Singing in the rain...

We had a sudden, brief rain shower last night. Emma was outside playing with her friend Landin. His mom called him in out of the rain. I watched my daughter dance in it!

Best Daddy and (not) Mother of the Year

Last week was the 1st grade year-end field trip. Daddy enjoyed the day with 21 six & seven year old children. They had a great time visiting the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. The weather was perfect. For Mommy, a zoo is a zoo; a zebra is a zebra; a lion is a lion; a monkey is a monkey. I don't care for animals. The kids were better off with Todd than they would have been with me! The photo to the left is the class of 2020! Oh... My... Goodness! 2020!

Todd took this reflection picture of Emma. They were in the aquarium.

Today was Field Day. Daddy & Mommy were to meet Emma for lunch and then Daddy was staying for the afternoon to assist with the activities. This plan did not work out so well. Daddy made it. Daddy ate lunch with Emma. Daddy did help with Field Day. Mommy got stuck at work. I could not make lunch, and was hoping to get away for a bit in the afternoon. Since today was the last business day of the month, my job had other ideas on how the day would play out. Very little that I did worked out well. I have been performing new tasks for a young lady while she is enjoying her new baby on maternity leave. I have learned so much over the last two weeks. For that I am grateful. I am grateful that I have a job. I really do love my job. I am upset that I did not make lunch or Field Day. Have no fear, Daddy made it, and he's the hero! Once again, I am (not) Mother of the Year!

Working & laughing

Tuesday & Wednesday have not been much fun at work. I'm doing my best to cover a maternity leave for a young lady that wears very big shoes. I am learning much about the manufacturing process and how our cement mixers are built. I give her much credit, and I am counting the days until she returns from her 12-week leave.

My laughing is because of my sister's blog (http://djflorencefamily.blogspot.com/). She cracks me up. I recommended on Sunday that she start feeding Cawood squash. DJ's mom backed me up. Cathy listened. Now that's what he wants to eat. He already knows that food is good. He is already demanding good food. He is only 3 months old. I have repeatedly told her that boys are so much easier than girls. She is going to make a liar out of me! Thank you for adding humor to my day, Cathy.

Indy 500

Ok, so we did not go to the race, but we were very close to it. Cathy & DJ live close enough to the track to hear the cars racing. Every Memorial Day weekend, they have a party that begins on Friday evening and ends on Monday morning. It is always a lot of fun and usually hectic. This year was mild, and I was thankful for Cathy's sake. Between having 2-year-old Faith and 3-month old twins, she was too busy to worry about hosting a party.

Corn Hole tournament:

Family and friends:

I forgot to take a picture of the food, but there was A LOT of it.

At dusk, we left Cathy & DJ's and headed to Matt & Miki's. I wanted to spend more time with my cousins Brian, Mary Ashley, and Michael. They flew in from Atlanta to go to the race, and we don't see them often.A short visit at Matt & Miki's turned into cousin play time. Cousins big and small ended up swimming... and everyone had so much FUN!

Cousins Mary Ashley and Faith:

Matt & the little girls:

Everyone around the pool laughing, reminiscing, and having a great time. I love my family!

Of course, the famous Cousin Brian:

One of my favorite traditions

Memorial Day. A long weekend. Good friends. Catching up with everyone's family. RIBS! This year was no exception. 164 lbs of ribs went on the pit at 9 am. At 3 the ribs were done. After being bathed in the vinegar-based sauce for 6 hours, perfection was achieved. The festivities are at Mr. & Mrs. Buit's home. Their son Rob is a friend from high school. His older brother Steve is also a great friend.

We have an incredible group of friends that have stayed close for over 25 years. It's wonderful that over the years "the gang" has grown with the addition of spouses and children. The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend Mr. and Mrs. Buit graciously host a Ribfest. They live directly across from the neighborhood "lake." Emma was very excited to have the opportunity to use a gift from Grandpa Meyers... a new fishing pole. My girly-girl loves to fish, but she won't take them off the hook.

Plantation living?

I'm doing two posts back to back... Yesterday was busy. I sat down to blog at 11, and I could not see straight. The blog and I went to bed.

On Saturday I hung the swag flags on the front porch. I picked Cameron up from his friend's house and when pulling up to the house he said, "Looks like we live on a plantation. Can I have a maid?" My short answer was, "NO." I don't know why he suddenly thought of this. We have hung the flags for the last 4 years.

During the day:

And at night:

We received a compliment from a neighbor right after she moved in. When looking for a place to build, she drove into our cul-de-sac and saw our home. She said, "It looked like an old-fashioned house that was having a picnic." Exactly the look we were trying to achieve: Old-fashioned, simple, patriotic, and inviting. It was inviting enough that she decided to build on our street!

Cameron turns 14

I remember it like it was yesterday. May 20, 1995. The day Cameron Adam blessed our lives. This child was only 6 days overdue when my doctor decided to induce labor. The epidural worked on 1/2 of me; I had one nurse on each side pushing on my stomach as I pushed with the contractions; the doctor used both suction and forceps to pull this child out; and finally Cameron was born... complete with 10 fingers, 11 toes, and a collapsed lung. NICU fixed the lung and an orthopedic surgeon whacked off the extra toe.

Trauma did not stop at birth for Cameron. He broke his left collar bone at age 3 when he was reaching to get a piece of candy. He had a t.v. fall on him (squished under it just like the Wicked Witch of the East) when he was climbing to get to the candy bowl on top of the t.v. At age 5 he cut a finger deeply while he was trying to cut open a lollipop wrapper with a knife. Anyone see a candy pattern here??? Also at age 5 he had his right collar bone broken for him. A girl in preschool asked him to do something and he replied, "NO!" She took him down right there and jumped on top of him. He learned a valuable lesson that day. In 4th grade he jumped off a swing during recess and broke his right wrist. He has been extremely cautious since then!

This evening he was recognized at a school program. He earned High Honors and was recognized as a Midwest Talent Search Honors Recipient by Northwestern University. We are proud of him. He is growing up to be a funny, responsible, respectful, kind, generous, and compassionate young man. We love you Cameron!

Bloggers

OK. I am caught up with my own posting now. I want to bring your attention to two blogs that I follow. Links are to the right. The Florence Family blog is my incredible sister. She's a wife, full time veterinarian, and mother to three children under three. Faith is 2 and the babies (Eva and Cawood) will be 3 months on the 20th (Hey, that's tomorrow!). She has a lot of fun stuff going on ALL THE TIME. Well, I think it's fun (and funny) because I'm not living potty training a toddler and taking care of infant twins.

The other blog (Moving Mountains) is updates on Pher's 4th & 5th grade teacher's family. They live an unbelievable life. They have three biological children. Two of these kids have special needs, they have adopted one special needs child from Haiti, and they are in the process of adopting another special needs child from China. To their family 'special needs' children are normal and their one 'normal' child is out of the ordinary. Please add Chun Yan to your prayers. Hopefully her adoption will be funded and will proceed rapidly. I follow this blog to assist with my faith and give me hope and inspiration. The struggles that this family has encountered assists me in realizing that no matter what, I don't have it that bad. They always find a bright light in every struggle and the light brings them through. If you visit their blog, I hope you find them to be as inspirational as I do.

Madeline's Party

Still playing catch up...
Madeline's (my niece) birthday was Monday May 18th. Her party was Sunday the 17th. It was a beautiful day in Indianapolis.

What would a party be without a Bounce House?!?

Madeline put in a request for Costco cheese pizza and fruit for her birthday party dinner.

Of course there was cake, too. Madeline did a great job blowing out her candles!

Behind

I'm behind on this blog thing. One of these days I will get the hang of it and remember that I need to post stuff. It was determined on Friday (when I called our family doctor's office to inquire)that Emma had the wrong splint on her wrist. Our familys doctor's office is closed on Thursday afternoons (when Emma broke her wrist) and he took Friday off for vacation. Regardless, Emma now has a splint that is secured with velcro instead of ace bandage. Much nicer. It's not slowing her down as you can see. I left Madeline's birthday party for one hour and she had the splint off and was in the pool. She is such a Daddy's girl (yeah, it was Daddy that let her take the splint off).

Dr. Mike returned to his office on Monday and his receptionist called me at work with explicit instructions... "Emma is NOT TO REMOVE THAT SPLINT FOR ANY REASON." He got wind that the dingbat at their north office told her she could take it off.

Uncle Todd and the babies.

Red Box?

We belong to a "Young Adults" group at church. The group was started to get 20 & 30 something's together for a game night once every couple of months. Obviously, Todd & I exceed the desired age of the group, but so what?! We had 'game night' last night. It has been a great time with young adults getting together just to have fun with no kids. Unbelievable that life can exist without children at the center of attention, but I'm here to tell you it can happen, and it is great when it does!

Food is always involved. Last night was no exception. The hosts prepared Sloppy Joe's and other couples brought sides or dessert. While eating, we started talking about tv and the ridiculous reality shows that exist (even though some of us confessed to watching them). We also discussed a new phenemenon called the 'Red Box." I've seen the Red Box but never paid one iota of attention to this red vending machine. Here's how it works: You go to the Red Box, use a credit/debit card, and for $1 you get a movie for a 24-hour rental. The boxes include New Releases for $1 as well. We decided to take a field trip to visit a Red Box and get educated. Four couples squeezed into a 7-passenger van and drove 1 mile to Wal-Mart to visit the closest Red Box. The cool thing about Red Box is that you don't have to return your movie to the same Red Box. You can drop it at any Red Box. Also, somehow you can sign up to get promo codes for free movies. One of the couples in our group gets 6 free movies weekly. I need to get clear instructions on how to do this. They are in their 20's and tech-savvy. I'm in my 40's and a little tech-challenged! Needless to say, on this particular 'game night' we watched a movie instead of playing a game. We still had a great time and can't wait for the next game night!

This week's been for the birds!

New at this...

I'm not as good as my sister about this blog thing. I actually forgot about it until last night. She was laughing at a story I told and said, "This is funny stuff and exactly why you need a blog!" UGH!

Monday was my first day back to work after a two week shutdown. Trained for a new position (to cover a maternity leave) on the accelerated plan for 2 weeks prior to shutdown. Took my two weeks off. Went back to work on Monday expecting that I would remember everything. Didn't happen. Stress.

Wednesday brought devastating news about the passing away of a co-worker's granddaughter. Routine tonsilectomy/adenoidectomy and then hemorrhage. In addition to this, learned that a dear friend has cancer. Stress.

Talking to Cathy on Friday night and reviewing the event's of the week (more happened than I am typing here), this is the 'funny story' that prompted her comment:

Emma broke her wrist on Thursday (OK, that's not so funny). I got the call at 11:34. She fell off the monkey bars at lunch recess. It took all afternoon and three facilities to get this diagnosed and treated. The lady that administered and wrapped the splint told Emma, "Don't worry, honey. You don't have to wear this all the time. You don't have to sleep in it and you take it off to bathe." Who in their right mind would tell a 7-year-old that she can remove her splint? At this point I was frustrated and furious. On the way to the van, Emma was doing a 'happy dance' and saying, "I don't have to keep this on. I don't have to keep this on!" I was trying to maintain my composure, and then I got to the van. Three cars to the left had a little goose poop. Three cars to the right had a little goose poop. My van got the majority of the goose poop. I didn't think they had control of their ass-sphincter muscles, but apparently they do, and they wanted to add to my week.

The beginning...

So, my sister has told me for years that I need to start a blog. Do I really want to do this? Do I have enough to type about our life to keep people updated and interested? Do people really care what is happening in our lives? We have family and friends all over the country, so I'll give it a shot.

Why the title of "Sanity is Relative"? Because our house is anything but sane as defined by http://www.dictionary.com/: Having or showing reason, sound judgement, or good sense.

Let me explain... My husband (Todd) works full time, graveyard shift, as a nurse at a local hospital. In addition to this, he is going back to college to further his nursing education. He throws in helping in the first grade classroom, any and all field trips he can attend, and being active with the Boy Scouts. Oh yeah, and he also finds time for me and us.

I work full time outside the home and still try to maintain a degree of organization and order in the house. I'm really boring, so there's not much more to say about me.

Our oldest child, Christopher Todd (a.k.a. Pher) just turned 18. He's a junior in high school. We had him start kindergarten at 6 rather than 5 so he would be the oldest rather than the youngest in his class. The level of maturity he has versus his classmates has proven to be both a pro and a con. He has a way of looking at the world differently than most people. He's had this tendency since pre-school. We have often told him that he should be a defense attorney because he researches his causes and finds loopholes in an attempt to get around the system. Let's just say that portions of the Carroll High School Student Handbook are in the process of being re-written because of him. Let's also say that this has caused some friction in our home. He plays the guitar beautifully. He plays electric, acoustic, and bass. He plays his own style by mixing classic rock, jazz, and blues genres. I love listening to him play.

Cameron Adam is our younger son. He makes me laugh daily. He is soon to be 14 (May 20). He is also a guitar player and plays well. He is currently developing his own style instead of copying other musicians. I would enjoy listening to him play, but he won't plug into his amplifier very often. Cameron enjoys playing paintball with his friends (Throw a group of boys in a field and allow them to shoot paint at each other. What fun!). He is also active in Boy Scouts. This summer he will be at camp for a week earning merit badges and he is also going white water rafting with the troop. He recently earned the rank of Star Scout. This means only Life and Eagle to go. He has aspirations to complete his Eagle Scout. He does very well in school with little effort. The "little effort" is frustrating for us. Why not study and get an A+ rather than settle for just an A? We need to pick our battles. Having an A student isn't such a bad problem to have. Cameron is easygoing and flexible. His sense of humor is natural and the root of his personality. He still hugs and kisses his mom without reservation or hesitation. With all of this in mind, he is probably the one we should be watching closely.

And finally we have Emma Carole. We had no idea we were having a girl. Even though we had ultrasounds with all three kids, we decided to wait until delivery to learn their gender. I was certain we were having boy number three, and I was good with that. I know boys. I understand boys. I relate to boys. However, much to my chagrin, a third son was not in God's plan. Our daughter was born September 20, 2001. My sister, Cathy, immediately said that we HAD TO name her Emma Carole. Explanation: Todd's mom (Carole) passed away July 24, 2001. To honor her we wanted to name our daughter after her. Cathy did the research to find a name that went well with Carole. Emma means "universal." Carole means, "song of joy." So the name Emma Carole means "universal song of joy," and this is exactly what the world needed after the 9/11 trajedy. Done deal. Emma is now 7 and is indeed a joy. Not only did I get a girl, but I got a girly-girl. She loves to dress up, do hair, wear make-up, dance, do gymnastics in the family room, and plays with dolls. She has a tendency to change her clothes twice a day on school days, and she has been known to change 4 or 5 times on the weekend. Boy does Daddy get mad. I let her change. Whatever. It's just clothes.

Throw in a cat that no one in the family likes, and a big dog that thinks he's a lap dog, and you have our family.

So, we have a kid in high school, another in middle school, and the baby in elementary school; two parents that work outside the home; and one parent going to college. We do the best we can to manage the craziness and events that seem to spontaneously pop into our daily lives. So, what would probably be perceived as insanity to most, is our sanity... And I wouldn't want it any different! This blog will chronicle our craziness, and if I continue to maintain it, years down the road I can read these posts and miss the insanity of it all!