Johnsons' Journey

When am I going to learn to blog a little more often? I remember the days when blogging daily was the thing to do… Guess those days are past. *lol* … Maybe they will be back someday. Maybe I am just on a semi-blogging-break? Who knows… Guess time will tell.

We’ve been keeping busy. In face, May seems to be flying by at lightning speed. It’s really insane! I want things to slow down, so we don’t “miss” summer vacation.

On Thursday, after Joe got home from work, we took the kids to the pool again. This time the Mewings didn’t meet us there, because Debbie had to get Jacob fitted for his tux*.. Anyway, Joe and the kids still had a good time, but I admit I got a little bored sitting there on the bleachers by myself (usually I have Debbie to talk to). I was wishing that I had brought my book along… After about an hour and a half, my back was starting to ache from sitting there with no back support. So I ended up grabbing the keys from Joe’s swim bag and waiting for them out in the Durango.

*Both Jacob and Jamie were invited to be a part of the wedding… Not one of my kids got such an invitation… I admit that Joe and I were a bit hurt that they had both of the twins in their wedding, and didn’t ask so much as even Amanda to be a flower girl. (They didn’t have a flower girl at all) … *sigh*

We didn’t do much on Friday… Just kicked back at home. It was a nice, quiet evening. … We love quiet evenings!

On Saturday morning, after Joe came home from work, I cut everyone’s hair, so they would look all nifty for the wedding. Then we kicked back until 2:30… The wedding didn’t start until 4:00, but it was in Portland, so we wanted to make sure we gave ourselves long enough to get there… And it’s a good thing we did too, because traffic on 205 was TERRIBLE. Thankfully, we made it there with about 10-15 minutes to spare.

The wedding was at some ritsy golf/country club… And let me tell you, we were MORE than a little uncomfortable being there. They even have a DRESS CODE posted by the door… Since we weren’t members and didn’t belong to the club, they weren’t totally strict about it with us. (Like you aren’t supposed to wear denim of ANY kind there, but a lot of people, including Joe, me, and the boys) were wearing it, and they didn’t say anything… BUT… I guess Bob tried to go into the bar to buy a “shot” for Kyle (the groom), and he was refused service because he was wearing jeans. They also made Randy (Joe’s cousins’ husband, who was taking photos of the wedding) tuck his shirt in… When Joe heard that, he quickly went into the bathroom and tucked his own shirt in. *rofl*

The wedding itself was nice. Both Kyle and Leann looked so happy… Though, it was pretty warm in there, and poor Kyle was sweating up a storm in that tux. *lol* He kept having to wipe the sweat off his forhead. Poor Kyle! … Also, Leann’s maid-of-honor has a toddler son, who she should have found a babysitter for. She did have a friend holding him in the audience (she was sitting right behind Amanda), but for half the ceremony, he was screaming his head off. I guess he kept kicking during his tantrum, and kicked Amanda on more than one occasion. Then, she put him down and he made a bee-line to his Mom up front, and was then trying to get into everything. Mackenna was constantly messing with him… I kinda thought it was rude of her… Her friend should have at least had the decency to take him out when he started crying, so he wouldn’t disturb the ceremony. I felt bad for Kyle and Leann.

One thing was funny though, and that was that Leann put the ring on Kyle’s RIGHT hand, instead of his left one! *rofl* … I didn’t even notice. Joe’s sister, Debbie, pointed it out to me later. *lol* … Oh well, at least they will have something to laugh about later.

The reception was long and loud, but (almost) everyone seemed to have a really good time. (I don’t think Joe’s Grandma and his two uncles, who live on a farm, were too impressed with the country club thing, nor all the LOUD music… Don’t get me wrong. I liked 99% of the songs, they just played them LOUDLY.) … They had a big buffet thing set up (Gene paid $17 a head for that meal!), so everyone ate first. Then the DJ went up and had Kyle and Leann dance to the first song, which was “Then” by Brad Paisley. Then Leann danced to “I Loved Her First” by Heartland with her dad, Gene. And then Kyle and his mom, Cyna, danced to “Because You loved Me” be Celine Dion…

After that, it was an open floor, and there was dancing for the rest of the evening… You should have seen Amanda. She was in HEAVEN. She danced, and danced, and danced. *lol* She was even dancing with Kyle’s mom and dad. It was pretty cute… The nieces and nephews were all dancing silly together, and even Jared joined in with that. (Josh and Alicia would have NOTHING to do with that. *lol*) I got a lot of it on video. Wish I could get it off the camera to show you, but it’s on a VHS-C tape. (OLD video camera *lol*)

We didn’t leave until close to 9 pm… On the way home, we had this conversation:

Julie: “I’m not one to cry at weddings, but I did tear up when Gene and Leann danced to “I Loved Her First”.”
Joe: “Ya, that’s a great song!”
Josh: “I cried too… When my cake was gone!”

… Silly boy!

There hadn’t been much food there that Josh, Amanda, and I would actually eat, so we ended up hitting Taco Bell on the way home (I was really hungry)… It turned out to be a bit of a mistake though, since the Diet Pepsi there isn’t caffeine free… Drinking caffeine that late at night is NOT a good idea! I wasn’t able to get to sleep until almost 3:30 in the morning! Ack! … I was SO TIRED in church the next morning. *lol* … I was mostly able to pay attention.

I think I mentioned that Joe’s cousin-in-law, Randy, was the one to take pictures of the wedding… Joe’s family has always considered him a bit of a photographer, so they always ask him to do things like this… Anyway, the last time I saw his was in February of ’09 at Joe’s Grandma Toepfer’s 90th birthday party. At the time we were talking pictures/cameras, since we are both camera-happy… I told him that I was dreaming of the Canon Digital Rebel, and he said he was too.

Well… He has one now! *green with envy*

OMWord, what an AWESOME camera! I can’t wait to see how the wedding pictures turn out! (He told me that he took over 1000!) I was seriously drooling over that camera. *rofl* … Funny thing is, Joe told me that I should set rewards for myself when I first started the weight loss journey. When he said it, I asked him if I could get a new camera when I get 50% to my goal, and he agreed instantly. I later showed him a Canon camera at Walmart (not a rebel) and told him that I would get that one, because even at $400, it’s much cheaper than a Rebel… Anyway, when we were coming home after the wedding, I was telling Joe how Randy and I had been talking about how we both wanted a Rebel, and that I was drooling over the one he has now… And Joe says, “Maybe we should just break down and get you one with tax returns next year.”… REALLY?!?!?! … I am *thinking* that I will be 50% to my goal sometime this fall, maybe a little sooner if I keep losing as quickly as I am now (trying not to hope too much about that )… But I am willing to wait until February, if that means I get a Rebel!!! … Anyway, if I remember correctly, his was silver like this picture I found. I don’t know if I’ll get a silver one, or a black one… He did have a fancier lense on his, but you can buy all sorts of different lenses for it. His was probably one he bought and switched out… That’s something I would have to learn about later, because I know NOTHING about that!

Sunday was a quiet day… Other than church in the morning, we didn’t do anything (even though it was Mother’s Day) … The boys did volunteer to do the lunch dishes for me though, since it was Mother’s Day… But other than that, they were off playing, and Joe was in bed sleeping the afternoon away. I just ended up watching movies and scanning old slides… What I really wanted to do was work on Kyle and Leann’s album, but I have to wait until Randy and Dorothy get their photos to me… And I am feeling QUITE impatient about that! *rofl* … I guess it does take time to go through an edit over 1000 pictures. (I just REALLY want to work on that album, while the memories of the day are still fresh in my mind.)

The kids were supposed to bowl in their league on Sunday, but we get a message from Mick that it had been cancelled for the day, because Mick hasn’t been feeling well… He’s been down for 2-3 weeks now… I don’t know what’s wrong, but I sure hope it’s nothing serious… He was complaining of chest pains, but that was like 3 weeks ago… I am assuming he’s been to the doctor, but I don’t really know anything else.

Our summer reading program seems to be going well… We had planned on donig it Monday-Friday, but we never seem to get around to it on Mondays and Thursdays, which are the days I do laundry. *lol* … So we have done it 3 times a week for a couple weeks now… Before we started, I told Joe that Jared was really excited about the program, and Joe told me that Jared was “just excited to please me”. … Joe doesn’t like to read, and he’s always called me a “sick woman” for reading as much as I do. So he completely doesn’t understand the any of our kids would actually like and want to read… Anyway, Jared (who doesn’t know Joe said that) has proved him wrong. He’s been reading extra and has already finished 3 books. *lol* … If he keeps this up, I’m going to have to find him another set of books to read, and fast! … I wish I had more boy-type adventure stories already on hand, but all my junior readers are more for girls, since they were mine. *lol* (and trust me, Joe never had any )

You know… Joe has NEVER read a novel from cover to cover, not even for school. If he needed to read one for school (even in high school), his MOM WOULD READ IT TO HIM. Good grief!

Hmmm… Anything else going on? … Oh! Yesterday was our kitty’s birthday. Cuddles is now 6 years old. She was happy to celebrate her birthday with a can of soft cat food, which is a rare treat… We made sure to give Buddy a can too, and half way through the meal, they switched bowls. *lol* … They always do that. It’s so funny! (And no, they still don’t get along. Cuddles HATES Buddy with a passion! But that doesn’t stop her from wanting to sample his treats! )

Well, it’s time to eat some breakfast and start my day! Catch ya on the flip side!

The boys had their final swimming lesson last Thursday. Their instructor, Alaina, put them through everything they have learned over the last four weeks… A sort of swimming test, I guess. *lol* … Anyway, they both did wonderfully, and they received a certificate saying that they passed the level two course, and are ready for level three… We hadn’t planned on doing the level three, but now the boys are wanting to do it. BUT, the girls get to have their lessons first… But with Joe’s crazy summer schedule, they will probably have to wait until this fall.

We still plan on taking them to the Thursday afternoon Family Swim time at the pool though, until they change the schedule in June and we won’t be able to do that again until next April. (They are going to be so bummed when that happens!)

I ordered myself my Mother’s Day present. … Joe never knows what to get me. (To be honest, he’s never been one to put an effort into surprises for me.) So anyway, he always asks me what I want, and then gets what I ask for. *rofl* … This year I wasn’t sure at first, until…

We have these nice Coleman camp chairs in our trailer, that look almost exactly like this one (only ours don’t have that bag thing hanging off the arm). It’s a nice, sturdy chair, and the table is awesome. It also sits high enough that it’s easy to get in and out of… The only problem is that there is no support for the lower back, so after a while my lower back starts to ache. It’s really annoying… But the chair cost $20 (on sale), so I don’t want to get a new chair… Plus, I really like that table. … So most of last summer, I would bring my pillow out, and use that to support my back, but that was a little annoying too. *lol*

And then I saw this chair cushion in a catalog a week or so ago… Doesn’t it look comfy? I thought it would be perfect for my chair!! It has strings on the back, so that it can be tied into place… I’m hoping that it will be enough to help my back.

Now the hard part will be to keep Joe and the kids off my chair, so I can sit in it myself! *rofl*

I ordered it last Thursday, and I am hoping that it gets here before our camping trip to Beverly Beach (which is 2 1/2 weeks away).

We didn’t do too much over the weekend… Joe had the day off work for a change, so we all slept in and had a lazy morning. When we finally got out of bed, we did a quick pickup of the house, and then I made some breakfast.

We did take the kids bowling though… Since they are on the summer junior league, they get to bowl anytime they want for 50 cents a game. Not a bad deal. … So we met Scott and Jacob and the bowling alley at 1 o’clock (Debbie and Jamie were off getting their hair cut). They bowled 3 games each, and then we left… Joe did bowl his best game ever though, and got a 165. Josh wasn’t impressed because Joe beat Josh’s high game of 158, but Jared is still in the lead with his 180. *lol*

After we left the bowling alley, we went to Pizza Hut for dinner, and then went shopping at Walmart. When we got home, we just bummed for the rest of the evening.

Joe wasn’t feeling well on Sunday morning, after he got off work at Safeway, so we ended up not going to church… We had originally planned on going to Joe’s parents’ house after church, and Joe’s sister, DeeDee, was going to come over there to cut my hair… I wanted it done before this coming weekend, since our niece, Leann, is getting married… But, since Joe wasn’t feeling well, we didn’t do that either.

He was feeling better by the evening though, so we made it to the bowling alley for the kids’ league… Jared and Jamie had decided to go with Andrea’s suggestion of “The Leftovers” for their team name, but Coach Mick had already assigned them with one… “Left Stuff” (as opposed to “The Right Stuff”) … They don’t really like that name though, and are going to ask Mick if they can change it to their name.

Some group had been in before the league, and had a birthday party… They ended up leaving half a cake, some balloons… Not to mention a huge mess. … So this guy who works there (I don’t know his name) let everyone have a piece of the cake (I was good though, and didn’t have one ), and he gave Alicia and Amanda each a balloon. They were quite pleased about that.

Sorry I haven’t been blog hopping like I should be… I’ve been busy working on Kyle and Leann’s wedding book that I am making. I want to get as much pre-done, before their wedding, as I can. I know that what with the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on Friday, and then the wedding on Saturday, I will be bombarded with photos… I am going to be in a scrapping-craze come next week… So if I am absent, you know where I will be… Lost in Photoshop Elements. *lol*

Right now I have all the pages set as private in my gallery, so that Leann won’t stumble across them (since sometimes I post links to my gallery on facebook, and she is on facebook)… But I have created a “guest pass”, in case you’re interested in the pages I have done so far. You can check them out here…

Oh, I almost forgot… We got the kids CAT results back already. They did pretty good, though not quite as good as last year. *sigh* … I hope we can bring the grades back up into the 90s next year.

Anyway, Alicia, who just finished 2nd grade, scored an 83% and is testing in the 4.3 grade level… Josh, who just finished 4th grade, scored a 90% and is testing in the 7.4 grade level… Jared, who just finished 6th grade, scored an 85% and is testing in the 10.9 grade level.

At least they all passed. *lol*

Well, I suppose I’ve rambled on long enough… Hope you all have a great day! See ya on the flip side!

Alicia, our little toothless wonder!

On Thursday we took the kids back to the pool… While we were in route, we decided to call Debbie (Joe’s sister) and invite them to come join us, and they excepted (They live just a couple minutes from the aquatic center).

The kids were thrilled to have their cousins there to swim with, and all 6 of them had a great time… I don’t think they were ready to leave at 5 pm when all the kids started coming for their lessons.

It was nice for me too, because I got someone to talk to while Joe and the kids swam. *lol* Debbie and I sat on the bleachers and chatted while we watched them swim.

At 5 pm we bid them goodbye, and then buckled the kids into the Durango… We were all getting hungry, and trying to decided what to make for dinner. Both Joe and I decided that we would just eat out, because we hadn’t pulled anything out for dinner, and everyone was pretty hungry. We also decided just to grab something fast and take it home to eat it.

Now there isn’t much to choose from in Molalla, for fast food. You either have McDonald’s or Subway. Well, not a one of us wanted the golden arches, so Subway was decided and we headed over there… When we pulled into the parking lot, who should be there but Debbie and the kids! (Scott hadn’t come to the pool because he had still been at work when they left.) The kids all thought that was cool, and while I stayed in the car, they all went in with Joe to say hi to Jamie and Jacob while Joe got our dinner.

As you know, I spent the entire day on Friday painting Josh’s room, then I fell into bed exhausted by 9 pm…

Josh loves his wolf border!

On Saturday I got the wallpaper trim up in Josh’s room… I think it turned out pretty nice! I can tell that Josh loves it, if him kissing the wallpaper trim is any indication!

After Joe got home and I BBQd some chicken, potatoes, and corn-on-the-cobb for a late lunch, Joe and I got Josh’s furniture put back in his room. After the heavy stuff was in the room, Joe headed to the bed and his TV set, and Josh and I started getting his toys and things organized and put in his room… We only got around half of it done, because I was quickly getting out of the mood. *lol* … I convinced him that it would be a good time to settle in with a movie (by then it was around 8:30), and I ended up going to bed early on Saturday as well.

I woke up early on Mother’s Day, and turned on iTunes and vegged in front of an episode of “In Plain Sight” while waiting for the kids to wake up… Joe was at work, though he did send me a “Happy Mother’s Day” text.

After all the kids were awake, Josh and I got the rest of his things put away in his bedroom… I don’t have any pictures yet, because we haven’t had a chance to hang his pictures/posters yet… But as soon as we do (Joe always helps with that), I will be sure to take some and post them… I also need to make the valance for his window, and runners for the dresser and the bedstand we want to buy him (his old side table lost a leg *lol*).

Joe got off work at 8 am (he requested to get off early), and he went to Wal*Mart to pick up a few groceries (and a last minute Mother’s Day gift *lol*)… When we were last at Wal*Mart, I had pointed out a couple DVDs on the $5 rack that I wouldn’t mind having (Ever After and Aquamarine), so he picked those up along with Bedtime Stories for the kids to give me as a gift… I think he grabbed that one because he’s a big Adam Sandler fan. *lol* … But I did want to see that one too.

Debbie, Alicia, Amanda, and Jamie

At around noon we packed up the Durango and headed to Feyrer Park (a campground which is 5 miles from the house). We met Scott, Debbie, and the kids there for a Mother’s Day BBQ. We had a really nice time, just chatting and relaxing while the kids played to their hearts’ content.

You can tell that the kids are all growing up… It used to be that the 6 of them would spend a majority of their time on the playground equipment, but not anymore… Now only Alicia and Amanda are interested, while the boys and the twins would rather do things like volleyball… It’s kind of sad to see them leaving the joys of childhood behind… *sigh*

After a couple hours we put everything away in the SUVs and walked down to the Molalla River. We stayed there for a while, and let the kids play along the river bank, while we talked some more… We headed home at around 4:15.

There should be 5 candles. *lol*

Sunday was also Cuddles’ 5th birthday … It doesn’t seem possible that we’ve had her for almost 5 years now (we got her when she was 6 weeks old)! … As per tradition, we had to celebrate her birthday with a can of soft cat food and a singing of Happy Birthday. *lol* … The kids would be very upset if we forgot to celebrate her birthday… In fact, they had been telling her “Happy Birthday” all day long.

And yes, Buddy got a can of soft food too.

So far, Buddy hasn’t had anymore “spraying issues”, but we aren’t taking any chances. We’ve moved his “snip-snip” appointment from the 23rd to this coming Saturday… That will give us 2 weeks of observation before our vacation, to see if we’ve nipped the problem in the bud… Or he may be spending the week in the bathroom, which I really don’t want to do, but I will if we have to.

For now, he’s being watched All. The. Time… At all times one of the kids is on “Buddy Duty”, and if we’re all too busy to watch him, he goes in the kennel.

Here’s praying this ends soon!

In other (bad) news, we’re having troubles with the Durango… For a while now it’s been making some strange noises… Since we’ll be pulling the trailer quite a ways on our vacation, Joe wanted to get it looked at before we headed out, so last night he took it to a place in town. They messed around and told him it was his transmission. I guess where he took it don’t do transmissions or something, so they suggested a place in Sandy… When Joe went to leave Eriksons, the Durango started making a terrible noise… To make a long story short, the people from Canby had to have the Durango towed to their shop. *sigh*

What really sucks is that it’s going to cost $500 ALONE, just to have them take the transmission out and see what’s wrong. Plus we’ll have the cost of the repair on top of that. *sigh* … If our vacation wasn’t already reserved and paid for, we probably wouldn’t (shouldn’t) go… Mainly because the money for the car repair has to come out of our line of credit… It feels wrong to be going on vacation when we can’t afford to fix the car.

BUT… We haven’t had a “real” vacation since before the kids were born. We’ve gone on a lot of camping trips (4 days at the most, but usually just weekend trips), but this is the first time we’ll be gone for an entire week, and we had lots of things planned (which I will get into AFTER we come home, the internet being what it is)… The kids are REALLY looking forward to it, and we feel like we can’t cancel now… *sigh*

Pontiac Grand Am

Anyway, since our only vehicle got towed, Joe had to rent a car from Ericksons… I guess they were out of the $25 a night cheap cars, so Joe ended up with a red Pontiac Grand Am (for $35 a night)… When Joe got home the kids ran to the door to see what car Daddy had rented, and Amanda came back to me with a snicker in her voice…

“Daddy bought a girl’s car!”

Snicker

Today I feel Fine
Reading: “Believing the Dream” By Lauraine Snelling
and “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman
Today is mostly cloudy, and 67º

Conversation of the day:

Mommy: “I don’t know where you find your energy.”
Jared: “I usually find it outside.”

This morning Joe and I were talking about the fact that it was Mother’s Day, and I said that I would be more happy about it, if we hadn’t have lost the baby and I was still pregnant. Then Joe says to me, “But at least you have four beautiful children.”… Why do people do that? Should the fact that I have four children erase the fact that another child of mine died? Am I supposed to just forget about that baby, as if it didn’t even exist? Love that baby less, because I didn’t give it birth, but gave birth to the other 4?… By remembering that baby, and the other 5 that I lost, does not mean that I love these 4 any less. It does not take away from them at all… Don’t I have a right to miss that baby, and wish that things had turned out differently? Is it in the rule book, that I not shed any more tears over the loss… A loss I still feel deeply.

Now I know that Joe wasn’t trying to be mean. He was trying to make me feel better. But I did tell him what I just said, and he seemed to understand where I was coming from. I just want everyone to know, that even though I only have 4 living children, I AM THE MOTHER of 10 children. I won’t ever forget them either.

Being Mother’s Day, I dwelt on the last miscarriage more than I have in a while. If I were still pregnant, I would be 27 weeks along. I would be counting down the weeks, waiting for the chance to hold the baby in my arms… I miss you angel child.

After church, I was dropped off at home, because the boys wanted to go to the store without me. (Their idea, not Daddy’s) After a little while they came home. Joe brought home pizza. Jared, (with his own money that he earned) gave me a purple violet, and a card he made in Sunday School, and one from Junior Church. Josh ( also using his own money) bought me some cookies (that he wanted me to share ), and he also had a craft from Sunday School, and a card from Junior Church. Alicia (Daddy helped her) gave me some scrapbooking glue, and a bookmark from Sunday school, and a card from Junior church. And Amanda gave me a bookmark from Sunday School.

After lunch the kids went out, and Joe and I had a nice conversation… Will get into that in another post…

So, all in all it was a nice day, just missing the baby made it bittersweet.

Amanda seems to be growing, and changing daily. She isn’t a baby anymore. It’s official. *sighs* She is pretty much walking most of the time now, in a wobbly sort of way. She is becoming more and more vocal… And funny!

Now that she is walking, she will stand up next to the couch, pause for a moment and then say, “GO!” and then she’ll boogie across the floor. It’s so adorable!

Yesterday the kids were all playing in the backyard, and I was making dinner. I was just about done, so I asked Joe to call the kids in. Joe went out and called them, and all but Amanda came running. Amanda thought it would be more fun to crawl in the other direction. (Walking on the uneven ground is not something she’s mastered yet.) So Joe called, “Amanda, come here honey, it’s time to eat.” I guess she stopped dead in her tracks, turned around and raced to Joe. He lifted her up the step into the dining room and she went toddling off to the high chair. About half way there she turns to me and asks, “Eat?” I said yes, so she giggled and ran the rest of the way to the chair.

She also learned to say, “I want that” yesterday. This evening, after everyone else went to Awanas, she asked for some milk. After I have her some she went to the living room, sat in front of the TV, pointed to it and said, “I want that.” It was so cute, that I had to let her watch something, so I put in Veggie Tales Easter Carol. She was quite pleased… Though she doesn’t have the attention span to sit through an entire episode yet. Anyway, that was the first time she’s ever asked to watch TV before.

Well, I’ll check in later… Have some things I need to hash out here. May be putting in a private post.

Today I feel Wonderful… But hungry!
Reading: “Assassins” by Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins
Today it was cloudy, and is currently 49º

I sure hope that everyone had a great Mother’s day yesterday. Mine was pretty good! Though, my gift hasn’t come yet… Joe said that I could order the Creative Memories cutting system for Mother’s Day, and it hasn’t come yet… *sighs*

But in the morning, he asked me what I wanted for breakfast. So I told him I better have oatmeal, since I knew I would be splurging for lunch. Then I got out of bed to do my morning weigh in, and went to sit on the couch… Joe was disappointed, because he wanted to bring me breakfast in bed… I felt bad, but enjoyed getting served on the couch anyway!!!!

Joe was pretty funny all morning, and didn’t even want me to change Amanda’s diaper. But I did end up dressing Amanda for church, because he ran out of time! It takes a while to get four young children ready for church.

The gravel is in and pounded down...

After church was another matter… Ken messed things up…. Ken is a guy from church would has helped Joe with the new patio some. He found out that Joe got the gravel in, and wanted to bring his pounder thing over yesterday. So after church we went to their house real quick, so Joe could help Ken put it in his pick-up. (It’s very heavy), then Ken followed us to our house…. I took the kids inside, and got lunch (that Joe had said he was going to cook) in the oven. Also, Joe had said he was going to do the dishes, but just in case Ken came inside, I did them anyway…. Can’t have someone seeing a sink full of dirty dishes!!!!!

It didn’t take them long to remove the old, small, concrete pad that was by the back door, add gravel to that area, then take Ken’s pounder and pound all the gravel down packed. Then Ken went home and Joe came in. He felt bad about me starting lunch, and doing the dishes, especially since I had developed a very bad headache at church. So he had me sit down while he finished it up and served lunch.

The rest of the day was spent being lazy, and Joe and the boys had Awanas to go to. I never did get rid of the headache, so I went to bed at 9:30…. You know it was bad if I was in bed that early!!!!

Since it was Mother’s Day, I was naughty in the eating department. I shouldn’t have been, seeing as I finally lost a pound… But I guess I have no self control…. If I had self control, I wouldn’t be in this predicament, would I??? *sighs*

But hey, I was still 143 this morning, so I’m happy about that!! And today I’ll be back to my daily workouts, and my portion control.

I sure am loving my Shortcut videos from Leslie Sansone. I am starting to feel stronger, and hopefully soon I will feel firmer as well… I can feel a good deal of muscles, but they are hidden under layer of fat…. In some cases, like my abs, it’s a HUGE layer of fat… *sighs*… But I’m getting there, slowly but surely.

Once our homeschool is out for the summer (3 more weeks!) and I have more time, I’m going to increase the shortcut videos. I’m doing each 2 times a week now. I’m going to start doing the upper body one, and the lower body one 3 times a week each (alternating days). And I’m going to see about doing the Abs one 6 days a week…. I have to find out if that’s safe…. I heard from one friend who said that with strength training, you have to give your muscles one day between workouts, to recover, with the exception of the abs, which you can work out daily. Yesterday, another friend told me that you have to let your abs rest too… So I need to do some research about that first.

I had hoped that Joe would do the lunch/dinner dishes since it was Mother’s day, but alas, he didn’t *sighs*, and because of my headache, I couldn’t convince myself to do them. So I best go do them now. Have a wonderful day!!!!!!

Hope all you Mommies out there are having a great Mother’s day. Mine has just been a typical day in the Johnson Family. Hubby didn’t even get me a card. But that shouldn’t surprise me, as he didn’t for Valentine’s day either, or my birthday. It always makes these days a little gloomy…. The kids made sweet cards in Sunday School, so at least I have those to put on the fridge….. I don’t know, maybe I’m being a little selfish here, but it would be nice if he went to a little bit of effort.

I think he’s put out with me because I think he wanted to go see his mom. But I’m still sick, and barely got any sleep last night, due to this cold, and the fact that he snored all night long…. So anyway, we get home from church and he wants to know what I want to do. I say, since I’m so tired (almost fell asleep in church! YIKES), that I wouldn’t mind having Taco Bell and sitting in front of a movie, just have a nice quiet afternoon. Well, he says, “The kids don’t like Taco Bell”, and goes to make them a sandwich. I know it is stupid, but I was hurt. I was already bummed by the lack of attention (No card), but he was so abrupt about it… I started to cry… So he feels guilty, and after making the kids lunch he goes and gets me Taco Bell.

While I am eating and watching “Skylark”, Joe takes the kids outside to wash the van. And since I was tired, after I finished eating I turned off the movie and went to take a nap. I had no sooner fallen asleep when Joe comes into the house, hauling kids with him, yelling at them for going into a mud puddle… Why he was so angry about a little bit of water, I’ll never know. But he’s yelling like crazy, whipping wet cloths off Alicia, and throwing them at Josh (hard). Poor Josh is in tears, and Joe sounds like he’s going to explode… Happy Mother’s Day to me… I tell him to come into the room to cool off, afraid of what his anger would do, but instead he goes and slams himself into the computer room and goes online. So I went out to the living room to change Alicia and comfort Josh.

Everyone seems happy now, but I still feel like my whole day was ruined. I get an Email from my brother about how he had his kids make my SIL a hanging basket or flowers each, and present them to her… I know it’s wrong, but I’m a little jealous. Rudy (my brother) is always doing things like this for Crystal. Hope she knows how lucky she is.

Joe’s off watching the news now, so I thought I’d go to christianbook.com and get myself a couple Mother’s day books! I at least deserve a new book, don’t I? I told Joe I was going to, so at least I’m not going behind his back.

As for babyland, I’m 23.4 weeks gestation – 3 months 14 days until Amanda is here!

Isn’t it a wonderful thing to be pregnant on Mother’s day? Thinking about the new little wonder that I have inside, makes me more happy than I can say…. I was rocking Alicia this afternoon, and I said to Joe, “Holding one of the kids in my lap just feels so ‘right’. Doesn’t it feel right to you?” Joe just gave me a blank look that said he thought I was nuts. Maybe this is something a man just wouldn’t understand. *sigh*

Jared got Amanda all worked up today. He wanted to feel her kick, so I told him that when I was pregnant with Alicia, Daddy would rub my belly in fast circles, and Alicia would kick. So Jared went at it, rubbing with all his might. And he did get her going. The only thing was, he was so focused on rubbing my tummy, that he missed every kick! Poor Jared.

An old lady came up to me and Joe at church today (the kids were in Sunday School) and asked when the baby was due, and what sex it was. We told her she was a girl, and the lady smiled and said, “You’re last one was a girl too!”… After she leaves I asked Joe, “Who was that?” Joe says, “I don’t know, but just smile and act like you do!” There is something about pregnant ladies and new babies that attract the elderly like crazy! When Alicia was a baby, before we started putting her in the nursery, we would get flocked by people every Sunday. Once she was in the nursery, hardly anyone came over to say hi…. We know what brought them over! 

On another note. I just got an Email from my friend Roberta. Her mother-in-law died this morning. I feel so bad for her! She was close to her MIL, who lived with them. A couple weeks ago her MIL fell and broke her hip, and has been in the hospital since. She died there. I don’t even know her name, as my friend always referred to her as “Grandma”. So, say a little prayer for the family of Grandma, so that they may be comforted. Mother’s day would be a hard day to have a Mom die…. I was just thinking about that this morning at church, about losing a mom on Mother’s day. Didn’t know that I would hear about it later in the day.

Oh, I feel SO MUCH BETTER today! Whoo-Hoo! *doing happy dance* !!!! Yesterday I thought I was going to die, but I am just about on the mend today. Maybe I can actually make it to Church tomorrow, which would be a good thing, as we have nursery duty. Which reminds me, I need to get the church bills done, to have them ready for tomorrow.

Since I was feeling better I thought I would tackle the kid’s room. The boys have to clean in every night, but they never get things in the right spot… Which is incredibly annoying!… So I shut myself in the room and went through every bin and bucket. (Don’t have a toy box, because I don’t like them. I sort the toys by type, and have them in separate bins, and have them on shelves) It probably took me an hour or two to get it done. I think Josh, the 3 year old, is the guilty one. He just throws things into the closest bucket.

I am now 22.3 weeks gestation – 3 months 22 days until Amanda is here!

Had Joe drag the baby girl clothes from the attic today. It was fun going through them. Remembering when Alicia used to wear them, and thinking about the new baby wearing them. Jared had fun going through them too.

Jared is such a funny little man. He knows that Daddy doesn’t want anymore kids after this baby. But Jared wants at least one more. Anyhoo, the lady, Mrs. Minich, who is the boy’s Wednesday night church club leader, told Joe the funniest thing. On Wednesday when she asked the kids if they had any prayer requests Jared told her that Daddy didn’t want any more babies, so he wanted her to pray that Daddy would let us have another one after this baby! Mrs. Minich decided that she didn’t want to get involved in that one!

Oh, I actually saw my first kick from Amanda today. Of course, I have been feeling them for a while now, but today I looked down and could see the ole tummy jumping with every kick. It was SOOO cool! One of the things I have loved to do with every pregnancy is to pull up my shirt and watch baby move around. It’s so weird, and kinda cool to see these bumps moving across your tummy. Jared had been in the shower, and was quite upset that he missed it.

Joe asked me today what I wanted to do for Mother’s Day. I had forgotten that it was so close. I just told him that maybe we could go out to eat somewhere.

Hope you are all having a great day!

Me, on my first Mother's Day!

Jared,

Mommy’s first Mother’s Day! You got me a basket with a teddy bear in it and a Mickey Mouse mylar balloon. Way cool man!

We went to the farm today, to celebrate Mother’s Day with Grandma Johnson’s family. Everyone wanted to be with your Great-Grandma Toepfer on Mother’s Day. You were a good boy! Everyone thought you are soooo cute! (and I agree!)

You decided to indulge me at church yesterday (We went to the Saturday evening service). Your number (#123) came up on the display. You had woken up from a nap hungry, but wouldn’t take the bottle from them. I think maybe it was too warm. I usually give you your bottle at room temperature. but then again, maybe you just wanted your Mommy!

Oh!… Tonight for the first time you tried to grab your bottle and put it in your mouth. There was only a couple of ounces left, so the bottle was pretty light. We got it on video! I Love YOU!

Jared at 3 months, 3.5 weeks old

Jared,

Only 4 days until you are 4 months old… Only 4 days until my first Mother’s Day!… Can you keep a secret? I’ll tell you what you’re getting Daddy for Father’s Day. I ordered you a shirt that says, “Best Dad Hands Down” and it comes with paint to put your hand prints on the shirt. That’s pretty cool, don’t you think? Your cousin Melody is giving one to Uncle Rudy too. Mommy and Auntie Crystal will have fun helping you two make the presents and sign your cards.

You laughed again last night. This time it was a louder laugh that sounded more like the real thing. I was tickling your sides and your neck and it was driving you crazy!

I got a “Lady’s Home Journal” magazine yesterday. It had an article on the McCaughey Septuplets. I tried to imagine what it would be like to have seven babies at one time. I’m glad I only have one… If I had seven I would have to have helpers come in to take care of some of the babies. I wouldn’t care for that at all! I like having you all to myself. Oh sure, when Daddy gets home from work I make sure he spends quality time with you, so you two can bond. But I have a hard time letting others take care of you. I don’t mind letting them hold you, but when it comes to feeding you, changing your diaper, etc, I want to do it!

You stayed awake for 7 hours and 20 minutes today! That is the absolute longest you’ve ever been awake at one time. You wouldn’t even fall asleep on your own tonight, because you were overly tired. I finally broke down and let you fall asleep in your swing. (You wouldn’t even fall asleep while I rocked you… You were too busy grinning at me!)