Squishy Face

Some days Jake stays home with Ben on his days off from the fire station and Best Buy.
I seem to get some of the funniest picture emails from them when this happens. I often get a pretty good laugh. A priceless picture was one afternoon, that Jake and Uncle Johnny took Benjamin out to lunch with them. Where did they go, yes of course. Hooters! I get a text with Ben holding up the Hooter's menu. About an hour later I get a picture of Ben on the hip of one of the Hooter's waitresses while four others stand at their side. Now you tell me. I am pretty certain they had this picture planned. Who brings the camera out to an afternoon lunch without a plan in mind?! I saw right through them.
Jake has been such an awesome Dad lately! Not that you aren't already awesome dear! But I think he is realizing our little baby boy isn't so much of a baby anymore. He is eating up the cuddling and rocking just as much or more than I have been. We go through phases of rocking the little guy verses letting him cry himself to sleep. Mainly, we rock him to enjoy slow diminshing cuddle time with our sleepy, non-mobile son. He isn't much for sitting still on our laps anymore. Last night, I tried to tell Jake to let Ben cry himself back to sleep at 2am, but nope, Jake was up rocking him, walking him and then off to sleep in the recliner. I think Ben is learning to wrap his Dad around his finger too, like his Mom. We have been playing catch with a baseball lately. The glove doesn't fit, but he giggles with delight as Dad throws the ball and I help him catch it in his hands. He seems to be he is going to be a lefty, but he actually throws better with his right hand.

So, this morning I got my squishy face picture! One thing to pay attention to is Jake took that picture, so try to imagine him with the camera placed between his neck and chin perfectly to be able to press the picture button. I find this quite amusing.

Visiting Dad at the fire station

Big Boy in the driver's seat!


Look who's driving!

Watch out! Here I come! He thought he was pretty cool up high and behind the steering wheel.

Cuddling with Ben on Saturday afternoon for naptime!

He has to have both arms wrapped around my neck, and as you can see he tilts his head back.


Hands on Mom at all times. Don't even think about getting up Mom!

Ah Mom, I love you!


He loves playing with my hair, and yes, sometimes it hurts.


Almost, almost......

And he's asleep!

8 things

Since One of my absolute favorite Sister in laws tagged me I am going to do it~!

8 THINGS

8 Things I Am Passionate About
~ Jake/Ben and any future children
~ All My Family
~ Girlfriend time
~ Health/Vitamins/Exercise
~ The one and only- GOD
~ Taking lots of vacations
~ Music
~ Right now, I could say I am pretty passionate about blogging/writing
8 Things I Often Say
~ NO BD!(no big deal)
~ I love you
~ You are soooo ornery!
~ Sweet
~ Awesome
~ Oh My!
~ Say Please
~ Benjamin THOMAS!
8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die
~ Play with my grandchildren
~ Be at my son's wedding day
~Visit Europe and Hawaii with Jake
~ Scuba Dive
~ Read the entire Bible
~ Have Jake walk me down the aisle at our 25th wedding anniversary
~ Watch Benjamin wrestle (my brothers were wrestlers, what can I say)
~ Becca, I can do a front handspring, believe it or not, but not like Shawn Johnson;)
8 Things I Have Learned From My Past
~If you don't like something about your life, only you can change it
~ God will only give to you what you can handle, and I can't survive without him
~ Your difficult times that you overcome make you a stronger person
~Without my family I would have nothing
~ Good friends help you through things you may not be able to figure out yourself
~ Live every day like it is the first day of the rest of your life
~ Show appreciation to those that you appreciate, show admiration to those that you admire
~Give yourself "ME" time!
8 Places I Would Love To Visit

~ Ireland
~ Australia
~ Italy
~ Hawaii
~ New York City
~ London
~ Japan
~Wanna go to Alaska again

8 Things I Currently Need/Want
~ More sleep
~ A Bike, and a toddler seat, so I can give rides to Ben
~ Trip to California to visit the Holee Family
~ New Ceiling Fan in our bedroom
~ A day off for myself
~ SCRAPBOOK Ben's book ( I am so behind)
~ Firepit out side on our deck
~ To see Ryan, Braddock, Mati, Elle, and Ava. I can never get enough of my neices and nephews...Plus I have yet to meet Baby Ryan

8 People I Tag-I don't know that many people that have blogs, but I will try
~ Lori
~Sarah
~Miranda-I will post it for you, haha
~Becca
~Jessica S
~Crystal
~Rebecca HP
~Meagan

Toothbrush and one of my weird Quirks

Ben loves his tooth brush, he sees me pull mine out day or night, and wants his NOW! I still have to help with getting those still only FOUR teeth in his mouth, but beside that he kind of pushes it around like he is supposed too. The doctor mentioned that a child doesn't have the ablility t0 correctly brush their teeth till like five years old. WOW! So for now, we will keep on brushing.

And I have to comment that I LOVE Ben's smile. He is the cutest boy I have ever seen. Of course he is my son, and I am biased, but I just love his smile, dimple, laugh, actions, jibberish, slobber, snot, bleach blonde hair, waddle, dance moves, and just absolutely everything about him. Just thinking of him makes me want to explode with love! You Moms know what I mean! So, I bought him his first baseball glove and ball. No, it doesn't fit, but I HAD to. I can't wait to play catch with him! Seriously, having a kid is an excuse for me to act like one, and as the days go by, I have more and more fun reliving my childhood.

And my next point.......one of my weird quirks.

So, I love vitamins. The vitamin frenzy originates from seven years that I worked in a chiropractic office that constantly stressed nutrition and health. I worked there from the age of 18 to 25. Wow, that is a very long time, I know. In those seven years, I learned a lot. Not only about the health of the spine, but supplements too. They brought me to numerous seminars all over the states. Being that I never traveled all the way through high school, this was awesome that they were taking me places and paying me for it. I went to Miami, and Orlando, Las Vegas, Dallas, and my all time favorite was Paradise Island, Bahamas. Wow, talk about fancy for a 19 year old. Dressing in business attire going from meeting to meeting inroducing myself to all these doctors. I remember being quite intimidated, but constantly trying to act as grown up and professional as possible. These were also part of my wild days too, so being that I did have some fun while gone with work. Especially in the Bahamas, where the drinking age was 18. hehe. Wheewww!

Now, Vegas was pretty fun too. That was one of my last trips, and being that I was 21 when I went made it a lot more fun, and Well, Expensive! Ha! Marilyn, another Chiro assistant, and I were there with our office manager and Dr. We decided to venture out one night, see the town, and do some gambling. Ha. We stayed at the Hilton, had a cab driver talk us into gambling at the Rio. We lost all our money, so we didn't have cash for a cabride back, and walked(seemed like miles) coming in through the alley behind the strip. At 3am, a trash man let us in the back door behind Ceasar's Palace. We stopped at Circus Circus for a $3.00 hot dog and then trekked the rest of the way back home. The office Manager who also became a second mother to me all those years, was worried sick. I don't blame her. Wasn't really the smartest thing to do knowing that Vegas has one of the highest crime rates in the U.S.

Oh memories! Back to my reason for writing.Vitamins, and not just any vitamins. WHOLE food vitamins. It is becoming more common, but the fact is that these vitamins verses synthetic vitamins are 100 times better for the person. I could talk hours about that, but the main reason is that the body is made to digest and absorb food, and can't digest and absorb synthetic vitamins near as well as whole food. Not to completely dog on Synthetic, because the fact is it is better to take something verses nothing. And God Knows we don't get the recommened daily value of vitamins and minerals from our diet. Soooooo, this leads to my trip to the Health Food Store yesterday.

I could literally stay and look in a store like that for an hour or more. Comparing labels, brands, mg to mg, whole vs. synthetic, and well of course cost. Whole foods are much more expensive but you have to realize you are buying quality verses quantity.

Then the foods. Believe it or not, there are some really fantastic foods in Health food stores. Yes, they are more expensive but they are pretty much all organic. And we all know what that means. Healthier. So, anyways, I can never walk out spending less than $25.00 and yesterday spent $38. But the satisfaction I get from taking the vitamins is worth it. I honestly feel like I am adding one more healthy hour or day to my life ahead. And hey guys, I will have grandkids one of these days. I want to be able to play catch with them too!

What time do you get up in the morning?

So, this commercial has been playing throughout the Olympics, and I find it a little odd. It's a McDonald's Commericial where all the Olympic athletes are asked what time they have to get up in the morning to train. The answers were 5:30, 6am, 6:15, and even as late as 7am! WTH! Then the last part of the commericial is all of them eating this southwestern chicken biscuit sandwich from McD's. Is it just me or does this seem odd. First off, My alarm goes off everymorning at 5:45. On a good day I don't hit the snooze button. So, I kind of consider getting Ben and I out the door by 6:45 Olympic training. Constantly, watching your time. Completing all your morning tasks. Feeding, and changing Ben while getting yourself ready too. This can be some pretty hard-core training now that I think about. I am being a bit sarcastic, but really maybe I should start training. HA!

Then the whole biscuit thing. Do you think I seriously believe our Olympic athletes are waking up to chicken and a biscuit from McDonald's. I really doubt it, but then again I did read that Michael Phelps eats something around 15, 000 calories or more while training. I think it mentioned a breakfast of like a dozen eggs, 1/4 lb of sausage, 5 or 6 pancakes, hashbrowns, fruit and oatmeal all for one sitting. Ok, I may be making up the amounts, but did I get my point across. You have to eat a ton to meet 15,000 calories a day.

So, anyways, I did break a record this morning. I didn't start getting ready till 6:15(due to Ben awaking early to play and cry when not being given attention), and I was ready, fed Ben, got my lunch ready, started a roast for dinner in the crock pot, fed Mugsy and put him outside for the day, and I was out the door by 6:40. Yes, I even showered. Pretty good I must say!

More Signs, and a couple favorite things to do.

Saturday Morning, the boys were out early bike riding. The weather couldn't have been any better. Imagine reving of engines. He*** Angels!


We went swimming at Finger Lakes State park. This is Ben's way of showing how big he is. "Soooo Big.!"

All the guys wading in the water, on the look out for tadpoles. Believe it or not is was the boys Mom, (Mrs. Schwab) that caught the most of all!

Splishing and splashing! Ben later in the day started going belly first in the water, acting like he was swimming around. He drank a little more lake water than was FDA recommended.

Riding on a new favorite lion toy that lights up!

Dear, you have a little something hanging from your chin. Do you think he is teething? Ben's favorite past time is to find something he can climb up on. Whether it be a plastic tub, a toy, the bench outside, a chair in the kitchen, a cooler. You name it. And then when he gets up on it, and he thinks you aren't paying attention he will stand straight up. The years of watching him so he doesn't break his neck have begun.

Ben has done really good on doing 'Signs' for words. He can sign "Please", "all done", and "more." It's so exciting to see him know and understand why he is doing them. We are working on thank you, but he gets it confused sometimes, because he has also learned to blow kisses. So when we imitate thank you, he blows an open mouth kiss. He is still a dancing machine. The "squat" has become a common part of his dance routine. That is hilarious. When he really gets to breaking it down. And one of his absolute favorite things is playing, "Gonna Get You" with Aunt Katie. Yesterday, in the kitchen at Grandma K's, Katie would hide behind the bar. Ben would venture from sitting on my lap, and slowly walk/creep around the bar. Then Katie would jump out and crawl after him. He turns to try to move as fast as possible to run towards me for safety in screeching laughter. You can tell he is trying so hard to move fast, but his little body can only go so quick. The excitement in his face is priceless.

Annnnnd, Jake and I went out on a date Saturday night. I ate one lb of snow crab legs, and could have probably tore up another lb. It was so good! Then we went to watch, "Mama Mia" I really thought Jake was being very giving when he said he bought those tickets. Even as we walked into the theatre, I said to him how surprised I was to him going for this movie. About five minutes into the movie, the cast starts singing one of the first of many songs in the movie. Jake turns to look at me with the most blown away/disappointed/slightly laughing look on his face and says, "This is a musical?!" All I could do was laugh. He had no idea! Granted we watched the entire movie, and Jake got to see a little theatre that night. It was a great date, and well needed. Took us back to pre-Benjamin days.

Quite an eventful fun-filled weekend, now back to work!

Pic of my Boy!

I feel like I have been writing so much and haven't posted any pictures. So this one was actually a week and 1/2 ago at Ben's friends Syd's B-day Party. He loves riding cars!

Which is one thing I don't know that I have ever mentioned and he has been doing this for several months. He loves playing with cars and pushing them across the floor. Give him a little car, and he will play with it for almost 15 minutes That is actually a very long amount of time for our short attention spanned little guy!

Miranda's thought of the day

Well, since I thought this was a very good point, and my friend hasn't started a blog herself, I thought I would include her in mine................until she says otherwise.

"We should rally AGAINST the Olympics ever being in an area that is 12 hours different then us...so gay, I mean for example gymnastics, I like gymnastics, used to do gymnastics until I quit because I got to nervous all the time...anyhow, gymnastics didnt even start until like after 11 last night, well, that's way past my bedtime. Luckily, I had the scariest dream about all of you, yeah you were all shot and they were following us every where(slightly revised), it was horrible...k so anyhow, I woke up from the scary dream about 3AM in time to watch the last rotation of the women's all around gymnastics to see Nastia and Shawn win and take Gold and Silver...I mean couldnt we have pushed gymnastics and swimming up, and pushed VOLLEYBALL back to starting at midnight!"

Dedication to Mrs. Schwab

So, I haven't really mentioned anything lately, but Jake and I have had his sister and her family of three boys and husband living with us as of last Saturday. Jake, Ben and I in our room and the boys in Ben's room, and Mom and Dad in the guest room. Quite the Brady Bunch in our small home. It has often been eventful, crazy, and even fun at times. Believe it or not, it has been much easier than I imagined. At least for me. It was nice this week having some company while Jake was gone working. I definitly wouldn't want to do this forever, but it was a great way Jake and I were able to help out when they found out that her husband's work was transferring him to our area. They would have stayed with us or a hotel till they found a place to live. And can any person imagine having three boy's ages 7,6, and 5 holed up in a hotel room all day? NO WAY! We have alwasy lived quite a ways from his family, so it was a great way for us to do something for them.

My dedication is to Mrs. Schwab. She is the mother who is also pregnant to have her first little girl in the end of October. So, if you can imagine she is pretty tired. Mr. Schwab works 10 hour days, six days a week. So, who do you think makes the family go round and round. Mom! She is good too. We have pretty much told them to make theirselves at home, and they do. The boys are onry, but what would you expect from three young boys. Benjamin loves having the boys to play with also. So a day in the life of her during the week, entails making hubby lunch, making the two oldes boys lunch for school, getting the two oldest to school, spend the day with her youngest while getting everything else in line after the big move, and do you know that every day this week I have come home - she has made dinner?! Amazing! She says it is no bd being that she has to make dinner for her family of five anyways, so what is adding two or three more in there? Man! What a woman! The boys, they have there Mom wrapped around their finger, but honestly Ben has me wrapped around his finger, so I really can't say anything. And the other thing is the boys listen. If I tell them to do something, they do it. The best one is explaining to them why we need to keep the lid to the toilet seat closed......Ben thinks the toilet is a little swimming pool he can splash around in. The other day E comes running into me, saying Ma-rwee-ahh!, Ma-rwee-ahh! Benjamin is swimming in the toilet! -haha, you know that makes me laugh! But yes, that is gross, I know.

So, props to Mama S! She's pretty tough! How she does it, I do not know! So, cheers to Mrs. Schwab.

Is it just me?

One of my major pet peeves, especially when I am caring such precious cargo in my car, is driving down the road and being cut off or run over by a brand new idiot driving a sports car. Notice it isn't the cars fault the numbskull is driving carelessly. The thing is these sports cars almost transform what was once a sane, careful driver into a nut.

But then my other point. Those sports cars from the 70's and 80's that have been refurbished and often a prized possession by the owner, usually the person being in their 40's or 50's. You don't see them driving recklessly down the road. No, usually I am passing them on the highway going 60 mph. And they look twice as good driving down the road verses the 'not a nice word' that ran me over to another lane on a three lane bridge yesterday morning almost killing me, my reason for living(Benjamin), and about three other people driving their cars in the early morning traffic. Talk about heart 'a racing. Then realizing a moment later what really could have happened and knowing that your husband at work that day would be one of the fireman on the accident scene. Whoa! Little too much for me at 7am.

Granted, we are fine, and nothing bad happened, but who gets my point here!?

Happy Friday to me, who will be getting off work a couple hours early to head to the gym then go pick up my boy and spend some time with my hubby on one of his four days off. YAY! Tomorrow, the plan is to go to Finger Lakes. Which I have heard to be quite the water play area for little ones. Bringing a picnic lunch and everything weather permitting.

Joke

Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box of tampons and proceeded to the checkout counter.The man at the counter asked the older boy, 'Son, how old are you?''Eight,' the boy replied.The man continued, 'Do you know what these are used for?'The boy replied, 'Not exactly, but they aren't for me. They're for him. He's my brother. He's four. We saw on TV that if you use these, you would be able to swim and ride a bike. Right now, he can't do either one.

Present Day Rambling and Types of showering

Since I have started this blog, I think a LOT about it. Like what am I going to write next!? I keep going back in time and talking about the past. But seriously there is so much to write about present day also.

I remember my pregnancy blog. Boy, now if that wasn't some present day rambling. Now, not all was rambling, but some really good heartfelt stuff. Didn't think about it then, but what a simple life for the most part. Went home at night from work, had dinner, watched tv, read a book, spend quality time with the hubby. Go to sleep. Pretty simple. That really about wrapped it up.

A day in the life: Up anywhere from 4:30 to 5am with Ben, sometimes get to doze a little while cuddling with Ben before the alarm goes off at 5:45. If he is asleep, that is fantastic, if not, well, it can be a little bit of chaos.

Since Ben came around there are three types of showers I can take:
1) Ben is awake. Close bathroom door with him inside while I shower, peak out the curtain to see what he is doing. Take his hand out of toilet. Keep him from falling in the shower with me while he tries to grab the rain drops. Smile and laugh with him as he gets splashed in the face. Make sure he stays out of the cabinets. Make sure he doesn't put anything in his mouth that isn't edible. Take away shoe as he chews on the soles. These are usually five minute showers, not really any shaving of the legs in this one, and if you can imagine the floor and walls can get pretty wet while I lean back and forth out of the shower.
2) Ben is asleep in our bed. It sits a few feet from the ground, and Ben hasn't quite mastered crawling out of it. Bedroom door closed, bathroom door wide open. Turn shower on, make sure Ben is still asleep, jump in the shower. Peak out curtain, make sure Ben is asleep. Ahhhhh breathe in and out with a great sigh enjoying the hot water on your shoulders. Peak out curtain again. Shave legs. Peak out curtain. Wash face. Wash and condition hair. Peak out curtain. Sigh again thinking if I really have to get out of the shower. Usually a seven minute one. On occasion Ben wakes up while I am in the shower. Whether lathering conditioner or shampoo or suds all over, I jump out of the shower to grab him from the bed with a pillow, bring him in the bathroom and close the door. Give him the pre-made sippy cup to soothe him while I finish up in the shower. If you can imagine, Ben gets pretty wet, along with the our carpet, bed and bathroom floor.
3) The most enjoyable shower of all: Jake is home and watching Ben or he is asleep in his bed and hasn't awaken. Good 15 to 20 minute shower: Sigh, Turn water on, get in the shower. Soak up ever bit of the hot shower beading on my shoulders, head, and face. Just stand there for a good minute or 5. Breathe, ahhhhh! Shave legs, shampoo, condition, in no order what so ever. Breathe. Ahhhh, pause and enjoy. Think about what the day will bring. What do I want to write today in my blog? What are we going to have for dinner. What fun event can Ben and I do this weekend? Is Jake off this weekend, maybe we can do it together as a family. Wonder if I really need to go to work today, or should I just crawl back in bed. When is my next vacation day? Did I pay the utility bill? Ahhhhh, breathe. Who cares....... So nice..Sing a verse of the last song I heard before I went to bed the night before...Ponder.. I really do sing good in the shower...Breathe...OK- time to go. Water off, and a new day has begun!

10 Year HS Reunion!

All of us together at a BBQ sunday. With's our added additions: Al's boy M, and of cours Benjamin had to be included!


Jake and I enjoying the night out while little sis is babysitting!
Dang, Jake you look good in this pic! Grrrr!


Two of my favorite girls in the worlds, V and Stef!

Well, actually I didn't make it to the reunion on Saturday, but I wasn't really that serious about going. The people I really wanted to see I got to hang out with on Friday night. We'll just call them Al, Stef, and V.

See above the "crew". We mostly hung out with a lot of the people in the class above us, and each other. We weren't ones to really care about what others thought, so we'll just say we were pretty care-free. High school was some of the best times in my life. #1 There was a lot less responsibility to handle verses where Jake and I are today. And for the most part I got along with everyone, but hung out majority with my clan. It's always fun to see familiar faces too. Well, about us- V lives in Key West, Florida, selling Real Estate and managing her fiance's Chiropractic office. Stef is a nurse at Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis, and Al and her family live close to home going to school for her Business degree. It's amazing how when you are good friends with someone, and even though you haven't hung out for years, you don't even miss a beat. We had some great fun, and I look forward to seeing them more. I would love to make it to V's wedding in November, but it might be above our budget right now. Honestly, each one of us is truly different. Not a lot in common except that we are friends. That is probably what made us the coolest gals ever! Anyways, hopefully there will be more to write about them later.

So- Highschool! Mom and Dad put each of us through private school. Elementary was easy being that Dad was the principal, I think we got a pretty good discount. Actually, Katie is in private high school now, and Charlie will be going in about five more years. You may ask how the heck they were able to afford that years ago. Believe it or not we received some grants for the high school. But a lot of the tuition we had to work for. We cleaned classrooms every night after school. If you didn't do a good enough job(to that teacher's liking) the admin approached you about it. My brothers and Dad cut the grass of the school grounds each year through spring, summer, and fall. And one joyous summer after my sophomore year, I worked cleaning the school from 7am-3:30 pm every day for the month of June and July. (BLAGHHHH! Picture face of disgust as I remember the job) My duties entailed scrubbing floors, tiles, toilets, and urinals. Scraping gum and other nasty stuff that may fly out of male teenagers mouth, off desks and lockers. By far the worst summer experience I ever had as a teenager. Believe me, I let my parents know I hated it each and every morning. I begged them for public school! Nope, not gonna happen, and low and behold I got a solid, great education out of it. I only appreciated this when I went to college. College was a cake walk compared to high school! At least my business degree, the years in nursing school was another story.

Summer Early Morning Sun

The signature look of Benjamin with the furrow of the eyebrows.

B's Best Friend!

Notice the series of events. This was early Saturday morning playing outside. Ben doesn't really move much. But as you can see Mugsy is constantly pouncing around.

I thought this was a nice shot!

Energy

How about a bike ride or a jog? Today, I try to get to the gym as much as possible. This means going on lunch breaks at work when I don't have errands to run. As one year goes by after another, I realize I am getting older, and boy does my body know it. There was a point around the age of 24 or 25, I do believe my metabolism cut in half, then after Ben was born....well, my tone, fit body went to "sags." You mothers know what I am talking about! Add the fact that I had a c-section in there and include a flap of fat that I never knew before could exist which falls right over the scar. Very attractive I must say!
I do love a good workout though. Pumping to my MP3 working out like I will never stop. Knowing in my head that 'this' workout is going to change my body and satisfy its everlasting thirst for the tone hard body. HA! A day later, my muscles say, "WOMAN, what were you thinking in the gym yesterday......you're dumb." Then my faulty hip jumps in to say, "you were wanting to walk today?! Well, how do you like me now, Gimpy?"



So, when we were kids, do you all remember the amounts of energy you had. You could go all day at a 100% and not stop once to say, "man, I am tired." I laugh at the mornings when my oldest sister Anna would get up and say, "Hey, you wanna run to school today." Heck ya, I did. About a mile and 3/4 trek to school. The first mile being gravel road. I believe Anna was in 7th or 8th grade and I in 4th or 5th. Put our tenny bockers on, in our school clothes, and off we would go. The last 300 meters to school the bus would pass us and we'd see, Charlie, the bus driver honk and wave. I am pretty sure there was laughing and shaking of his head too.

We were nuts, but you couldn't say we were lazy.

So, if I could just take a little of that lightning energy from my son, that would be great too. He is either moving a million miles a minute or passed out! Much needed on a Friday, after a long week of my brain being sucked dry at work. I don't look forward to weekends to go out, but this is my time to take naps!

The convent

Hmmmm, wonder what may be going through your mind after that title. This was before "earth contact" times.


For those that don't know, my parents both grew up in KC and after they got married with four of us, Dad was offered the principal job in Frankenstein. Off we went. We had no place to live actually, but there was an unoccupied Convent between the Church and the grade school. For those that don't know what a convent is:
1)A community, especially of nuns, bound by vows to a religious life under a superior.
convent
2)The building or buildings occupied by such a community.



Well, since it wasn't occupied what better way to house the the principal, his wife and four kids. According to my Mom, they paid rent of either 115.00 or 215.00 a month – no utilities. Dad’s contract for principal and teaching was $12,000.00 a year. We lived there I think a little less than two years.

What an amazing house, over 6 bedrooms, three different stair cases to get to where you wanted to go, a huge balcony to look over. A huge basement Dad made into a weight room. And the cemetery right in our back yard. Honestly, I don't remember living here, I was only two. The one memory I do have is the red and orange shag carpet.

There were many stories told though. My favorite is the one when Dad was working at the school and had to call my Mom at home, to let her know one of "her" daughters was running around school chasing the 7th and 8th Graders at recess with a stick. Yes, it was me. I broke loose after Mom had turned her head for a moment. Needless to say Dad wasn't too happy.

After we had moved, believe it or not the house was mainly used for storage by the school, and several years later it was decorated and used as a "HAUNTED HOUSE" around Halloween. One year I was put in the basement under leaves and a tombstone to jump out as a dead person as people walked by.

At Church picnics, the front steps were considered the "cool" hang out by the high school students. I remembered this because I was lectured each year that I was to NOT even attempt to head over there to play. Apparently, the cool kids weren't alwasy doing the most legal/appropriate things over there.

Years after we moved away, the house was considered condemned and had to be torn down. So sad :*( In its place today sits a new playground for the students to use.

To think about it those couple years we lived there we had it pretty good. Our playground was a cemetery and school grounds. We couldn't get in too much trouble being our Dad was the principal, and right next door to us was the priest's house.

On another note: I enjoy writing about my childhood for the main reason that as I write I remember more and more things that always make me smile.

Sunrise

While driving to work in the morning, I find myself looking in the rear view mirror to watch Benjamin glance and stare out the windows. While in a straight stretch of highway heading into town, there is a perfect view of the orange horizon over the green fields as the sun rises to let everyone know it is time to start a new day.

I was amazed to see my son gaze at the sun rising over the blue skies. Heck, he may have noticed it yesterday or the day before, but I just happen to notice his reaction for the first time today. Kind of like this is the first day of the rest of his life. (sounds cheesy I know)

It is pretty amazing seeing something for the first time. A sunrise is beautiful no matter how many times you see it. The look Benjamin had as he studied ever ray or cloud was priceless, contemplating what exactly he was looking at. Of course he doesn't ask why or where it came from but just admires the pure beauty of the sky. As an adult we have that automatic reflex to always trying to break things apart, and understand rather than just enjoy it for what it is.

Over the last year, Ben became more aware of everything around him one day after another. When he sees something interesting, such as a neighbor walking by the house or car driving by, and either Jake or I are in close grasp, he looks at us smiles and says his infamous "ehhh?!" To me this means, "did you see that Mom and Dad? Pretty cool huh?!" He doesn't know that we have seen it a million times. But each time, I see this response, I know he is learning and absorbing absolutely everything around him. He doesn't want to miss a thing, so that is why he is constantly on the move.

So the lesson I learned from my son today is to look at everything like you would as if it were the first time or first chance. And in this sense treat every day, as if it really was your first day of life.

July 2008 Pics

Ben is not quite sure what to think.



Dad and I going for my first four wheeler ride!




Doing our silly faces for the camera!

Mom, Ben, and the new addition!

Lots of New stuff!

Anyone that has purchased a "new" car, cannot deny that they enjoy getting in the front seat to drive the puppy. We bought an 08 Saturn Astra. It's a sporty little station wagon, and I couldn't be any happier with our purchase. It gets great gas mileage, and lucky enough we got a deal we couldn't pass by on. So low and behold, Mama is enjoying the new wheels. As Benjamin is also, with tinted windows and an awesome huge sunroof he can look out and enjoy. The night driving will be neat cuz he can look out at the stars. Jake is ecstatic he is driving the accord now, for the fact it has four doors, and it was quite the pain in the butt to get Ben in and out of his carseat in the two door civic.

Any how besides that. Ben has also learned quite a bit of new stuff. He says Mom and Mama much more often. Though, he is still saying dududududuh-daddadadah the majority. He also has said Tay-tay, for his Cousin Taylor who goes to daycare with him. I think he says "dog" also for Mugsy. He points at everything, and is alwasy acting so intrigued.

The most exciting things he's picked up on recently is the sign language he has been using for words. He signs "please", "more", and "all done." "Please" is by far the cutest thing ever. I believe it involves taking one hand and rubbing his chest, but he takes both hands and practically crosses them on his chest and rubbs. We are working on "milk," but he definitly knows what it means when I say it. He runs into the kitchen toward the fridge. He also knows when I say, "you want to eat?" cuz he runs toward the high chair.
It is really amazing to watch him understand and learn so much so quickly. He has become a sponge and catches on to so much.

Benjamin is still a big ham. When he does something or wants to be noticed while he is working/walking on something, or doing something new, he throws his shoulders back and in the air and kind of shrugs, like, "No bd, ya, I know I am cool." I have to laugh because I really don't know where he learned it.

We have found that Ben is much more likely to go to a male verses a female when Mama is around. He is quite a Mama's boy for the most part. If I am there, he is in my arms or following me from behind. But in church Sunday, he just kept going back and forth from me to Papa. I am pretty sure Papa K thought he was pretty cool, and he even walked up for his blessing at communion with him.

We went to a couple birthday parties on Saturday. Sydney Muenks turned 1, and Logan Kliethermes turned 2. Great fun with friends and of course, great food! Then we hung out with Grandma and Papa K on Sunday. Very busy weekend, but we had lots of fun.

So, on Wednesday Jake and I head to Six Flags. I haven't been there since I was a teenager, so I am thinking large quantities of Ibuprofen and lots of water are going to be a must. We look forward to our amusement park date while Ben will be hanging out at daycare!

MOM

So, I am not really sure how my Mom stayed sane over the last 33 years. She married my Dad one, and then topped it off with Ten kids. :) We certainly put her through some trials, and after becoming a mother myself, it has only made me appreciate her that much more.

So, the older three above me weren't that far apart from each other. Jessica and Anna were born 11 months apart, and then 12 months later came Jason. Three under the age of three, God Bless her! Then, almost two years later I came along. Mom was 25 years old with four kids five and under. It continues to get better. Tommy, a year and 1/2 later, Terressa a year after that, Johnny a year after that. Tasha came two years after him, Katie came as a big surprise five years after Tash and then the biggest surprise of them all, Charlie six years after Katie. Mom was forty-four, Dad was fourty-seven. I remember Mom's pregnancy with him the best, as I was a senior in highschool. That's right almost 24 years difference between Jessica and Charlie.

Growing up in Frankenstein, we had a four-bedroom house, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, and a living room. And of course, Dad's favorite room in the house, was his weightlifting room/Mom's laundrey room. Pretty sure Mom spent more time in there than he did. Mom of course stayed at home most of our early childhood. She waited tables on the weekends at a little place called Krautman's Corner in Bonnots Mill, Missouri. Dad was lucky enough to stay home and keep us occupied!

During the school year, Dad being the principal, was always the first one who had to be at the school to open the doors, so he often left at 6:30 or earlier. The bus came to pick us up just a few minutes after 7am, every morning. The reason I give the times, is the fact that my Mom got up every morning to make the six that were in grade school and one that was in kindergarten breakfast. So, seven in school and Tasha(Boogs was her nickname) was the baby.

Breakfast-The most important meal of the day! Breakfast wasn't cereal either. We hardly ever had cereal and milk. It consisted of hot cocoa or juice, and any of the following... oatmeal, cream of wheat, malt-o-meal, scrambled eggs(sometimes with ham), "Mom's famous soggy toast", peanutbutter toast, and/or cinnamon toast. My point is my Mom made us breakfast every morning....no matter what! To some that may not seem like a big deal, but what time do you think Mom was up in the morning to get this meal ready for 7 kids and Dad, and still get us out the door to catch the bus a little after seven every morning.

And to seriously think I have a hard time getting out the door in the morning, just getting Ben and I ready. This one feat my Mom did for us, I try to re-iterate in our family during the work week, at least for Ben. I am not as good as getting up to prepare a meal for Jake considering he is usually out the door by 5am. But, I try to give Ben some type of breakfast every morning before we head out the door at 6:45 every morning. If my Mom can do it, so can I right! Jake gives me a hard time, because that actually results in Ben getting two breakfast every morning. One at home and one at daycare. Hey, he is a growing boy!

So that was one thing my Mom always did. The other thing Mom did was, well, take care of us. We had chores, but who do really think made everything go around or at least somewhat smoothely in that household. My Dad has always been a big kid at heart too, so you can only imagine.

If I had to say one thing about my Mom it would probably be that in my eyes she is a "saint." She is one of the strongest woman I have ever met. If she taught me anything, it was "Everything always works out," "It could always be worse." and "Pray about it and ask God."
Honestly, none of these really hit me until I was in my early 20's. I was always thinking Mom was hard on us and didn't understand. As I have grown as a person and become an adult, I realized this advice is probably some of the best to live by.

Some of the best memories of Mom are dancing to the Charleston at home, hanging sixteen loads of laundrey like it was no bd outside on the clothesline in 100 degree weather, and dancing with Dad in the living room. And she still has the best laugh, when you tell her something and she thinks it is funny or great, she has a laugh that tells you that she loves you. In that laugh you can tell, she thinks you are onry as heck, but there isn't one reason in the world she would take back having you as her child. I know that every single one of my brothers and sisters love nothing more than to get a laugh out of Mom. I can honestly say, if I get the good hearted laugh out of my mom it has made my day. I can actually sit by myself after the fact, think about it, and it would still make me smile.
Honestly, I think Jake is the same way. He loves to get my Mom to laugh, and catch her off guard. I think he understands the charisma of her laugh after being around our family the last few years.

So, Mom is pretty cool. We used to butt heads pretty hard, but Dad always said that was because we were so much alike. And I agree. Still to this day, I know that one of my life goals is to be as good a mother to Benjamin as Mom was to us. I know I will have to work every day at it to reach this goal.