And Skater Boys

I love the way the sun made this picture glow, although he was actually standing in the shade. I could say it was a warm summer glow, but in reality..it was a stinkin' butt hot and humid afternoon.
So..it's a sticky, hot, humidity glow....and that's probably why he looks sooo less then thrilled. :0)



Same day, same time, same hot sun, different kid, different spot taken at exactly 2 feet away.
Crazy the way the cement of the street turns a golden glow to a full blown out white.
I love blown out whites..but then again, I am not normal and we all know that.



Just another day around here.
Early school drop offs, school meetings, school pick-ups, haircuts {well, haircut because only Kody is getting one..let me rephrase that, he's only getting the "hawk" cleaned up} this afternoon, yard sale taggin', homework hours, dinner rush, karate classes, showers, TV time, bedtime...
Just another manic Wednesday.
Oh..and since it's Wednesday in Sunny, Humid, Stinky Florida..it's also early day for school pick ups.

Have a beautiful day everyone!!!

PS. Ness..yes, I'll defintely have Kaysha do some modeling of the newsboy caps.

PPSS. Vintage "old school" photos of the kids coming soon. For real, no joke, no seriosuly, for sure, I'll do it.

FMHTYH Updated Today

Just a friendly reminder, FMHTYH has been updated. More to come very soon!! :0)



We just got a new Joanne's Fabrics Shop {yarn/wool store} 10 minutes from our home which is great news!! No more ordering on-line and waiting 10 days.
The Grand Opening is this Thursday and ya'all know I'll be there scoping out the newest, coolest colors. :0)