Our school is going to State Competition for the first time ever this spring. In preparation for that, our girls have formed a volleyball team complete with snazzy uniforms. They had their first scrimmage at Beech Grove on December 11th. They only won one game out of five. But they had fun and learned what to expect from playing another team. We are looking forward to their next scrimmage in January.
Britnee was invited to be in the Sanctuary Choir this year. It worked out great that our choir directors (Dan and Louise Martin) live a few miles on the other side of our little town, so that even though I'd been sick, leaving Tony exhausted and unable to attend most of the services involving practice, they were able to pick Britnee up and drop her back off every Sunday night. Thanks so much, Martins, for going a few blocks out of your way, factoring in a few additional minutes to your evening and packing an extra snack for our daughter to enjoy with your family on the way home. We so appreciate your kindness and generosity! It was an experience that Britnee won't forget.
If you want to see or hear the performance (which we were able to attend and enjoyed immensely!), go here and click the link by Church Choir, 12/21/08.
Not a new garage or a bigger laundry room; not a tiny little bundle of pink (or blue) but yet another cat. No we are not collecting them. Several weeks ago, Twiz disappeared and Pudge was only coming around about once a week. We have no idea what happened but of course, Britnee started paying attention to Clinton County Humane Society's website. Well, I should say paying MORE attention. She showed us cat after cat; kitten after kitten. I told her if we got another one (which I DID want before fall and mice season arrived) it had to be spayed or neutered. Tony's criteria was that it had to be a full-grown cat - a kitten wouldn't survive all the strays that roam "the neighborhood" (read: our yard!) So, much to her dismay we kept putting her off.
Finally one night, she showed me the ugliest cat that she had shared to date and then sent the picture or link to Tony's email. The next morning, I was downstairs, the kids were in school and Tony was up in his office. He hollered down, "Did you see the cat that Britnee is looking at?" "Yes," was my hasty reply, "isn't it ugly?" "UGLY?! It looks exactly like one of the best cats I ever had when I was a kid."
Do I even need to tell you that they went and picked it up either that night or the next? Before they got to the Humane Society, Tony made sure that Britnee understood if the cat was small they weren't bringing it home. They walked in and asked to see Benson. When the lady brought him out, Britnee's eyes got huge and she looked at Tony as if to say, "I don't think size will be a problem."
He is huge. (To give you an idea, Tony thinks Benson could have our friend's Pomeranian, Bitsy, for lunch. Okay, bit of exaggeration there but you get the idea...) If there's anything I hate worse than a gray tiger cat (bor-ring!) it's an over-sized cat! But I didn't get any say in this one.
Stay tuned for the rest of this story.
I was released from Central Michigan Community Hospital a day after giving birth to my first child, a 7 lb 7 0z, 20 1/4 inch long daughter. We went home first so I could take a nap in my own bed. Then we hastily packed for a stay in Lansing to be near that baby who was now at Sparrow Hospital.
Upon our arrival in town, we went up to see that little one of whom we’d been given a mere Polaroid photo 30 hours before. It was difficult to only touch her through the holes in the incubator and not be allowed to hold her. We stood and watched her breath for a long time. Then, finally, having been reassured she was getting top-notch care, we bid her goodnight and headed for Meijer to pick up the things we’d forgotten in our hasty packing. I also chose a little mint green teddy bear for her isolette and Tony added to her book collection with a Richard Scary story – his favorite when he was little. (I’d been reading to her incognito for months.)
On our way out of the store, I discovered a do-it-yourself machine that printed invitations and announcements. Tony indulged me and we printed off a few announcing “Our Little Bit of Heaven”. Then we headed to his aunt’s and uncle’s, who so graciously loaned us a room even though we rarely saw them that week (thanks, Barb and Wendell!)
Not exactly how I’d envisioned my first day home from the hospital. But instead of the 7-10 day stay that the doctors predicted, we were able to be home in 4 and by the following Monday everything was back to normal except we had a bassinet beside our bed.
That was then, this is now...
...and I am the mother of a teenager. Happy Birthday, Britnee!
(My excuse for the belated post is that we were gone most of the day and when we got home, I was busy baking birthday cobbler and playing ball with the birthday girl :)
Reading Michelle's post the other day about interviewing her kids reminded me of some books that my girls made in Sunday School one year for me. The book is called "Mother's Day Surprise". I (teacher at the time) had certain questions that I asked each student. Then I printed their answers on the computer along with clipart similar to their answers for them to color. Janae was 4.5 years and Britnee would have been almost 7. Every once in a while, we enjoy getting this out and reading it, chuckling at the answers and getting a bit nostalgic remembering how they said it and with what kind of speech and voice inflection.
We have a budding lyricist on our hands. Britnee does not want me to post this but since when do I obey my children? While watching the post on the Christmas song I hate, she and Janae were singing their own versions. After hearing the first couple verses of this one, I told her she needed to "write it down". I know all to well the feeling of not being able to remember words (funny or serious) to a song that I made up on the fly.
First off, let me preface this post with a statement. No, I am not pregnant!
I was looking at a picture of a variety of candy. It had a particular candy bar that never appealed to me pre-pregnancy w/Janae nor does it appeal to me now. But it did once-upon-a-time. So here I divulge my pregnancy cravings (probably more for my record than yours...I've been wanting to do a scrap book page of this info for some time now.)
Pregnancy for Britnee:
Pregnancy for Janae:
Pregnancy for Kerrigan:
I am sure you are finding these last two hilarious, but I was so sick with her pregancy that I would lie in bed or on the couch and dream of the day when I felt good enough to do crafts or drink all the water I wanted - liquids were as hard for me to keep down as food.
(Again, I could not do Pepsi or sweet drinks - found out it was due to gall bladder issues - but I was able to start drinking Pepsi again shortly after I had her. She LOVES pop more than water, so I have concluded that it is a learned behavior in the early months of childhood not anything to do with pregancy!)
Britnee shows extreme delight upon receiving the Dogz Gameboy Advance Game
She hates to have her picture taken...can you tell?
HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY, BRITNEE!!
