So far....UNDEFEATED

So far, Kate and Ry are undefeated. They play doubles together. It's pretty cute that they play together, because they've been "playing" together since they were babies. Today was a nail biter. They lost the first set, won the second set, and came back to win the third set after being down 4-1. They are funny, because their opponents will be so frustrated and Kate and Ry will just laugh about it all. They stay calm and relaxed while we sit on the edge of our seats.

Pete and Repeat were sitting on a fence, Pete fell off, Who was left?

So, it's Sunday. I would like to write about Sunday dinner with Grandpa P. My girls are very amused with him, especially Liz. He has famous lines that he repeats every Sunday. Every Sunday we laugh at them, as if we don't know they are coming. Now, please understand, we don't laugh gratuitously, but genuinely. I guess it's his delivery that gets to us. He used to walk in every Sunday and say, "well Kenny, if we keep this up we're gonna have to put a "lean to" on the side of the house." That progressed to "well Kenny, ya got my lean to built yet?" He doesn't do that so much anymore. He used to ask Rob every Sunday if he was gay. Now that Rob is gone, the minute he sees Kate, he says, "Katie got dumped." Followed by, "oh boy Liz, when are you gonna get dumped, Katie got dumped." I must say that she takes it quite well.
But when it comes to dinner, those are the lines you can count on week after week. We'll start with Ken's prayer.
"Well Kenny, yer gettin' to be as long winded as the preacher!"...or it could be, "I wouldn't have gone to church, if I knew I was going to get a sermon here."
Then it's time to eat. The lines here start off with, "why did you cook so much food Pam...I mean Cindy..Margaret....Karen...Robin".
"I'm so full, I won't have to eat any supper tonight."
"I don't want any more meatloaf!" ...followed by "give me some more of that meat loaf."
Dad, do you want ice cream and cake or canteloupe? "yeah"
Dad, do you want more lemonade? "yeah, only 1/2 a glass" followed in a few minutes by, "hey, give me another glass of that lemonade!"
Here's our favorite: "I'm so full I couldn't eat another bite, what ya got for dessert?"

Life is different than it used to be with my parents. They have mellowed out. Mom just sits quietly and smiles, unless Dad says something inappropriate, then she'll reprimand him. Overall, it's quite pleasant. We enjoy our Sunday dinners. Ask my dad how he's doing...he'll answer, "I'm still above ground!" If you are reading this, you can be thankful for that too!

Guilty

Okay, so I was checking up on all my children and discovered that I have been talking about Sarah Palin way too much! I have come to the conclusion that I LOVE SARAH PALIN! I do, I can't help myself. I like how she talks, how she acts, how she delivers speeches, how she governs, how she can step out on a stage with a family who is not perfect (like all the rest of us), and look confident, and smile, and be so doggone appealing! So, I am guilty as charged! I LOVE SARAH PALIN!

Phantom Kitten

The kitten left yesterday, but its spirit remains. Whenever Liz would get out of a chair or walk anywhere in the house she would quick run so the kitten didn't attack her. I kept hearing phantom purring and was sure my earlobe was going to be attacked at any moment. I'm not kidding. I have been hearing that kitten purr, or at least I think I'm hearing it. It's amazing how used to something you get and even though you know it's not here, you think it still is. Why don't I think that about Ken? He's not here, and I don't imagine him snoring in bed (ha ha), or hear him walking through the house, or think he's going to throw open the basement door and jump out. I KNOW he's not here. I KNOW the kitten's not here, but it sure feels like it is. You know what I think? We are victims. Victims of kitten abuse. That kitten was in control of our home for weeks and now we are so beaten down and fearful of being bitten, scratched, earlobes sucked on, that we just can't allow ourselves to BELIEVE that we are free! That's what I think! LOL

Cats, Kids, and Other Mysteries...

Ok, so yesterday I wanted to post, but I didn't have time! Why? Well, I went to the MH unit at the public school to see if this would work out well for Liz. (MH, multiple handicap...or MD multiple disabilities, not sure what it's called) It was good that I went there, because even though Liz isn't performing as an average student in a regular classroom setting, she would probably be the highest functioning in that particular classroom. There are all different levels of disabilities, downs, mute, visually impaired, mild retardation. I have to say I admire the teacher (there is only one, with a couple of aides) because she has things under control and pretty well organized for dealing with grades 5th through
8th. I just don't feel it would be fair to Elizabeth to put her in that situation when she has the luxury of a full time aide (which we are constantly reminded that that "never" happens). Liz really liked it because she felt it was fun and easy. So, we'll continue to try and modify her curriculum until we reach a point where she isn't stressed so we won't be either! :-) After that I took Liz to CCS, for about an hour, then picked her up, then drove her and a friend to the farm, then left to drive to Cleveland to pick up my car, which was being repaired, then drove back, picked the girls up from the farm, drove through McD's got them a highly nutritious supper, dropped Liz's friend off, dropped Liz off at our house with Katie, drove to the church for a 7:00 meeting, returned home at 9:10, just in time to put Liz to bed, watched Mrs. Palin and went to bed myself! Whoopeee! I don't like days like that.

In other news, my darling precious Katie. What shall we do with her? Her dad sent a check to school with her 2 days ago to pay her school fees. We asked her about it this morning before she left. The conversation between her and her daddy went something like this...
"Did you pay your school fees?"
"yes"
"Where is the receipt?"
"I don't know."
"Did they give you a receipt?"
"I think so."
"You think so, or you know so?"
"I think so."
"But you don't know for sure?"
"no"
"Why don't you know?"
"I don't remember"
"Katie, it was 2 days ago, did they give you a receipt or paper or anything?"
"I'm not sure."
"How much did you write the check for?"
"I don't know."
"Katie, you just wrote the check 2 days ago and you can't REMEMBER the amount you wrote in? Don't you remember writing it?"
"no"
"Did you even write the check?"
"yes"
(mother interjects "I bet she didn't even write the check")
"I'm positive I wrote the check"
"But you don't remember writing in the amount?"
"no"
(Dad calls the school, secretary says, if she wrote a check she would absolutely have been given a receipt)
"Katie, the secretary says that if you wrote a check they would have given you a receipt, did you write the check?"
"I'm sure I wrote the check"
"Then where is the receipt?"
(by this time, she is rummaging in her purse, and I ask her if she is looking for the receipt)
she says: "no, I'm trying to find my lip gloss"
So folks, I think that says everything I need to say about that.

So, Rob's kitten is supposed to leave my house today. Let me remind you, this is a kitten he brought here because Kaje would just KILL him if he got rid of it. It would only be here for a little bit and he would take it to Chicago. Rob's been living in Chicago, the kitten is still here. Imagine that? And now...the kitten that he HAD to haul from Grand Rapids to here because it was SO LOVED is now being given to Kaje's sister. Where is Kaje's sister? GRAND RAPIDS! WHY then, did we have to suffer all these weeks? WHY? It's going right back to the city from whence it came! This kitten is a freak. Two nights ago I was laying on the couch, it came running over, jumped on the adjacent couch facing the kitchen. It was on it's hind legs standing straight up staring at something for a long time. WIERD! When I was doing Liz's hair for school, it jumped on the edge of the toilet and was playing in the water! GROSS! Yesterday, I was sitting in a chair. It jumped on the back of the chair, then put its front paws on my shoulders and began trying to nurse from my earlobe. When it wants to suck on your ear, it's purr gets so loud you wouldn't even believe it. FREAK! If I have to run out somewhere, when I come home, Liz has all the doors in the house shut and the cat locked behind one of them because "it was trying to attack her AGAIN!" If you were to come to our house in the evening, let's say while we are watching Sarah Palin deliver a fantastic speech, you would find us covering our ears and begging the kitten to stop trying to nurse from our earlobes. It's like an old horror film, we all hear the Ear Sucking Purr begin and cover our ears and wait for the attack! I wish I was, but I am NOT EVEN KIDDING! So, today, I will say FREE AT LAST!

Oh, and Emily, I need some life coaching. I have been a little busy and stressed, and with that I have slipped back into my diet coke addiction. I feel awful. Everything aches, and yet, I keep returning to my drug of choice! WHY oh WHY?

What I Did On Labor Day...

I woke up. This is always a good thing. I chatted with my daughter in Australia. I'm glad I'm a mom in the 2000's, where my kids are just an IM away. I got Liz cinnamelts, because that is how she rolls on a day off school, or a snow day! yikes, I mentioned the "S" word) I did some laundry and a few other things. Then Liz and I were going to go for a swim. It was a great idea until we found out how COLD the pool was. I turned on the sprinkler, because the air was so HOT, and Liz played in that for awhile. Then I had a great idea. Let's get a blanket and pillows and take a nap in her tent! Things were going great. She decided to take her audio book along. We get everything set up. (Why is the ground so much HARDER when you get older?) There is a gentle breeze, no bugs, perfect! We get settled in, and Liz decides she wants to talk. (Shock, huh?) She talked, I listened. However, she won't let you just listen. If you don't acknowledge what she is saying, she will say Mom? Did you hear what I said? Yes, Liz, we're the only ones in a 12 x 12 tent, I heard you. She went inside for a bit, and came back with a deck of cards. Yippee! We played Go Fish and WAR! Then she decided we should really work on taking a nap. That lasted two minutes. We came back inside. Good times over all! We had supper and I cleaned out the car because I have to take it to the dealer tomorrow to be serviced. It works out good because it's my day to take Ang to radiation, so we'll drop it off on the way and pick up a loaner. I actually took a few pictures of Liz and her tent, that I'll post when I figure out how. It's quite luxurious, nothing like the blanket over a clothesline with a dirt floor that I had as a child, that I had to walk up hill both ways barefoot to play in! This one has a floor, screened in windows, and a welcome mat. Why am I posting at 3 a.m.? Because Ken's snoring awakened me. I might send him out to the tent tomorrow night! ;-)

Oh What an Afternoon to Remember...

So, speaking of music (okay, nobody was, but I was reading through my old posts and commenting on comments!)...yesterday afternoon our interim pastor was having his last service. Earlier we had been talking about music that we liked. We both like gospel music, and I asked him if he had ever heard our gospel choir, The First Baptist Choir. He had not, so I set about trying to get them for his last service. I did. Not only that, they came for lunch at my house. After lunch, we went into the piano room. They played and sang. I was in HEAVEN! Heaven, I tell you! Their harmony is like no other. It blends and just makes your ears so happy! They had one song that started out a little sad and slow, but then the chorus came along and it went something like, "and I started singing, clapping, dancing, and people started laughing" it was pure joy. I was happy, yes HAPPY! I told them that they should have their choir rehearsals at my house. They said they would be happy to. So, after tennis is over, I hope that is exactly what happens. (Note to Ash: their pianist and pastor, Jeff, worked and recorded with someone from Rascal Flats for many years!) Jeff listened to Katie play and sing, and I said, "hey, why don't you have Katie learn to play a few songs for your choir?". I figure if Ken won't go there for me, I'm sure he would go to hear Katie play, right? So, they thought that would be a wonderful plan as well. I think it is too. She loves to play by ear and that would introduce her to a brand new style of music, and can I help it that it happens to be one I love? Yay! Yesterday was a happy, happy day. (oh happy day, oh happy day, when Jesus washed, oh when he washed, when my Jesus washed, he washed my sins away, oh happy day....) oh you KNOW you want to sing it!