Happy...

I is soooo happy! First born GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yippee, yahoo, she gets to play with doggies all day, and get hairy, and licked.
Congratulations Bugs!

Art Fair...

Firstborn and I went to the Loring Park Art Fair this past saturday, Aug. 8. We had planned on getting an early start and going to Powderhorn, but as I was getting ready to leave, the sky turned dark as the clouds rolled in and it poured, so we waited awhile, the clouds rolled out, the sky turned blue and the temp. rose about 15 degrees while the humidity went to 90%, yuk. I needed gas as my car was on empty, and when I tried to get on the freeway, the exit ramps were closed, so I tried one further south, but it was closed too, then I realized the southbound freeway itself was closed for bridge painting/repair, geez, so I had to call and ask for directions. I finally got started and saw parts of the city I have never seen before, very pretty, redone areas, and lots and lots of stop lights. I was paying close attention for my turnoff, and passed a Jimmy Johns that looked just like the one near her house, and ended up at least a mile too far. I once again had to call for help. She made me drive to Target and STAY there while she came to my rescue. We finally got going 3 hours after the time we initially agreed upon, and took the shuttle bus to the Fair. It was so hot and sticky and no good food at that Fair, so when we got back on the bus to go to Powderhorn, it was getting late and I needed to pick up Middle Child from the airport, and we were starving...so we got our car and went to eat at The Neighborhood Cafe at 1570 Selby Ave. in St. Paul. Oh, my! It was fabulous. I got 2 pancakes, 2 eggs overeasy, 2 bacon and she got 2 french toast, 2 eggs overeasy, 2 bacon. That was the best I've ever eaten, and we snarfed it down. It would have tasted heavenly even if we hadn't been starving. Eventhough the day didn't turn out quite like we had planned, we got to spend time together, good time, and eat good food.

Viva Las Vegas...

Middle Child and his girlfriend took a little vacation to Las Vegas from Aug 5-Aug 8. We got up at 4:30 to get ready to drive them to the airport by 5:00. Their flight didn't leave until 7:00, but you have to get there in plenty of time, you know. I mentioned to him that he might want to call the Credit union when they opened and let them know that he would be in Las Vegas, using his credit card, so they wouldn't STOP his account because of suspicious activity. (I got this idea from a woman I work with. She had a friend that went to the middle east, where she grew up and still had family, and had her account stopped, because the bank thought someone was using her account without her knowledge). Well, suffice it to say that he didn't call, it left my mind, so I didn't call, and YES, they DID stop his account. Murphy's Law...we're very close. But, they had a great time anyway, lost money gambling, spent a gob on food, played in Mandalay Bay. Next time they'd like to see some shows. They were a little shocked at how very expensive everything was. Shar said she remembers (quite a time ago) being able to get .99 buffets.

I picked them up on Saturday evening when we were having a heatwave. It was near 90 and probably 90% humidity, with NO wind. I got there a little early and ended up going around the pickup loop 6 times before they got out of the airport and they said it was SO much hotter here than it was there. Minnesota gets very humid in the summer thanks to our 10,000 + lakes.

Angel voices...

Our church, Parkway UCC http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parkwayuccminneapolis.org%2F&h=11ad0cc6ecc5f667eb45b251772de168 has a choir that sings from September through May, and during the summer months while the choir has a vacation, people volunteer to sing, play piano, organ, or give a reading, today was Firstborn's day. Our choir director, Bonnie, is a person you just can't say no to. We go to Papa's Pizza in May to celebrate a year well done, and she has her trusty clipboard ready with blanks by all the summer sundays. All she has to do is pass it around and it gets filled in, and if she doesn't see your name, she will hound you until you give in and sign up. Firstborn told her to fill her name in where ever she needed it, and to pick out a good song for her to sing.
She sang 'Come Unto Him' from Handel's Messiah. Oh my, I wish you could have heard it, I had tears in my eyes. First of all, I hear the singing, then I realize that the beautiful sound I'm hearing is coming from MY daughter. The beautiful, high, soprano voice, hmmm. She needed to leave the service shortly after singing, and I got to receive ALL her many, many complements. Most everyone said her singing brought tears to their eyes...good ones. God saw fit to bless her with a wonderful gift.

Pirate ship...

Thirdborn has a desire to be covered in tattoos and he's got a pretty good start. Most of them are just outlined black, though the ones on his legs are colored. At first his friends would ask "What's your mom gonna say?" and people he met would say "What does your mom think of all that?" His reply?? "My mom is just fine with it, she loves tattoos, she's got three of her own."
He insisted that I go to JonBoy http://blog.saintsabrinas.com/ for my second tattoo, and I think I was a little too picky for Jon's taste, I could tell he was getting a little short with me. I'm an artist also, and I think he thought I was telling him what to do. But I gave him a big tip and went to him for my third, so I think he's ok now. ha! ha!

Thirdborn would like to get the puzzle pieces filled in with the flags of different countries he intends on visiting someday, IN the country he's visiting. He's got room for 8 countries. He's already been to United Kingdom, so if he can just hop on over there, he can get one filled in. Wow! That's an expensive tattoo!

His most recent tattoo is an outline of a pirate ship on his side by JonBoy a couple of weeks ago and in mid September sometime, he will go to a Tattoo Convention with JonBoy and get it filled in. That's a lot of filling in for one day...he's gonna be soooo sore but he got such a deal for being a model/guina pig that it was something he couldn't pass up. I can't wait to see it done, hopefully I will be able to get to the convention and take a look around.

Comfort shawl...

Last summer Firstborn's best friend's dad was in the hospital following a freak accident. I work in this particular hospital, and I always have a sweater with me because no matter what time of year it is, I'm always chilly. Both her friend and her friend's mother were commenting on the fact that it was cold in the building. My daughter http://kirashapedgirl.blogspot.com/ has knitted some gorgeous shawls and because she was in Oregon doing a zoo keeper internship at the time and couldn't be here to support her friend and mom, she showed her love and support by knitting each of them a beautiful, soft, snuggly, comforting shawl to help them feel warm, secure and loved while they were keeping vigil for long hours in the TNICU. She graciously knit them up and sent them off and I can attest that they were put to very good use for many weeks.
This past week, her room mate's mother asked if she would knit a shawl for a friend of hers that just had a miscarraige. I saw it last night and it was snuggly, and soft and comforting and beautiful (and it wasn't even finished).
She is so talented, knitting, sewing, baking, house and animal sitting. I'm a very proud momma.

Car wash...

Third born has been up and productive since 10 a.m. (Dad gave him his pill this morning) What's unusual about this is that he normally sleeps until 4 p.m. He's already cleaned the entire inside of his car, put the Honda for sale out on the busy street, went to get some supplies from Target and is now cleaning the inside of mine. He's even going to give them a bath! How exciting, my poor car was grossly filthy.
I'm really hoping for rain, but I'd like to see my car all clean and shiny first.
Thank you, my baby.

Baby feel...

I love the feel of a baby asleep on my chest, knees drawn up, hands curled into little fists, or maybe a thumb in their mouth, breathing in that snuffly way babies do. I love rubbing my hand over their soft head, the back of the neck ( a very comforting spot) down over their bony back. The smell of them after a bath, warm, soft, baby smell. There is nothing in life to compare to this feeling.

So sad...

My children are grown now and I'm happy with that, and I don't get the 'I want another baby' feeling anymore (good thing, because I'm way too old) but one day I was having pizza and soda at Target and people watching. I saw young mothers with small children in their carts leaving for home. I heard one little boy say in that cute little 3 yr old voice "Mommy, can we go to the park?" and she said "I'm sorry honey, we need to pick up your sister from school." His little voice was so sweet! The mothers talking to their children. It hit me like a ton of bricks that I would never again be pregnant, carrying a child in me, feeling it grow, roll around, poke it's foot out, get hiccups. I would never again give birth. I would never again nurse a baby in the wee hours. It was such a devastating feeling I just about started crying. My eyes filled with tears and the pizza got stuck because I couldn't swallow and my mouth did that weird turn down, quiver thing. I was miserable. I'm looking forward to Grandchildren. They won't be the same as having my own, but I think it will pretty darn special and exciting.

Marble Girl...

When Firstborn and I went to MIA a couple of weeks ago, we saw a marble bust that looks just like Thirdborn's girlfriend. I showed it to her and she said, "I don't look like that, that doesn't look like me." Thirdborn said, "Yes you do, it looks just like you." I say, if she pulled her hair back on top of her head, and we took a picture of her profile...well just look.

Police...

In January, Third Born was walking to school after parking his car when he came upon a man attempting to jump off the Washington Ave. bridge. It's not a very high bridge, but the fall would have seriously injured him if not actually kill him. My son started talking to him, asking what was going on, listening to him, getting him to forget about jumping. He succeeded in getting him down, and found out he had just been released from jail, no one came to pick him up, he was broke, depressed and so on. My son got him to walk with him to school then asked him if he wanted some coffee. While my son was in getting coffee, he asked the person behind the counter to call 911, then he took the coffee to the man. He offered him a cigarette and while they were talking, smoking and drinking, the police came. They took statements and took the man in for help. The man thanked my son for taking the time to talk to him and care. Because of this, my son got a MPD Lifesaving Award. Pretty darn cool, I'd say. He's always been a very caring person and I'm very proud of him.

Graduation Party...

We had a graduation party for Middle Born this past Wednesday, June 24. It had to be a Wednesday because that is the only full day he has off work. When you are a chef, your weekends belong to the restaurant. He did all of the cooking, and First Born and I assembled, and assembled, and assembled...for six hours we assembled. Whew! What a lot of work. I was glad to go to my actual job the next day. I knew it would be less stressful, cooler, and way less work. Because we were soooo busy, I completely forgot to take pictures. I cannot believe that I have NO pictures of the entire day. What a poor excuse for a mother I am!
I guess I'll just have to try and remember what we made...
*crab and mango empanadas
*prosciutto with pineapple and gorganzola cheese on chiabatta toast
*chorizo with sweet melons
*bacon wrapped Medjool dates on polenta
*greek-style quesadillas
*asian pesto-grilled chicken skewers
*butternut cashew pohpiahs
*crabmeat beggar's purses
*spicy chinese five-spice-rubbed chicken wings
*fried crab wontons
*chocolate drizzled cream puffs
*tres leches cake
*lettuce salad with strawberries, salted almonds and raspberry dressing
*fresh fruit
*cranberry raspberry punch
It was all so very yummy. I really enjoy helping him with these special dinners. I take directions very well, and now that he's been working in the field awhile, he gives directions very well. He has a real nice way of telling or showing you how to do something without yelling, belittling or making you feel stupid.
We were still scrambling to get things finished when guests started arriving, so we didn't get to talk to everyone, especially Andy, the one the party was for. He got to spend time with his friends after the party though, they had a bonfire and s'mores and lots of alcoholic beverages.
Dad and I did ALL the clean-up. There was a whole lot of oil used that day. Yuck! Thank you Dawn...you keep your end of the deal.
So, even without pictures, it was a very fine day.
Congratulations Andy!

23 years...

First born is house/pet sitting for us this weekend while we take a short anniversary trip. Our two guys are still living at home, but Dreaded Middle Born has to work, like constantly, so he gets up minutes before he has to leave, then is gone the entire day/evening. The poor dog wouldn't be able to hold her legs together for that long, and the cats would probably pee on something for spite. The Baby just doesn't wake up very easily, and the animals would be no better off I'm afraid. First born is used to getting up early, and she has a little more empathy where the animals are concerned, plus she's desperate for money. ha ha ha I'll take lots of pictures (hopefully good ones) for her to see. (She is a photo nut!)

Pictures...

HEY! What happened to flickr!!!???

Birthday boy...

Someones having a birthday today...Dreaded Middle Son turns 22 today. In a little less than 12 hours to be exact. I threatened him that we would all pile into the restaurant with balloons and presents. He was a little panicked, he didn't know for sure if I was kidding or not. He just said, "Please don't do that." Hmmm, it sure would be fun, but I don't think I could pull it off, so he's safe for now.

Messy room 2...

While I was sitting in my messy room last night, playing on the computer, again, as always, I was listening to the June Bugs hit the window screen. I was pretty much ignoring it when the sound of buzzing (they have a certain sound that's not quite buzzing, but pretty much) got a little louder. I turned around and one was IN the room flybuzzing around. I jumped up ready to run out of the room, when I realized that it could just fly out after me and I could lose it. How would I ever sleep if I knew there was a June Bug loose in the house. It helped me out by landing on the floor, and I picked up a sandle that just happened to be lying on the messy floor and I...well, you know.

Messy room...

I'm sitting here at my computer, in my new room (daughter's old room), with 1/2 of the contents of her closet sorted out on the floor. I went through everything and boxed up some of it, books from college and stuff from high school that she wants to keep, just not with her. That's OK, I can find a spot for it. It's in plastic buckets so 'things' won't get in and chew on it. Then there is a large pile of crafty stuff, a pile of photography books and pictures, a pile of Psychology books, some cards for holidays, and a bunch of frames. I'm hoping she'll come around sometime this week and let me know what she wants to take and what can be boxed up, because it's kind of messy in here. I have a cabinet that I want to bring up from the basement (for some more storage) that I'm going to paint, and right now it doesn't have anyplace to go.

Birthday...

Dreaded Middle Child is having a birthday this week, Saturday the 23rd, to be exact. Of course he will be working on Saturday, maybe we'll hop on over to the restaurant and give him his present. I wonder how well that would go over?!! Probably better to give it to him at home. But, you know, that restaurant idea sounds kind of interesting. We do of course have to eat anyway...ha, ha, ha!

More on jet plane...

I just asked my Baby, and Honey will be gone for 18 days...yeow! He's so sad...I think I can keep him busy though. He'll be soooo happy (for reasons other than the obvious) for her to be back. But...just maybe, we can get a few things done around here, things that take some muscle.

Leavin' on a jet plane...

Third born's honey is leaving in the morning to go to Europe with her sister for...a week? two weeks? I guess I'll have to find that one out, but I think it's two weeks. Her older sister just graduated this weekend, and for a graduation present, she is going to Europe. Parental units didn't want her to go alone, and she probably didn't relish the idea either, so Honey is going along. My baby is none too happy about this. He recently saw the movie "Taken" and is freaking himself out, worrying that her sister is going to get them in trouble of some kind. Honey is pretty practical, and has her head on straight, but I'm not sure about her sister. I get the impression she's a little more of a free spirit, doing before thinking it through. I just hope they have a fabulous time. As long as they use their sixth sense, they'll be fine. My baby bought her a canister of pepper spray to take along. I'm betting he'd like to be able to stuff himself in her suitcase and go along. He'd be wonderful protection. I always feel safe when I'm with him. Even when he was a little kid, he just observed his surroundings without being obvious. He said he always knows what's around him. Some things are just part of your DNA.