Early Mother's day...

I've already had a bit of Mother's Day celebrating today. Since
my Mom was here, she offered to watch the kids so Chris and I
could go out to eat this morning. (Thanks, Mom) I hadn't had
Cracker Barrel breakfast for a long time! Then this afternoon,
the kids went shopping with Chris and gave me these flowers
as soon as they got home....they would've been a little hard to hide!
I was wanting some flowers for my flower box out front, so
I was a happy mama!

Around lunch today, my Mom left. She was here for a few
days helping me get caught up on my housework. She's a
hard worker and always manages to get lots done and make me feel better!
My basement got cleaned, the laundry done, ironing mostly done...
you get the picture. Since I've been sick and needed more help,
my mom has really been there for me. I wonder if there's ever
really a time when we no longer need our mothers. I think we always need
the love and advice only they can give...they know us like no one else....
I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day tomorrow!

The tale of the tooth fairy

One of the "fringe benefits" of being a Mom is playing tooth fairy.
As a child, losing teeth was always a traumatic event for me, but the
tooth fairy (mainly the $) seemed
to make it much better. Since this is Lauren's 12th tooth, I feel
like a pro....haha. Lauren cannot stand loose teeth and
when they get to a certain point, she begs Chris to go ahead and
pull them out so she can eat. Every so often, we have
to visit Dr. Lambeth's office, up at the Ad. building,
and get the bothersome tooth pulled out. Such was the case this week.
Afterward, she decided the tooth needed a little cleaning, so up to the
bathroom sink she went and then I heard
awful wailing....she had lost the tooth down the drain
and she was just sure the tooth fairy wouldn't visit her. I assured her
if she would just write her a letter, maybe the tooth fairy would
understand her dilemma. The above letter was what I came
across as I was leaving the coins for her.
I know Leanna (Englund) will especially get a kick out of it. it
seems she takes after her father...no wasted words!

Lauren just out of bed, ran down to my bed to show me her
letter and money from the tooth fairy. She's beginning to "question" the
whole tooth fairy thing, but I'm reluctant to tell just yet, because I
don't want to spoil the fun for Michael. She has a hunch that it
all works the same as the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus!

MUSIC....HOORAY!!!!!!

Hurray!!!!!I now have music on my blog!!!! Can you tell I'm so excited????
For MONTHS I've been telling Chris that
I desperately wanted music to play on my blog. Then....I found it on someone's blog that I don't even know....and Voila!
I now have music. However, there is a huge disclaimer. I couldn't
figure out how to listen to the playlist without posting
it on my blog...I'm in the process now of listening to it and eliminating
if I have to....I know all the artists, but haven't heard all the songs.
So, until I get this all figured out, bear with me. If you hear something
that you don't think sounds quite like something I would listen to,
it probably isn't. I hope to get it all figured out by this
evening. Till then.....enjoy!!!!!!

Help me get organized!

Monday: Wash Day
Tuesday: Ironing Day
Wednesday: Sewing Day
Thursday: Market Day
Friday: Cleaning Day

Saturday: Baking Day

I'm sure you've all seen this little poem before.
Although my Grandma used to follow it very regularly, I've never
had any kind of a schedule...not for chores
and certainly not for babies. Although I'm a "flexible" person, I've
come to realize lately, it really could be categorized as one of my faults.
I'm a person who could use a little more scheduling.

That's where my blog comes in handy. What works around your house?
You that are more schedule-oriented, do you follow the schedule ALL the time? Although
I'd like to hear from anyone, I'd especially like to hear from those of you with kids.
Do you find a schedule works, or is it out of the question with kids?
I'm in a desperate attempt to get my life AND house a little
more organized! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Congratulations Leanna

Congratulations to Leanna (Lambeth) Englund for earning her Bachelors of Science in Nursing. She graduated with honors from Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina on Saturday.

This is before all the graduates marched in

Some of Leanna's guests

Procession

Leanna's good friend from college, Jordan, being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army

Lambeth side of the family

Englund side of the family

Two of her late mother's good friends who attended
(Shirley Pope and Barbara Kinley)

Caleb's 1 year pictures

Get a blog, Rebecca :)

Jeff and Rebecca Paulus, Jeffrey,
Austin and Anthony,
and Kaitlyn Ruth

With Chris and Michael on their way to a graduation
in North Carolina, (congrats to Leanna), I thought this evening would
be a lovely time to blog. NOT...the camera and memory card are both gone with them.
So, Plan B....post pictures of other people! haha
Actually, there's method to my madness. I've been begging
my friend Rebecca to start her own blog. She has quite an interesting life
in PA with three boys, two of which are twins, and now a
darling little girl...I really want her to start blogging.
Her reason for not blogging yet? Well, she mumbles something about not being sure she can figure it all out. However, I happen to know, her sister in law has offered
to walk her through the whole process. So, what's the real
reason??? "Yeah, Rebecca, what's the REAL reason?"
After this blog, you better come up with a good one! haha :)
Just so every one knows, Rebecca is one of my oldest friends. And not just
in years.....haha (I'm really being mean, aren't I) She and I
were friends all through teen years, braces, vacations, etc, etc.
We were both in each other's weddings, and even though she has
now been in PA for 15 years, we have managed to call each other
and stay in touch quite frequently. So, I think a blog
would help us stay better in touch with each others' lives and
kids....what do you all think??? Leave a comment and hopefully, she
won't be able to turn us down!

And hopefully, after reading all this, she's still my friend!! :)

Monday Events

Last night, was the Aldersgate Christian Academy Spring Program. Although Lauren doesn't attend there, she does attend
music class three days a week. This gives
her a chance to be in a school setting, and a chance
to be with other kids. This year, she completed 2nd grade
music which is taught by Mr. Tim Crater.

This choir was 1-4th grades. They sang two songs.

My Monday started out very usual. We were just
eating breakfast when Chris came home for a few minutes
and said he wanted me to see something on the computer.
Saturday, while running some errands, I heard on the radio
that Kenny G was coming in concert, close to Dayton. I immediately called
home and told Chris to check on the price of tickets. the cheap seats were
$60. Ugh...too much. So Monday, as I'm looking at whatever he
wanted on the computer, my eyes fell on the words Ticket Master. I
immediately thought we were going to see Kenny G. So there were
a few excited squeals, and happy smiles. Then as I scrolled
down further, I saw the name Josh Groban, and then
there were screams and jumping up and down. And nominations
for "husband of the year"!!!! I was very surprised because I had
really wanted to see the "Awake" tour, but the dates in our
area, were Sunday dates. However, he has since added a few more
stops on the tour, so we will be seeing him in Pittsburgh, PA. After seeing him
in concert in Oxford a couple years ago, I'm thrilled to get to go again. Not only
is he a great singer, but the musicians that travel with him are just a real treat as well.

I guess Mondays aren't so bad after all!