Wow, What A Birthday!!

Well, what a day I had!! I got to work this morning and stopped at my usual cofee place in the building where I work. Jerry, the owner, told me that he heard from several people that today was my birthday. Guilty, I said. Jerry gave me free coffee and pastry.

As people arrive at work, I got more coffee and gifts. What a surprise. The funniest gift was a "pill box," you know, one of those big plastic boxes that you put medication in and there's a slot for each day. That was a hoot. I also got a bottle of wine, a book, several cards, a coffee mug, flower and a small cake. But, of course, the best part of the day was having lunch with Jenna, Jon, Ben and Sam. The boys made me "crafts" that are now hanging on my cube. The best gift of all were the hugs and kisses they gave me for my birthday.

I was truly amazed at how kind and generous people were today. Now, a nice dinner with Tony and I'm set until next year!!

Happy Birthday

Oh Lord, another birthday. We've been so busy with work, the bathroom re-modeling, having the kids for the weekend, tracking Tony Jr's travels and catching up with David and his health that I haven't even thought about being another year older.....not that I want to...but, you know what I mean.

We started the month of August in a whirl of activity and it's been non-stop ever since. Even at work...I sign off on things and date them and in my mind, I say..."it's August 15th already..where is the time going?"

And so, tomorrow, I will be 58. A good thing in some ways since I thought I was going to be 59. Go figure...I added a year somewhere and am glad to have it back. I'm having lunch with the Purdums tomorrow and will have a nice dinner at Crocker Park with Tony. And the heart walk from downtown on Saturday....Next week we will celebrate with cupcakes and dinner because as Ben has told us all several times...he will be 4 on August 29. I can't wait.

Tony and Marie are coming in for a wedding that Tony is in and we are attending on August 28, so it will be good to see them.

Tony Sr and I are planning our vacation and looking forward to getting away for two weeks. But tomorrow...tomorrow, my children, I will be one year older. Notice I didn't say wiser...but one year older. Like you probably have, I could never imagine myself being this old...but here I am. So for all of you...happy birthday...whether your birthday has passed or is in the future....happy birthday to all of us...and love too.

Well, I think I know now how Jenna lost all of the weight she was carrying......I give her a lot of credit for being able to keep up with Ben and Sam. We continue to have lots of fun. I'd like to go on record here for bathroom bragging....no, not the re-modeling....Ben says that we have more bathrooms here than at his house or Gram's. I'm not sure where he was going with that, but he sounded impressed.

There's more verbiage below, but enjoy the pictures of our day so far. Only 30 minutes of TV during breakfast, Mommy. Even for me!



How I managed to attach these two pictures is a mystery to me.




So big

Practicing their "form"

Sammy being a doll.

Ben said he was tired!

Ben was "fishing" in the fountain with the streamer pole Tony and I got at a wedding reception

Reading the corn hole instructions after they played the game!

Talking to Mommy

Ben, Sam and I are having adventures today. We took a walk, played corn hole at 9:00 a.m., (Ben said Papa told him to work on his "form!!") played in the fountain, watered Papa's flowers and all of the plants on the rock garden and each other. We've had the kids for less than 24 hours and they've already had two baths.

While the kids were playing in the fountain and watering themselves, I was watering the plants. It was so hot, I raised the hose up into the tree I was standing under and let the cool water fall on me. Just at that moment, Ben came up to talk to me and got wet. "It's raining," he said. "No," I told him, "I made it rain." And then I did it again. Ben loved that. By this time, Sam was soaking wet because he kept putting the water from the fountain down the front of his shirt and pants and then saying, "ta da." So, it didn't seem like a bad idea just to hose us all down in the heat of the afternoon. The kids squealed and ran around and neighbors walking by laughed at us, but we had fun.

After about an hour, we were dripping and muddy, so I said it was time for a bath. More fun. They flew airplanes and watered each other with bath water and the little orange sprinkling can. After that, it was a quick lunch and a nap. Even Ben said he was tired.

Ben has been explaining more things to me. He looked up in the sky and said, "Look, Moe Moe, clouds." He continued by saying, "Do you know what happens to clouds?" I had to admit I didn't, so he said, "the sun pushes them away and rain comes. When it gets dark, the moon and stars push the rain away. When it gets light, the sun pushes the stars away." Hmmm, seemed logical to me.

He's also being the Sam Police. When I carried Sam downstairs this morning after he woke up, I didn't realize he had his binky in his hand. Ben saw it right away and pointed and yelled, "no binky, no binky. Binky is only for sleeping." As if on cue, Sam dropped the binky. Ben is interested in Sam's eating habits. He has told Sam at least 4 times that if he doesn't finish his food he will not be getting a snack. Being the good, big brother that he is, Ben told Sam that he wasn't a good boy Papa and I could put him in time out. And then he added, "me too." I wasn't sure if he was telling Sam he also had that authority (over Sam,) or he was also subject to time outs. Sam seemed to get it either way.

Sam is the sweetest little boy. He watches Ben so closely and tries to do everything he does. Ben wanted some water this morning, so I gave him a (water) bottle that was half full. Sam went to the refrigerator and knocked on it. When I opened it up, he picked up a water bottle and tried to open it. I opened it for him, but instead of putting it to his mouth, he put it up to his nose. Needless to say, he got a little wet and coughed, but he had fun. We all had fun.

The Reasons I Love Talking to Ben

We have the boys for the weekend while Jenna and Jon attend an adoption class. No matter how often I see them, I am constantly amazed at how they interact and communicate with us and the world.

I love talking to Ben--here are some examples of why:

Ben: Moe Moe, do you know my number?
Me: Your number?????
Ben: Yes, do you know my number?
Me: I guess not, what is your number?
Ben: 4, Moe Moe, my number is 4. I'm going to be 4 on August 29.
Me: Oh...that's right. Your number is 4.
Ben: Moe, Moe, do you know what my number is now?
Me; Yes, Ben, I do. Your number is 4.
Ben: No, Moe, Moe....my number is 3. I'm 3 NOW. I won't be 4 until August 29.


Ben: Where is your house?
Me: Well, we'll turn right up here and get on I71 and drive for awhile.
Ben: We'll turn right and then what?
Me; Well, after we find our exit, we'll turn right again, then turn right again.
Ben: Can we turn left?
Me: No, if we turn left we won't get to the house.
Ben: I want to turn left.
Me: Why?
Ben: I like left better.
Me: Why?
Ben: Because left will take me to my house.


Ben: Moe, Moe, you have boo boos on your arm.
Me; Yes, Ben, I do.
Ben: Are they sketa bites?
Me; Yes, Ben, they are.
Ben: I don't like sketa bites
Me: I don't either.
Ben: Then why do you have them?


Sammy: Shoe....Shoe...
Me; Ben, can you fix Sammy's shoe?
Ben: Can I get out of my car seat?
Me: No, can you just put the strap back on?
Ben: I will fix it.
Me: Thank you.
Ben: Your welcome.
Ben: Sam, your shoe is fine, stop talking.
Ben: Moe, Moe, I fixed Sam's shoe.

Ben: Moe, Moe, Sam will be three.
Me: No, Sam will be two.
Ben: No, Sam will be three.
Me: But he's only a little older than one now.
Ben: Moe, Moe, Sam will be three.....after he turns two.

Ben: Moe, Moe....I'm going to be 4.
Me; I know, you'e getting so old. Soon, you'll be going to school.
Ben: Yes, I know, but first I'm going to your house.

I love talking to Ben.

Better Than A Coffee Break

An original photograph by Benjamin Purdum!




Jenna brought the kids to a park near the building where I work and called to see if I wanted to spend some time with her and the kids. HMMMMM....GEE LET ME THINK ABOUT THAT!! Sammy freaked out when he saw me because I think he thought Jenna was going to leave him with me. But I had a great time. Ben is into photography, as you can see. He took this picture of the building and told me he was taking pictures of the "kwouds."

And then he ran under the tree and took a picture straight up. I remember being on a picnic with Tony a few years ago and I did the same thing. Tony said I was finally thinking like a photographer.




Sammy really had a tough time at the park. One of his little friends brought a toy with her, but dropped it in favor of playing with a ball. Sammy picked up the book and was happily playing with it, when she decided she wanted it back. Sammy was not a happy guy.








Jenna took this picture of Ben and I.





This is Ben deciding to run with the other kids or play ball. Big decision!!

Thanks for calling, Jenna.

Blue Feet

Construction on our bathrooms has started. While having only one working bathroom has presented a few challenges, the outcome will be worth it. Tony and I are rotating staying home from work to be with the builders. Tony stayed home on Monday. It turned out to be a frustrating day for him and when I got home from work, I found that he was eager to talk about the whole experience thus far. While I was interested in what he was saying, I couldn't get past his blue feet. He was wearing sandals, but very clearly marked, in some Avatar sort of way, were patches of blue all over his feet and part of his legs.

I know Tony. Being married to him for this long, I know his communication style. If he thought blue feet were important, he would have started the saga of his day with them. He didn't, so while they were a distraction, I was confident they weren't life threatening.

And indeed Tony had a day. Work men tearing down the bathrooms, talking to people at work to solve a problem even though he was on a vacation day and then the air conditioning decided to go off and leave us with frozen coils.

What a day. I found his story to be an interesting illustration of the differences between us. When I have a day off, I am thrilled to have back to back episodes of Frasier, Lifetime TV movies and Dr. Phil--and if I can find a "Top Model" marathon, it's even better. A day off to me is an excuse to do absolutely nothing....and seriously, while I may do a few minor things, I'm certainly not going to do anything that is going to annoy me. Tony on the other hand, sees a day off as another opportunity to take care of the house and yard. God forbid he should actually sit down and watch something on TV. He's up early, has his coffee, hits the hot tub and then attacks his "to do" list with vigor.

As the builders were tearing down our bathroom, Tony saw an opportunity to tackle a problem that has apparently bothered him for years--the toilet in the small bathroom off the kitchen "runs." Now, I recall, there were times when Tony would stick his head into the bathroom as I was applying my makeup and say, "that thing is running again, do you hear it?" From my perspective, that's not really a fair question. Do I hear water? Yes. Isn't a toilet supposed to have water? Yes. So I never really understood the "running" part. But, it annoyed him greatly, so when the builders took the toilet out into the garage, Tony found that to be an excellent opportunity to fix it.

He went to Home Depot and bought new and improved, "toilet insides." I can't get any more specific than that because I know they go inside the toilet--what they do when they're in there is any body's guess.

So Tony took out the old insides, opened up the new ones and struggled for the next hour to get the new insides to fit. Apparently nothing worked. He twisted, bent, attached, re-attached, swore and finally gave up. See, this is the difference that I was talking about. When Tony drives my car and asks how long a noise he hears has been going on--I can't tell him. If I hear a noise, I turn up the radio. If something doesn't work, I go out and buy a new one. I don't credit myself with the talent to take something that isn't working, apart and put it back together in a manner that will make it work better or different...that's just not me. But, in the long run, I don't spend an hour in the garage on a muggy, 97 degree day, either. Call me crazy, I'd rather be inside the air conditioned house, watching Top Model.

But, in the end, Tony fixed the toilet with the old insides and managed to return the new parts to the box so that all of the pieces fit. But, he still had work to do. Tony likes "blue toilet water." You know that stuff that you buy called "A million and three flushes," but in reality, after four flushes it's not blue anymore? Well, there was some blue water in the bottom of the toilet, so Tony decided to flush it out with the garden hose. It flushed all right...all over him--hence, the blue feet. He finally picked up the toilet and put it over a drain in the garage to get rid of the blue water.

There was a sense of pride and accomplishment in Tony's voice, but also a sense of frustration in back tracking from Home Depot, not being able to install the new part and getting blue feet.

Like I said--Tony and I are different. I can absolutely assure all of you that I will never have blue feet because I flushed blue water out of a toilet in our garage with a garden hose on a hot summer day. But, my sense is that Tony is the better person, for he wore his feet proudly and I had to admire his spirit for trying.

I don't think that Tony will ever retire. I think he will continue to take care of our home, possessions and property where ever we are. And, if that means having blue feet--God love him.

A Candle in the Wind

When I was in a job search, I used to call all of my potential interviews, candles in the wind...they were out there, but the slightest thing could blow them out and I would be left with a burned out candle. But to me, it was nice to have candles in the wind...they were opportunities, they were potential career moves. They weren't official, but they were something to give me hope.

"Official" things in life are funny. We always knew that Marie would be in our family, but it wasn't "official" until Tony asked her to marry him. We always knew that Jenna and Jon would have beautiful children, but it wasn't "official" until Ben and Sam were born...and we always knew that David and Joanna could weather any storm, but it wasn't "official" until David got sick.

Retirement and moving is becoming more and more "official." We got our first lot loan payment notice on Friday...meaning we own (or are at least paying on official Swegle dirt!!) And, Tony's retirement clock is "officially" ticking off each day.

I posted that when we went to North Carolina, I talked to the builder, who is trying to set up a Call Center, and ultimately, sent him my resume.....well, I got an email from him on Friday, asking if I was still interested and asking me to call him.

It's a candle in the wind....the wind that will blow across our new property and new stage of life. It may not work out....but it give me hope. Never blow out your candles in the wind, children...they light your path.