Peonies

The peonies exploded into bloom on Friday. I love having a sea of pink in the back yard. A couple of my bushes are from Mom's (Grandma Adams') yard. I remember Mom saying that peonies always bloomed by Memorial Day weekend. She also told me that they needed ants to crawl all over them before they would bloom. I know now that is a myth, but the first year I had flower buds, I was stressing because I didn't see any ants and I just knew those buds would never open! :o)

I love to cut a big bunch and bring them in the house (after I shake off the ants which are plentiful!). I always think of my mom when the peonies are blooming. It's a comfort to me.

A Quarter of a Century?!

As I was scanning this photo to put in this blog post about our anniversary, it occured to me that we've been married a quarter of a century. Our 25th wedding anniversary was on Tuesday and we celebrated with our kids by having supper in Lincoln.

It's been a few years since we passed the "been married half my life" milestone. We were just babies. I was 19 and thought I knew how it should be. Everything was supposed to be black and white - little did I know I was destined to a life of gray! :o)

This anniversary was a lifetime in the future.

Greg had just turned 22 the week before. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he showed up at the wedding so I figure he really must've wanted to get married. (And it was his idea!) :o)

I'm so glad he did.

Phone home

Randy keeps saying his kids won't have cell phones or phones in their rooms. That may well be, and we'll respect his parenting decisions. I just hope he knows what he's up against. :o)

(Photo 5/25/06 - Grace with my old cell. She's been carrying it around for two days. Even tries to use it as a TV remote.)

Ridin' the storm out

This was the sky over York on Tuesday evening as we drove back from Lincoln. It made us nervous to see storm-chaser vehicles on I-80. We weren't sure if we should keep going, especially after the radio warned of golfball-sized hail and up to 80 mph winds. We got nothing more than heavy rain and some minor winds, thank goodness.

What's in...

What's in your FRIDGE?
skim milk, leftover turkey, limes, a cucumber, turkey sausages, cooked bacon, thawed hamburger, fresh spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers, Diet Coke, (margaritas - shhh!).

What's in your PURSE?
Wallet, checkbook, comb, notebook, bifocals, make-up bag (has no make-up in it, full of Aleve, Midol, sinus meds, nail clippers, small scissors, a bandaid).

What's in your CLOSET?
Clothes, coin jar, jewelry, Christmas decorations, Easter decorations, Autumn decorations, craft supplies, sheets, suitcases, shoes, gifts for next Christmas.

What's in your DVD player?
Chronicles of Narnia

What's in your CAR?
Wyatt's car seat, a jacket, a library book, Garett's shirt and shorts, Garett's bottle, empty pop cup, large tub with paper for recycling from work, stack of buckets and lids.

Your turn!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I guess it's time to tell about the new direction my life is about to take. At the end of April I gave my 30-day notice at my job - my last day is next week on Wednesday. This decision was made after months of thought, stress, and with Greg's support. I am going to finish my AA in Early Childhood next school year, then go on for a Bachelor's from there.
No more sleepless nights worrying about things, no more trying to keep NINE other women happy and still do my job well and follow all the rules.
I still love the place - I just will love it without being responsible for it.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Belated birthday wishes, that is. I meant to put this up last night, but after we got home from supper at Applebee's with the kids, Greg wanted to watch "Narnia", then it was past my bedtime. :o)
Anyway, the man is 47 now and still a hottie! (Stop rolling your eyes, Jessi!)

Boys and toys

Just a glance at Greg's "new to him" pickup. He was shy about me taking the photos, but I made him. :o)

Easter Sunday

A busy day, but it was fun - I always enjoy a house full of family! :o)

How Spring Comes to Nebraska

Cold, wet, windy. Warm, dry, windy. Hot, dry, windy. Take our pick of temps, but we always get windy! Along with thunder, lightening, hail, and tornadoes.

We also get those first tender blossoms on the magnolia tree, along with the fragrant blooms of hyacinth and sunny daffodils. These are what convince us that Spring truly is here to stay.

Date night

Went on a date tonight with the little guy. I took Wyatt to his first theater movie - Ice Age 2. He didn't care much for the popcorn - was more interested in the people going in and out of the theater door. I started talking to him and he "shushed" me. :o) Once the movie started he sat on my lap and snuggled the whole time. At the part of the movie when the flood came, and the monster fish, he kept looking at me and saying, "Uh oh!"
We went to dinner after - chicken nuggets and apple slices at McD's. That's doing it right for a 3 year-old!

Sleep? What's that?

3:00, 3:30, 4:45, 2:38 - A.M. Last four work days, this is what time I've awakened and not gone back to sleep. (The 2:38 is today.)

Plus, I already have 23 1/2 hours in this week, and I have 3 days left to work - and I'm not supposed to have overtime!

PLUS there will be a Federal Reviewer in my center today!

PLUS I have a family who is having some serious issues I need to help them deal with - WHILE the reviewer is in my center today!

I don't need this much stress in my life. I want a job that I can leave when I go home at night.

On the UP side, Daylight Saving Time starts on Sunday - yea! I'm probably the only person in the world who doesn't mind losing an hour of sleep in order to gain an hour of daylight at the end of the day. I have so much more energy when I get home and the sun is still up. Here's an interesting web sight about Daylight Saving Time http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/b.html

Notice I didn't type "Savings Time". That's because it's not supposed to be "savings". Read all about it at the web site.

The kiddos

I babysat tonight for a few hours. Those kids kept me in a sweat all evening! :o) Tried to get Easter egg pictures, but Grace was the only one who cooperated, and only for a second. Then I forgot to open my flash! So, the photo is grainy and not as nice as I was hoping. Oh well, I'll try again another day.
The snow is melting and it is "mud city" everywhere. Today I could see where Greg gouged the yard with the Bobcat. Argh. Under the snow, the grass is bright green. This has been great moisture that was badly needed.
Better get to bed. Another busy day tomorrow...

ANOTHER snow day - argh!

While I don't mind the time at home, we have to make up every day we miss at Head Start. We have to offer a minimum number of school days to the families, and when we miss one, we make it up. Three days is getting to be a LOT of makeup time! Hopefully today the snowplows will have more luck getting those country roads cleared, local public schools will open, and my staff will be able to come to work tomorrow.

I went to town twice yesterday, forgetting the first time that I had water aerobics class later that afternoon, so I went to town again. It was good to get out of the house. :o)

There is some damage from the heavy snow. Awnings on the stores in town are sagging or broken, and people were on top of roofs scooping the snow off. Greg can't go to work for awhile - the warehouse roof collapsed yesterday and the roof in the office was creaking and popping. Fun.

I'm going to try to be more productive around home today and stay off the computer. No more videos today, I promise! Blogger is apparently posting photos again. This was taken about 6 a.m. yesterday, looking out the back door. (Yeah, I know, you already saw the video.)

No more snow - front door

No more snow - back door

Yet another video

More video

trying something new

Happy Birthday Boy