Jenny’s Special Birthday Gifts

I’m sneaking into Jenny’s blog to write a story I think is cute. I thought it would be fun to take the grandkids shopping so they could pick out a birthday gift for their mother. I gave them free reign (within a reasonable price range) of what they thought would be the perfect gift for their mother. I was really curious to see what they would come up with. So the three of us set out for Wal-Mart. Before we left on our shopping trip Brandon told his mother he wanted to get her flowers, those pretty cut flowers in the case by the front door of Wal-Mart he said. Jenny talked him out of those because she told him although she loved flowers, once they died she wouldn’t have anything to keep forever from him so he decided he would rather give her something she could keep. They both decided jewelry was what mommy needed so we headed for the jewelry and I figured I would start them at the first aisle and let them look at everything on the racks and then decide which one they wanted. I didn’t realize the first aisle was the children’s jewelry. Jessie wanted to get some Tinkerbelle bracelets that would only fit a child and I don’t think she really had mommy in mind at that time. I told her we were shopping for mommy and not her and maybe she could get those later so then she liked a Hannah Montana necklace that would fit her mommy. I told her we would keep looking but if that’s what she wanted to get her we would come back for it. Brandon tends to just zero in on something, like it calls to him, and then he is set on that item no matter how many other things he looks at and this time was no exception. He headed straight for a box of earrings and that was exactly what he thought his mommy should have. Jessie is more of a shopper so she looked at everything. She liked the costume jewelry rings and picked one of the largest red stones I’ve ever seen on a ring. It was a huge square stone with a couple of small diamonds on each side. The rings weren’t the kind you can size and I was afraid if it didn’t fit any of Jenny’s fingers then she wouldn’t be able to wear it at all and Jessie would be very disappointed so she decided to keep looking (you’re welcome Jenny). Finally, she decided on a gold and purple necklace. Then she wanted to give her a second gift so I said they could pick out another gift that was from both of them. Jessie wanted to give her a card of earrings but it was very similar to the ones Brandon had picked. He wanted to give an identical box of earrings to the ones he had already picked out but with a different color stone but I thought maybe a bit more variety would be nice so they decided on a card of beaded bracelets. We thought it was a card of about eight different bracelets but it turned out to be all one bracelet and when pulled out, looks like a very pretty slinky. So happy with their purchases we paid for them and some gum that they talked Grandma into. Then we stopped at my house to wrap the presents and they were very picky about the tissue paper and bags we used. They both decided they wanted to give her a card too and luckily I have a bunch of cards I get free in the mail so they each picked one out. Fortunately, I had two with a dog that looked like Shane on it because they both wanted that one. Brandon signed his card himself but dictated what he wanted to say on it to me. It read, “I wish you have a very good birthday for many many years. P.S. I love you very much and we are back from Wal-Mart.” Jessie “signed” her card too and dictated on hers the message, “Dear Mommy, I love you, I want you, I don’t want you to die.” What with Bill, their dog Sara, and several of our special cats dying recently, death is a bit on her mind. They gave their individual presents to her on her birthday, which really helped make it a special day, especially since Brandon had that bus fiasco on her birthday, and gave her the bracelet at the family party on Saturday. Jenny wore the other jewelry they gave her at the party too. Jenny loved the fact they had picked out the gifts themselves, which made them very special, and I have some really special memories of our shopping trip as well. See the pictures below:

1st day of school

Brandon had his first day of all day school yesterday. I was worried about him lasting all day because he always gets tired in the afternoon. He did fine with that though and said that he enjoyed going all day. We will see how long that lasts. He did have problems with the bus however. When he was supposed to get off the bus, he wasn't there. Melody from next door, who was getting her son off the bus and runs a daycare, asked us where Brandon was. Dad, who was waiting outside, jumped into his car and started chasing down the bus. Melody started calling the bus garage, and I called the school. She said they messed up with one of her daycare kids in morning kindergarten too, they had the drop off address wrong, and he was on the bus an extra hour before she finally got him to her house. I finally got a hold of the school and they started tracking him down. Apparently they put him on the wrong bus and he wasn't the only one. Parents were chasing down buses and calling the school and in general panic mode throughout the county. The school finally called and said they had him at the school about the time Scott was getting ready to head down there and I was going to wait at home in case they dropped him off there. Dad returned home after verifying that Brandon wasn't on the bus. Needless to say Scott and many other parents were giving the school an earful. Then they tried to tell us that Brandon was on the right bus and just didn't get off, so Scott let them have it again because we tracked the bus down and he was not on it. I figured Brandon would be freaked out by now but when we got him he was more worried that he was in trouble because they took him to the principal's office to wait for us. He is calling it his great adventure. On the way home I asked him if the bus he was on even went in our direction and he said no that he thought they took him to Mexico because it was a foreign land. I had baked cookies for him to have when he got home from school but by the time we got him home he was too wired to eat them. Every year something goes wrong for him on the bus. In preschool, the bus got the kids to school 20 minutes before all the other buses and they didn't bother to tell the teachers that so his first day he waited outside the school with no teachers and it scared him and the other kids. Last year the bus went into a ditch, and this year they lose him. I can't wait to find out what will happen next year. Great birthday present for me to have my son lost in the bus system. They don't take care of the kids like they used to that's for sure.

Brandon has his surgery scheduled for september 25, at 7:30 in the morning, which means we will have to leave here at 6:30 and hopefully not wait for hours until they get him in. At least it will be over and I can stop worrying about it.

Brandon had his appointment with the surgeon yesterday and he said it was an epigastric hernia. The muscles never closed up completely allowing some fat to get pushed through which is the lump we can see. It must be the only fat in his body because I sure can't find any anywhere else. The good news is that it is unlikely to cause any serious medical problems but it can be painful and they want to do surgery but I don't know when exactly. Probably in the next month or two. They said it was better to do it while he is young and recovers quickly. Brandon was funny though before we left to go to Springs. Mom was babysitting Jessie at our house and Brandon acted like she never been there before. He was showing her where everything was and telling her how to do everything like how to open the door if the dogs wanted out. He showed her the fridge and told her what snacks Jessie liked and where her juice was. Right before we left he showed her the keys to the firetruck in case they wanted to go for a spin and then thanked mom for watching his little sister. It was funny.
Scott's test result came back normal except for a lot of acid and now they want to do a scope. I don't know when he will get around to doing that. I think it is just stress and he hasn't been feeling like working out or anything lately and that doesn't help. At the end of the day Brandon tells me that this was the best day. I was thinking yeah I love driving for two hours for a fifteen minute visit, told that my son has to have surgery, Scott needs more tests to find out what is wrong yeah right this was a great day. We have a meeting set up on Wednesday with several potential investors to hopefully invest in the business so hopefully that will go good. Mom is feeling more positive so that helps. I never realized how much I count on her to help me stay a little more positive. She is on vacation this week which helps break up the monotony too. Prayers are welcome.

When it rains it pours

Last year wasn't our greatest year in terms of finances because Scott didn't get much work. I thought 2009 was going to be better, I was wrong it just keeps going downhill. Not only has our financial situation not improved any, but there must be some life law that when you are down and out everything must break. Our car has just broken down for the third time this year. I am not talking small things, I am talking the cheapest time was $300 to $800. Luckily we do have a back up car that so far is behaving itself. Scott is having to have tests done to see why his GERD is back. He had surgery years ago that was supposed to take care of it, but now he having problems again. We are waiting to find out the results of his upper GI and see where we go from there. Our insurance isn't the greatest so there are our of pocket expenses. Then I took Brandon to the doctor for his regular checkup and the doctor decided that the small lump he has had on stomach since he was like two, that she always told me was a blood vessel and would eventually disappear, decided that maybe is a ventral ulcer and he needs to see a pediatric surgeon which of course are none in Pueblo so we have to go to Springs for. Just what he needs to do right before he starts first grade and is in school all day for the first time. He will not do well if they decide he needs surgery so I am praying that something will go right and they can take care of it right there or decide that it is nothing to worry about. Brandon goes to the dentist next week along with the appointment with the surgeon and I am dreading what may come up then. The only saving grace is so far Jessie seems to be perfectly fine except that she has decided to quit sleeping at night again which she was barely sleeping in the first place which means no sleep for me either. I am really trying to remember that things could be worse and focus on the good things. Every day I wonder what is going to happen today. If my family is being tested on our faith then I am afraid we are failing. Even mom who usually is the one who holds us all together and keeps the faith when we all slip, is having trouble staying positive. I am not sure what to do any more.

4th of July

Our 4th was definitely memorable. It started with mom finding out she had a flat tire, which of course can't be fixed until Monday. We picked up fireworks while Dad made the traditional homemade peach ice cream. Then the kids, mom and I made Grandma's birthday cake since we celebrate her birthday on the 4th. There must have been some grease left in the broiler from the steak we cooked the other day because the broiler caught on fire and blackened the cake and smoked us out of the kitchen. Luckily the oven was not ruined, only the cake. So Mom and I ran out to the store to buy new cake mix and started over (this time at mom's house). After we made the cake and were decorating it, we put the 94 candles on and the 9 was broken so we had to lay them down on the cake instead. Then the rain came. We ended up eating inside because even though it finally stopped by six, we weren't sure for how long and everything was really wet. After dinner, we took the kids outside to set off the before dark stuff like smoke bombs and snakes and we had bought a bunch of silly string and had a silly string war. The big kids (Dad, Scott, and Chris) really had fun with that and Brandon has requested more silly string for his birthday. Jessie preferred to watch from the sidelines. We went back inside for cake and ice cream and presents so that Grandma could leave whenever she was ready to, and about the time we were ready to go back outside and finish the fireworks, it was raining really hard again. We had also bought some glow sticks to play with outside, and we ended up playing with those inside with the lights out. That passed the time for awhile. Around 9:30 it had died down a little bit and Chris said he had a rain poncho and would light the fireworks so we put up the patio awning and everyone sat under that to stay dry and Chris lit fireworks. Jessie was so tired by then, because of course neither one took naps, she fell asleep on Mom's lap shortly after they started. Brandon managed to stay awake until they were done but he was zoning pretty hard by the end. Because the air was heavy with all the humidity, all the smoke stayed low instead of rising up like usual and a few times you could hardly see the fountains and all the illegal fireworks the neighbors put off (that you are not supposed to) were staying low to the ground. (We of course were good and didn't have any illegals.) It is a good thing that everything was wet because there probably would have been fires otherwise. The rain held off until we got everything finished and back inside, and then it started up again shortly after everyone went home. Grandma says that even though it wasn't necessarily the greatest 4th, it will be one of the most memorable and we will look back on it one day and remember the 4th of July when we almost burnt the house down, ruined the cake, and it rained almost the whole time. And we will probably all laugh.

Uncle Jim and Aunt Pat's visit

Aunt Pat and Uncle Jim visited last weekend. It was fun as usual. Everyone really enjoys their visits getting to see family. Jessie invited everyone to her and Brandon's swimming lesson on Friday and they all went. Everyone means Scott who always goes with me, Mom, Dad, Pat, Jim, and even GG. It really meant a lot to the kids to have everyone watching them. Then we all came to my house and had lunch and relaxed outside for awhile. That night everyone came back out for a picnic. We weren't sure if the weather was going to cooperate but it ended up being nice after a short rain and we were able to eat outside. That made Scott happy because he works hard keeping up the yard and he likes showing it off. After dinner Scott lit the fire pit and we all sat in the rock garden watching the fire and listening to the fountains. It was almost like being in the mountains. It was nice sitting outside relaxing and talking. On Saturday, we went to Rye and spent the afternoon in the mountains, eating lunch and sitting around. Uncle Jim even climbed the big rock like he used to. Scott tried to get a picture but Jim got down before he could take it. Mom, Scott and I took the kids to the mountain park for awhile and everyone else stayed at the picnic site and relaxed. That night we had dinner at Chris's house where mom planned a surprise 60th birthday party for Aunt Pat and Uncle Jim. She decided to get even for all the over the hill parties they have thrown and said that they shouldn't get away with spending those birthdays by themselves. Dad had a lot of fun buying joke gifts for the two of them. We had a nice dinner and took some family photos which mom will get out as soon as she is done fixing them up and playing with her new photo software. We then ended up outside and hung around Chris's backyard until it got late and it was time to call it quits. I hope they had a nice visit, I know we did and Grandma always loves having everyone together. There are pictures of the birthday party on shutterfly for anyone who would like to see them. We can't wait until next year.

end of school year

Brandon had a busy May. First was career day where Scott went to talk about being a wildland firefighter and Brandon got to show off to his class and learn about a lot of other careers. He has decided that he wants to try karate which makes sense because he is always running around pretending to do it anyway. Then he had his field trip to the zoo and the city park rides. He had fun and I went to be with him but it was ninety degrees that day so all the kids were pretty worn out. Scott took Jessie to the park to feed the ducks and play and have lunch so they had their special day. Last Friday was Brandon's first field day. He got third place at the 50 yard dash that all the kids run and they all got ribbons so that every child got at least one ribbon. The other games the kindergarten kids played was egg toss, water race and group dance. The kids didn't play for ribbons, they just got tickets for gumballs. They all had a great time. Today was graduation. The kids have a program called zoo phonics to help them learn the alphabet letter sounds. It seems to really work and they all dressed up in animal costumes and sang the zoo phonics song and then individually came up and said their sound. Brandon was "Inny Inchworm, he wore a green shirt that was supposed to be the leaves of a tree and had a big stuffed inchworm on his arm.

Then they sang the kindergarten graduation song and received their diplomas.

He is now officially a big kid and will go to school all day next school year. I can't believe it. I guess I shouldn't complain too much because I got an extra year since he missed going to kindergarten last year by a month because of the age limit. Brandon is growing up so fast. A few weeks ago he gave me one of his favorite stuffed animals saying that he didn't need it any more and maybe it would help me with my nightmares. Of course he still has blankie hidden under his pillow and the bear that Scott gave him when he was born so he isn't too big yet.

Both kids are excited about summer and all the fun things. The first thing is swimming lessons and this year Jessie is old enough to start the basic program so they will both be in the water which means I can actually watch instead of trying to keep her occupied in the bleachers for a half an hour. Hopefully Scott will be on a lot of fires this summer and will be gone a lot not that I won't miss him but we need to make up for the slow season last year. I hope this summer will be fun for everyone.