The Blizzard of 09

It all started while we were in MD this weekend. K3's trip to the inauguration was upon us. We heard stories of snow, but they were all up there! Monday I get a text from my friend warning me of the dangers that lurked at home... 4-6 inches of snow... in NC... on the coast no less! It has been at least 5 years since we have seen more than just random flurries. The debate begins on whether to wait to drive home until Tuesday, or start the journey home Monday afternoon and get a hotel if it gets bad. I decide to go ahead and head home Monday afternoon. Afterall, I have work Tuesday and have already been informed that they will hunt me down in a 4 wheel drive! All in fun though, they were concerned about our safety and told me to take my time. So about 4 pm Monday night, we begin the journey home. Traffic was light, the skies were pretty clear, then some clouds, but no snow or ice in sight. After our usual stops (dinner and Starbucks in Emporia VA) we made it home around 11 pm. It was still 40 degrees outside... snow... what snow??!! After unloading children and luggage from the car and getting everyone in bed, I set my alarm for 6:15 a.m. I have to be at work at 7, unless the roads look bad. 6:30 a.m. the phone rings and school is now canceled instead of a 2 hour delay. I am out the door by 6:45 a.m. and it is still 40 degrees but now it's raining. I am a little sad, I was excited for the snow! And the sleeping in part would have been nice too! Work goes on, prints are printed, packaged, and mailed, then the excitement starts... flurries! Yay! But it doesn't look like much... oh ye of little faith.... the snow did come! We closed at 3 and it was already coming down pretty good by then. The kids had called excited and were playing in the snow. It finally came... about 2 inches or so!!



Notice the difference in picture 6 and 2.... 6 was taken right when I got home... light snow... a HOODIE and SOCKS for gloves... that's K4!! After mom has her say... heavy jacket, hood, gloves, and the reward of more snow ;)

Had to reassure K4 the snow will still be there tomorrow when he gets up! He is worried about that and sad that it will melt tomorrow... but not til after he gets another chance to play LOL!!

You have to SEE it....

So, we had some theft of prescription medications from our home during the time period of May 2008 - August 24, 2008 (when the culprit was confirmed). K4 is on medication for ADHD. I have learned through all of this:
ADHD meds that K4 takes are considered a Class 2 Narcotic
Teenagers let people in your house repeatedly without your permission (I really did already know this)
Children are way too trusting of some people and are wiling to look the other way, but not really aware because they are still innocent and don't put two and two together until its too late :(
People addicted to prescription drugs are sneaky and will do just about anything.
Seriously addicted people will SNORT ADHD meds up the nose to get high.
They will go to different doctors to get prescriptions for the meds they are addicted to.
They will take anyone with them... even if they aren't their children....
They will ask several different people if they have pain medicine... often in the same day... with children who are not theirs in the car.
They ask the children to lie about where they've been and what took so long... to that person's spouse and the child's own parents..
They act like friends, not parents....
They disrupt your family life without care or concern... letting you believe, against your better thought or gut feeling, that your child may be taking, giving, or even selling the medications...
They play children like pawns... even if they aren't theirs...
and of course... it's NEVER their fault...

The number one thing I learned today after being in court from 9 am to 1:15 pm and being told that if I leave to do my required car pool that I could be arrested because I was subpoenaed and then having to make emergency car pool plans, including taking half the car pool children out of school while on the lunch break from 1:15 - 2:30, and being back in court by 2:30, was that if you don't SEE them take the pills (I mean really how many people will steal the pills while you are watching????) then it basically didn't happen... not even if another child's prescription bottle is found in the perpetrator's possession... but you didn't SEE them take them, then all the other stuff - like proof that the pills were missing, dates, lists of people who were in your house every single time pills went missing (btw, only two people met that - K1 and the perpetrator) SEVERAL different families coming forward once you reported your case... yep... if you don't SEE it happen, then well, it must not have happened... so the case gets DISMISSED...

2:35 pm

plenty of time to pick up the car pool kids

so apparently, the DA doesn't read the case before it gets called..... surely they knew they were going to dismiss before we got up there....but no... they were waiting til the end of the day because it was going to be a trial.... already did the prelim stuff the month before where they decide whether to take it to trial or not... yep... a trial....that never happened

what a wasted day in my already too full life!

THANKS a TON!!!! To my wonderful friend Karen who was going to pick up the 2nd part of my car pool and of course my friend Tracy (just started a new job and can't leave early and her hubby is in Iraq) who let me check her kids out early so I didn't get arrested!!!! LOL!

Nothing Like Waiting til the Last Minute....

We had beach portraits done at the end of August. They are fabulous! I work for the photographer and have paid for them, but not printed them out yet.... Today, I finally picked the portrait that will be the 24x30 canvas print.... but.... I don't think I will be able to get a frame for it.... they don't have those just laying about... and that is all I really wanted for Christmas... I am kicking myself in the booty now!!! Even if I get one from work, it has to be ordered... sigh....

A "normal" day in the life of me...

It started with a call from a friend in need. She and her husband both had to leave the house @ 5 a.m. and they needed K2 to stay the night, get the kids (K, M, B) ready in the morning and asked if I could get K and M to school and B to daycare. Sure! What are friends for! So K2 stays the night and I show up at 7 a.m. K2 is first to school because if she misses the bus at the High School, then I have to drive her to New Bern! We get her to the High School about 7:30. Next K and M go to AWE, but can't be dropped off until 7:45, so we hang out in the parking lot until it's time to get them in school. Then B and I go to Wal Mart to waste some time because he can't be dropped off until 8:15. I got lunch out of the deal and B got a new hot wheels car! We get B to daycare, then back to their house to drop off the booster seats so mom can pick them all up from school in the afternoon. All this and I am only 15 min late for work (arriving @ 8:45 with permission from the wonderful boss!) Today I only worked until 1:30 and while not a busy day, it was hectic with picky people who want something for nothing and then try to complain, but I just kept smiling and making it right :) (only making faces when I was in the back LOL). The reason I only worked til 1:30 is because K1 K2 K3 and K4 had dentist appointments beginning at 3:30. After criss-crossing Havelock all morning (friends we helped live on opposite side of town than we do, High School is on our side of town, AWE back on other side of town, B daycare in the middle, then back to their house for the booster seat drop off, then off to Morehead) I drove to New Bern (where K2 goes to school) to pick her up so I could be back in Havelock (half way between Morehead and New Bern for those not in this area - mom :) ) in time to pick up neighbor carpool child and K3 and K4 for the dentist. I get to New Bern, K2 is taking End of Class test in Geometry so I wait as long as I can and end up leaving K2 in New Bern and getting back to Havelock just before police are called for abandoned school children (not really, but it makes it exciting!) all the while it is pouring rain... after picking them up, I drop K3 and K4 off at the dentist, explain why K2 will not be here ( I love our dentist office, they didn't make a face or anything when I cancelled one appt at the last minute! - esp. when they heard what I have been through up to this point LOL!) and then go get K1 from the High School. We make it back to the dentist. I actually got to sit for a few minutes! K3 and K4 have 2 cavities each... gggrrrrr but K1 is cavity free once again! YAY!! We are all finally done just in time to pick K2 up from the High School where the bus drops her off after school and make it home about 5:30. After a quick potty break I was back out the door to fill up the gas tank and pick up the pizza for dinner. Tonight will definitely be an early night for me!! Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday! and WOOHOO the hubby is coming home for a visit! Oh, and he was supposed to get his check up Monday, but due to the work schedule had to cancel his appt, so now K2 will be taking his spot on Monday... @ 10... so now I am pretty much only working T and Th next week due to a gazillion appts... poor K2... dentist Monday, Orthodontist and Neurologist Weds and then just my dr appt on Fri... it will be kind of nice to have them out of school and a little break from all the activities... I think the car will be glad too! Oh and I am kind of freaking because there are only 14 days til CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Christmas Time

Today K2 and I conquered putting the lights on the house with a little help from K4 and a smidge of help from K1. K3 was at a friend's house - calling every half hour or so to see if I changed my mind about letting him drive his dirt bike a couple streets over...ummmm, NOPE! But thanks for asking!
We got all the lights out of the garage and tested them a couple nights ago. Yay! All but one section works! But that is okay because we don't need that section as long as we put it at the end of the house. The last part of the lights get tucked in the gutter where no one sees them anyway! (When will they plan houses so that you can put the perfect set of lights on??)
Today was a very nice day for putting lights up. I only wore my jacket to have pockets to keep the gutter clips in. We started with the biggest peak. We got the ladder out and I started and got two clips on. Then we had to extend the ladder and move it over. Two more clips, maybe three and repeat... for the peak, we had to extend the ladder all the way... that ladder sure is wiggly when it is extended all the way... I wondered quite a few times if people I knew were on duty today at the Fire Station... also, made sure I had good undies on - you know... if it's people you know rescuing you, you don't want to give them anything else to talk about besides the stupidity that caused the accident they are rescuing or saving you from! Anyway, made it up and over the peak and lowered the ladder and moved it a couple times. K4 helped by holding the lights and making sure they were not tangled and the icicles were straightened out. He also tapped them against the house, but failed his attempts to frustrate his mom by breaking any of the little lights :). He left us to play legos then came back outside later to play football with the neighbor. We proceeded to the porch area and it went fairly smoothly. Finally the smaller peak. K2 asks if she can do this one, so I said "sure!" (also I figured if she fell, at least we were in the yard now and not the driveway and the yard is still soggy and squishy so if either of us fall there is somewhat of a cushion!). At this point, we also realized that one set must have been broken last year and we were going to be a string of lights short. So, we hopped in the car, drove to Walmart, grabbed a new set of lights (after making sure the cord color was right!) made our purchase and walked out of Walmart with only what we went in for! Only a half hour delay and back to work. She did a great job! We proceeded much the same as the big peak, just not extending the ladder as far.
K1 walked out while K2 was at the top of the ladder so I mouthed to her to get my camera. She sneaks back out and we switch places (she holds the ladder for me). I get a picture, then K1 leans forward and a little roughly puts her hands on the ladder, scaring K2... so much so that K2 asks "can you see any brown in the seat of my pants?!!"(Totally implying what you think she is implying!) K1 apologizes and told K2 she didn't realize how wiggly the ladder was. At least there wasn't an argument and it really was funny once K2 realized her life was not in danger. She finished putting up the lights and then I hung the new 42" snowflake. We think it looks great! We have decided, however, that DADDY will be taking the lights down!!!

Whoa!! Somebody put a brick on that boy's head... QUICK!

K3 is growing like a weed.... I JUST bought him new jeans and slacks about a month ago. He is a Bailiff in Teen Court tomorrow night, so I had him get his clothes ready... He tried them on for me because I didn't believe him... yep... he's waiting on the flood! I just can't believe it... leaps and bounds in only a few weeks!!! And I hope his feet slow down... he is already in Mens size 8 shoes... He is attending the Presidential Inauguration in January and these new band shoes and these slacks were supposed to last til then! I guess not!!! I have to buy new slacks for Monday night. I think I will wait until just before his trip to buy the slacks he needs for that trip! Good Gravy... someone hide that Miracle Grow and find me a brick!

What... something about K1??!!

So, I am learning to use photoshop, slowly... and also the software we use at work so I can answer questions knowledgeably when photographers call with problems, so I create lots of little projects, download templates, etc. Last night I made K1 her very own Christmas cards with a picture of her and her boyfriend on them (tomorrow is 9 months that they've been dating). They turned out super cute and we printed them on metallic paper, so they look super cool too! I only printed 5, but told her I could print more if she really needed them. I won't post a picture now... some people who read my blog just might get one in the mail and I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!! I didn't tell her about them, I just surprised her... she LOVES them... see even when you are 16, sometimes... just sometimes, your mom rules!!