You May Be The Champion But I'm The Princess

Haylee and Madyson spent the night with us last night. This morning Papa got up and fixed them "Happy Face" Pancakes and Chocolate Milk. Reminded me of when Daisha and Richie Von were little. I really miss that time of my life sometimes ~ But at the same time we really enjoy these times with our Granddaughters. After breakfast and a little cartoon time they both were in the living room floor with their Papa wrestling. Such a deja' vu...this is exactly what took place most Saturday mornings when the kids were little. Pancakes ~ Chocolate Milk ~ Cartoons ~ Wrestling Match (where something of mine usually got broke). Anyway, Richie Von must have been a little claustrophobic because inevitably he would be crying saying something like "I can't breath" or "Dad, you're hurting my leg". Daisha on the other hand would just be laughing and wiggling her way out of her Daddy's hold. This would continue for 30 to 45 minutes and Daddy was always the Champion. This morning's wrestling match was no different. Haylee took on her Daddy's role ~ when Papa would get her in a hold or have her pinned in his legs she would start crying "Papa, I can't breath" or "Papa, you're hurting my leg". He would then let her go and she, like her daddy, would keep coming back for more. Madyson however, took on her Momma's role, laughing and wiggling out of Papa's hold and like Haylee kept coming back for more. The three of them kept this up for about 30 to 45 minutes then Papa finally came up off the floor with his arms raised in triumph screaming "I'm the Champion". As he was boasting about being the Champion I looked over at Madyson. She was putting on her Pink Princess Shoes, her Princess Crown and her Pink Purse on her arm. She looked at her Papa and said matter-of-factly, "You may be the Champion but I'm the Princess". Richie and I looked at each other at the same time, started laughing and then thought about how her prissy, pink and precious little three year old mind was working. She truely thought that being the "Princess" was better than being the champion. What a priceless memory for us.

Daisha's Birthday Cake

We took EVERYONE this past Sunday to Osaka's for Daisha's birthday. We had sooo much fun just watching the grand babies faces while the chef was doing the magic with his spatula, fork, food, and of course "fire". Haylee wasn't sure at first, she held her ears shut. Madyson was a little scared in the beginning and asked her Papa, "will you hold me". When they realized they really weren't in any danger they watched in amazement and slowly ate their dinner. Eventually we finished our meal and went back to the house to make Daisha's birthday cake. (Yellow cake with chocolate icing ~ she's so easy to please)

The Finished Product~Made with Love

Happy Birthday~Daisha~Mommy~Aunt Daisha

It was sweet, tasty, and yummy fun. Our secret ingredient was...um...well, we'll call it kisses. More memories...and they keep growing.

Popsicles, Sidewalk Chalk, Playing outside

I know, I know, it's been a long time since I've posted anything on my blog. It's not that I didn't have anything to talk about but that I haven't had time to post it. We have spent a lot of time at the Roaring River and while I'm there I don't really want to be on the computer. Anyway, all excuses aside, this has been a great summer ~ Richie's home ~ Sadie's here ~ Richie Von and his family are living closer to home...at least for a few months ~ Daisha and her family are close to home as well ~

I try to make sure when the girls are at the house we have lots to do. We bake cookies, we play with Play Dough, we play basketball on the porch, we swim, we play sidewalk chalk, we make necklaces and bracelets with beads and I am always looking for something new that the girls will enjoy. With the age difference, (Haylee will be seven in November, Madyson was three in May, Jamison will be two the end of September and Sadie is just a few months old), I have to come up with a variety of things to do. But I do know this, it doesn't matter what we find to do it is always a blast when they're here...Oh, and sometimes a little messy.

Taking Care of the Pool

Taking care of the swimming pool is not quite as easy as I thought it would be. I really love the laying out and relaxing part, the watching my grandbabies splash and play in it, but the cleaning part has a lot to be desired. This morning I was a little ahead of schedule so as I was finishing up drying my hair I thought, "I have a little extra time before I have to run to Sapulpa and pick up Madyson and Sadie so I'll start the pool vacuum." I put my hair dryer up, my brushes back in the drawer and headed out to the pool. I always check the skimmer first to see if it needs to be emptied of "BUGS". If it only has two or three bugs I leave it to clean out after the vacuum is finished. I took the skimmer cover off, looked inside and saw only about three or four bugs. As I took a closer look there was something against the side of the skimmer. Something grayish looking, maybe even fuzzy????. I thought, "that looks like hair or fuzz. Crap, (I know, I shouldn't say that word) but... Crap, I have to pull the skimmer out to clean it before I can start the vacuum". I turned off the pump and as the water stopped moving and to my disgust that ~ grayish looking, maybe even fuzzy looking ~ thing was actually...geeze... (you're gonna love this Trista) a dead frog. A dead frog...sucked to the side of my skimmer. Crap (I know, there's that no-no word again), I don't want to do this. I don't want to even look at this. Where the heck is Richie right now. He'll do this for me. Oh yeah, he's at work. I was so creeped out. Now I have to get that "DEAD FROG" out of my skimmer before I can start the vacuum. OK - it's dead - I can do this - there's soap and water in the house in case I touch that disgusting thing. Well, my skimmer has a handle on it and you have to turn it a tad to unlock it to pull it out to clean it. Really, all I have to do is pull up the handle, turn the skimmer to the unlock position, pull it out of the holder and dump the creepy contents. Right, it SHOULD be that easy. Well, the skimmer got stuck and my pulling on it dislodged the frog. It all happened so fast. That stupid frog floated up and touched my fingers. I screamed so loud I know I woke up the neighbors that were still sleeping, and as I was yanking my hands out and away from the skimmer I soaked my shirt and my hair with water from the skimmer. Needless to say I'm now late to pick up the girls because I have to change my shirt and redry the front part of my hair.

"Stupid dead frog"

Our new "Mini-Home"

I can't believe this but we have now purchased a "Mini-Home". Actually, it's a 5th wheel RV. We started looking for one a few months before Richie left for Iraq but nothing fit what we wanted. It was either the wrong color with the right layout or the wrong layout with the right color.

This last weekend we decided, last minute, to go to the Roaring River, stay at the Lodge if they had a room available and get away for a couple of days maybe even do a little Trout fishing. While there we noticed an RV for sale and again, last minute, decided just to "look" at it. Oddly enough the home was owned by another couple from Sand Springs. They were kind enough to let us interrupt their nap and open up the motor home for us to look at it. It was the right color and we liked the layout of it as well. We shook hands on the deal and are now the proud owners of a 2003 Sierra 30 ft 5th wheel RV.

Now we're looking forward to long weekends at Paradise Valley, fishing, going to Silver Dollar City and Bass Pro Shop, relaxing and enjoying a little time away from home. I still can't believe it.

Bedroom with some little boy already in the bed.

Not sure, but maybe he comes with the deal.

Kitchen Table "still not sure if the little boy came with the deal or not"!

Kitchen

Outside Front

Living Room. "And I know this man comes with the deal"

Richie's Welcome Home from Iraq

Let's see, where do I start?!?! The Military...Okay, here's a little synopsis of how things went, and if you've ever been in the military or have had a loved one in the military you should be familiar with the phrase "HURRY UP AND WAIT" or "HONEY, I CAN'T GIVE YOU ANY INFORMATION OVER THE INTERNET OR PHONE BECAUSE IT'S NOT SECURE". The FRG (Family Readiness Group) puts out the best information they can and I think they did a superb job, however, it was still very frustrating for us, not knowing the "for sure" time of ANYTHING and the changes that come down with every email on the time they were arriving.

When he left Iraq he had to spend a couple of days in Kuwait. They had VERY limited to no access to the Internet or a DSN line while there so I was frustrated to say the least. If anyone knows me you know I like to know the who, what, when and where and how. I make plans well ahead of time so everything and everyone can be prepared. The first email I received said he'll be at Ft. Sill at 4:30p.m. on Sunday the 24th, and if there are any changes I should receive another message with the new time. I made plans with the kids to leave around 11:00 a.m. to give us time to have some lunch at the PX and make sure Sadie was out of the car seat awhile to stretch because I thought the trip would be a little rough for a 5 week old baby. About 11:00 p.m. that same night, email #2, new time, arriving earlier, 1:30 p.m. and if there are any changes they would "let us know". I call the kids with the revised plan and go to bed. I get up Sunday morning, checked my email, nothing, no time changes, that's good. Plans stay the same, we leave for Ft. Sill around 9:30 a.m. Haylee and Madyson road in Mimi's car so I wouldn't have to drive by myself. I took my DVD player and put in a Disney movie to keep them occupied because it's about a two and a half hour drive. Well, the movie ended just the other side of Oklahoma City. I guess I was just waiting to see how long it took for the two of them to start arguing about something. We drive a little further, I would say about 15 minutes later, one of the girls said, "Mimi, she's counting my clouds". It took me a couple of seconds for my mind to register what I just heard. I said , "you have got to be kidding me, those are not your clouds." But to keep the argument from going further I said, "Haylee, you count the clouds on your side and Madyson, you count the clouds on your side. Don't count each others clouds." ~~ Cloud counting, my clouds, shaking my head in disbelief, still can't believe that one ~~ Anyway, that seemed to take care of the situation. Anyway, we get to Ft. Sill, get out at the PX and relax with lunch at Church's Chicken, go into the PX to shop a little until we have to leave to find the building they were holding the Welcome Home Ceremony in. Well apparently Richie Von got directions to this Rinehart Physical Fitness Facility from someone that didn't know what the heck they were talking about. Our "Schuler Convoy" pulls off the side of the road and then I remembered the night before I jotted down a few numbers for Ft. Sill that were help lines "just in case". I called the first number, he gives us great directions and I asked him if the time for the ceremony is still 1:30. His response, "No mam, they are now delayed to 4:30." My head is now pounding and I'm thinking, Oh my gosh, these little girls are tired. Now we have 3 more hours to wait. How are we gonna do this? We go ahead, drive to the Rinehart Facility, go in and they have music playing. These tired little girls take off their shoes and go out on the gym floor with a million other waiting kids and have a blast dancing, running, screaming. Yeah for music, other kids, taking off our shoes, screaming without getting in trouble, dancing and acting silly.

Dancing and having fun!

Waiting...

Can you pick him out?

Finally, at 5:30, in come our soldiers running on the gym floor into formation. The ceremony lasted about 30 to 45 minutes, the soldiers were dismissed by the Commander to greet their family. It was so great. I know the wait was long but it was more that worth it. He's home, he's safe and we get to touch him. I know that sounds funny but...I don't know how else to explain it. I can actually touch his arm, his hand, put my arms around his neck, kiss him. It's was great!

This was Richie's first time to see Sadie. I loved seeing Daisha's face as she watched her daddy hold Sadie for the first time.

Haylee and Madyson couldn't keep their eyes off their Papa and they wanted to make sure he wasn't gonna leave them again. Both kept saying, Papa will you hold me. And of course he did. So sweet.

Jamison was only 9 months old when Papa left. The only time she really got to see him in the last 12 months was on the computer (Skype) so she was a little apprehensive.

Papa and his girls.

We Have Squatters On Our Property

One afternoon Haylee was playing on the back porch and spotted this bird's nest in her Papa's Deer Antler's. The last few years birds have tried to put a nest in these very antler's but Richie was vigilant in stopping the building of the nest. Well, this year Richie is in Iraq and I guess this was suppose to be "another" one of "my" jobs while he is gone. Sorry Richie... I guess I didn't keep as vigilant of watch. By the way...my daughter-in-law had to take these pictures because I wasn't quite tall enough. Thanks Amy, but now there's evidence for your father-in-law that I let the squatters mess up his prized Deer Antlers. :)

Haylee discovered our squatters nest.

The eggs.

Momma Bird sitting on the eggs.

The ugly hatchlings.

Well, now they're not so ugly.

My "To Do List" before Richie gets home.

I have a "To Do List" I started before Richie was deployed last June. A few of those on my list were ~ to get all the walls and trim inside the house painted, paint and install all new doors and closet doors inside the house and put all new hardware on these doors. I now concede that I probably won't be able to complete all these tasks because I forgot about all the preparation that has to take place before you paint. You know...remove pictures, patch the nail holes, sand those down, clean the walls, move and cover the furniture and tape off the walls and trim. When you do that in EVERY room (Entry Way, Hallway, Kitchen, Living Room, four Bedrooms, two Baths) it gets a little time consuming and reminds you of some of those forgotten muscles you have in your body. I have tried not to ask for help from my family but on occasion just couldn't do some of it on own. Here are a few pictures of my work and progress thus far!

Madyson "helping" ??

Painting door to the girls room.

Woops! How did that happen?

This painting is messy.

Mimi, I need a wash rag.

How did this get everywhere???

Well that wasn't so hard.

Four doors done and...um...several to go. Body hurts.

Sadie is here!!! :)

Sadie Cheyenne Robins

Born April 14th 2009

6 lbs 11 oz

20 inches

Daisha checked into the hospital on the morning of April 14th, Dr. Nilson started her labor about 9:30 and Sadie was born a little after 2:00. Lucky her... I spent 23 hours in labor with her and she had 4 hours of labor with Madyson and 4.5 hours with Sadie. Do the math... 4 + 4.5 = 8.5 and 2 babies. How fair is that? Honestly, as her mother I'm really glad she hasn't had to go through hours of labor pains to have her babies.

Here's a few pictures from the hospital.

Madyson & Jamison watching Madagascar II ~ waiting

Madyson still in her Jammies ~ waiting

Amy pulling Daisha's hair back ~ waiting

Richie Von & Michael ~ waiting

Trista eating Pei Wei's ~ waiting

Mimi and Madyson ~ waiting

A little after 2:00 ~ No more waiting ~ Sadie is here !

How did my Mom do it with six kids??

I had all three of my granddaughters Saturday morning. Haylee and Madyson spent the night with me and Amy brought Jamison to me about 8:00 a.m. I had to feed, bathe, dress, make sure their teeth were brushed, clean ears with q-tips and fix their hair, not to mention - do all the same for myself, and be out the door with them by 11:30 a.m. to drive an hour to Oologah for Haylee's soccer game. (Oh, one small note, I had to make sure we had snacks and drinks packed for everyone for the game as well). I think I layed awake in bed half the night getting my "Game Plan" together on how I was going to get it all done and in what order I needed to do it to make my time line. I was so excited that we were all ready to go with fifteen minutes to spare. My excitement lasted only a brief moment when two thoughts came to my mind..."Oh my gosh, Daisha is getting ready to have Sadie any day now and I will have FOUR granddaughter's." and "Mom did this with six kids". Maybe I need not get too excited yet.

Breakfast with a smile!

Pretty in Pink!

Mom...you are definitely a "Super Mom". And by the way...Next time I have all of the girls here I'll pick you up to spend the night with us so you can give me a few tips on how I might do it better.

"Super Mom" I Love you!

~Haylee lost her first tooth~

A milestone in Haylee's life!!!! She lost her first tooth. I can't believe it. Richie Von said she came home from school and showed them the tooth that was growing in behind her baby tooth. He said he took a string, tied it around the tooth and pulled up on it, the tooth popped out and hit him in the nose. He said he felt something on the end of his nose, it was blood, he thought it was blood from Haylee's tooth. When he went to the bathroom to clean it off it kept bleeding. What actually happened was the sharp end of the tooth hit his nose and cut it. LOL Once he cleaned up the blood and got it to stop bleeding they had to look for the tooth...on white carpet. He said he was on his hands and knees searching for this "little white tooth" that caused him affliction. Amy said, "You better find it, that's her first tooth". (I would have said the same thing~sentimental) Anyway, they found the tooth and put it under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy and when she woke up there was a dollar under her pillow and the tooth was gone. Note: I only remember getting a nickle. What's up with that?!?!?!?!

Making Monkey Bread with my Girls!

Last Saturday was such a great day for Mimi (that's me). I got up early because Haylee had a soccer game in Oologah that I wanted to watch (she scored a goal ~ for her team ~ yeah Haylee). I'd made plans with Richie Von and Amy earlier in the week for Haylee to spend Saturday night with me, so, after the game I went back to their house to pick up her clothes for church and her jammies. I ended up taking both Haylee and Jamison home with me so Richie Von and Amy could have a much needed fun afternoon. (They are way too busy and they really needed some fun relaxing time together) Anyway, Haylee asked me on the way home, "Mimi, what are we gonna do today." I told her we were going to Aunt Daisha's to make Monkey Bread. She said "Mimi, I want to make Cheetah Bread." I had to stop a minute for my mind to unravel what she said. ~You think maybe she thought we were gonna make bread in the shape of a Monkey~ yep, I think so. I couldn't help but laugh under my breath. Once I got that straightened out in my head I explained to her what Monkey Bread was. Well, once we got to Sand Spring I had to make a stop at my house to drop off the luggage, take a bathroom and change of diaper break, pick up the bunt cake pan (Aunt Daisha doesn't have one?) then we headed to Aunt Daisha's for more fun with Madyson. We made "Monkey Bread" while Jamison sat in the high chair with Cheerio's and Juice and Aunt Daisha took pictures and made a video of the fun. We had a messy blast and made more memories together.

Madyson, Mimi and Haylee

They hated their hand being dirty. Many wash rag breaks.

Cheerio's, Juice and a smile from "Little Bit"

Into the oven.

Loving The Brief Spout of Warm Weather

I am absolutely a warm weather person. I hate being cold. Last week it was so nice to go outside without a coat, sit on the back porch and enjoy the warmth from the sun.

Before I got sick I was at Wal-Mart, anticipating the warm weather, I bought a Little Tikes Basketball Goal, 3 large bouncy balls, sidewalk chalk, colors, color books, sticker books and bubbles for the girls. Friday afternoon all three of the girls were here at the house. It was warm outside so we headed out the back door to the porch to enjoy the outdoors and the new toys. We had a blast with all the new toys and enjoying the warm weather.

Little Bit with her bubbles.

Madyson blowing bubbles.

Haylee coloring.

My Thanks to Amy & Trista

Daisha's baby shower was the last Saturday in February. I started planning it around the middle of January. I made the invitations, mailed them out 4 weeks ahead,

I ordered the cake to look like the invitations,

purchased the ingredients for the punch, picked out all the decorations, you get the picture. The day of the shower Katie was suppose make the punch and Amy was picking up the cake so I could go early to Daisha's, help her clean the house and put up all the decorations. I made all these plans so the day of the shower there'd be no stress. I was so excited...then all heck broke loose.

I got sick the Tuesday night before the shower. My body was in pain, I was running a high fever that I couldn't break, my head was killing me so I ended up on Thursday morning (finally) at the Urgent Care Center. The bad news: I have the flu, I'm not allowed to be around children, I'm not allowed to be around older people and I not allowed to be around my pregnant daughter. All that planning and preparation and I was not even getting to go...that's right, I did not get to go to my own daughters baby shower. :`( But there is a great ending to this sad story, I had two special people in my family that pulled it all together without blinking and eye. They wanted Daisha's baby shower to be as special as I wanted it to be. Thank God for Amy and Trista. They came through and did everything that needed to be done to make sure Daisha had a great baby shower. I can't thank them enough. They are the best.

Again, thanks girls, I love you two. You're the best.

Sidenote: Earlier that day Daisha said, "Mom, turn on your Skype, I'll turn on my Skype and you can watch while I open my gifts and join in on our conversations. It'll almost be like being there." Well, no it wasn't, but, it was better than nothing. All in all she had a great shower.

Our Soldier and Amazing Papa

I get home from work Monday and there's a package in my door from Fed-X. I,m on my cell phone with Becky, it's dark outside, my hands are full, I can't read what the package says, so I brought it into the house. I,m telling Becky, "It says it's from Shelly Allen at DFW Airport." My first thought, ~Shelly Allen, that name sounds familiar to me, or does it? Becky said, it doesn't to her.~, Second thought, ~Richie must have left something at the airport in Dallas and they mailed it to our house~ I was wrong on both thoughts. I opened the package and there's a pink blanket, 3 books, two DVD's that he has written "For My Girls, with the date 19, Feb 2009" and a letter from the USO Volunteers. Here's what this amazing husband of mine did... On his way back to Iraq he had a layover at DFW Airport from 9:am to 3:pm. He spent a lot of his time at the USO area because they feed them, make sure they have coffee, juice, tea, water etc..., give them a place to rest and they also provide cell phone's for the soldiers so they can call their families. Well, they (DFW Airport and USO) have an area or room set up called "United Through Reading". I guess they sell books for kids and some miscellaneous items. He bought a Pink Blanket for Sadie and books for Haylee (Horse Heroes-she loves horses), Madyson (Dance at Papa's-she loves to sing and dance) and Jamison (Mama, How Long Will You Love Me?-she's a mama's girl). He also wrote a little message to them in each of their books. Well anyway, they have this room set up with a rocking chair and decorated like a Kingdom with Castles. He sat in the rocking chair and read a little out of each book for the girls plus he had a little personal message to each one about how much he loved them. They recorded it on a DVD and mailed them to our house for the girls. The letter said, "Dear Hero, Today a very special person stopped by the USO at DFW Airport's United Through Reading Room. They picked out a brand new book and made a DVD of themselves reading the book to you." It goes on to say, "We are one of the selected USO sites that offers our service members and their families the wonderful opportunity to read to their 'little heroes'. It was a pleasure to help your special person get this gift to you. If you'd like, send us a picture of you watching the DVD and we'll add it to the bulletin boards that line the entrance of the USO/DFW Reading Room. (Why am I crying???) Amazing Papa isn't he!!!

He loves his "Girls".

The Hallway at Mimi's

The hallway in our house is one of the favorite places to play for the girls and apparently Papa. I guess because it has a wood floor and it's fairly long. They like to have races, they eat their snacks, they sit at the far end and play with their toys or read their books to each other, they get at opposite ends and throw the golf ball (it's loud) and when Papa was home on leave I believe there were some bowling games played. They love the loud noise their shoes make when they run. At times we have some boo-boos because they forget that without their shoes the floor is slick. Not to sound like I have no compassion but...I have laughed at some of the falls the girls have made and then pick them up to kiss a boo-boo and wipe away the tears. Nevertheless...the hallway is a fun place to be if we have to be inside.

Playing, Reading and Silly Faces for the camera.

Eating Crackers.

Setting up the bowling pins.

Bowling!!!

My Valentine's Day Gift

My Valentine's Day gift from Richie this year literally came from 8,000 miles away. It was by far the best gift I have ever received. Here's the story... Back in December I received an email forwarded from Richie that one of the guys from his Company sent him regarding his leave. It looked very official, very military and it said his leave was Mid-March. I have been planning for this leave since I received the email. You know me, I like to plan ahead and have everything in order. He has 10 days of leave and I wanted to celebrate all the Holiday's he missed with us since he's been in Iraq, our anniversary and his birthday. I was planning the meals I knew he would want, the gift's, which I already had two of them purchased and was making plan's to get the rest, and celebrate each one on a different day.

Now, here's my time line of events:

February 3: My boss passed away, our office is in shock and very upset.

February 4: Our office was visited by super nice individuals from our Regional Office to start the changes we had to make due to David's death.

February 5: Up early, left the house at 6:15 am to pick Little Bit up in Oologah, drove from there to Sapulpa to pick up Madyson. Played with the two of them all day. Was on Skype with Big Richie from 8:30 to 9:30. Told him I needed to get to bed because my tomorrow was gonna start early again and I was tired.

February 6: Up early again, had to be at the funeral home at 7:00 am to do David's hair for the family because I think it's important to make sure he looked like himself to them. Left there and went to Sapulpa to pick up Madyson. (Had a good cry for David on my way there). Richie Von came over late morning with Haylee and Little Bit and I played with the grandbabies all day. Haylee and Madyson spent the night and we went to bed around 9:30 because, Mimi was tired. Daisha forgot to leave me Bella...a big mistake. Here's my conversation with Madyson once we got to bed:

Madyson: Mimi, where's Bella

Me: Uh Oh, Well, I think mommy took her to your house.

Madyson: Let's go get Bella and come back to your house.

Me: Well, it's late honey, mommy and daddy are probably already in bed.

Madyson: (almost in tears) but I neeeeeed her.

Haylee: Mimi, let's go get Bella at Aunt Daisha's. Madyson needs her.

Mimi: Well, why don't you sleep with Pearl tonight.

Madyson: But, Bella needs me. She's my daughter.

Mimi: How 'bout this: Let's go call mommy first.

Mimi: Daisha, where's Bella?

Daisha: Uh Oh, (Which, I believe those were my first words) I think she's in my car. Is Madyson crying?

Mimi: Yep.

Madyson: Mimi, can we go get Bella.

Daisha: Let me talk to her.

Madyson: Mommy, I need Bella.

Daisha: Listen honey, mommy's tummy hurts and I need Bella to stay here with me so I will feel better. I'll bring Bella to Mimi's tomorrow, OK?

Madyson: OK, Love you, bye. (said very sadly)

Now that we have that ironed out, let's get some sleep. Mimi's tired.

February 7: Richie Von had drills, and had to go before the flight board early morning, Amy had classes, so I took care of Haylee and Little Bit. Madyson was here and Daisha soon arrived with Bella. (Thank God) Richie Von and Amy had a get together that night with all the guys and their wives that went before the flight board and they picked up the girls around 11:00 pm. Now I'm alone but ok with that because I am very tired.

February 8: Got up at 7:00 am to get ready for church, back hurts, house a mess, got a phone call early from Daisha saying she probably won't be at church today but Michael had to do something and she'll come over around 2:30 or 3:00. Richie Von called a little later and said that my Valentine's gift came to his house yesterday so they will be over at 2:30 or 3:00 to bring it to me. I thought, my back hurts, my house needs cleaning, they'll be over about the same time so I'll skip church (said a little prayer, "please forgive me Lord"), clean house and fix a dinner for the kids.

Did I mention that I am tired???

2:30 no one arrives, 3:00 still no one, 3:15 guess I'll sweep the back porch so the girls can play out there if they want, door bell rings, they're all there at the front door instead of coming in thru the garage like normal??? what's up with that???, Haylee walks thru the door saying (or at least what I thought she said), "we're not staying long Mimi" (found out later she said "I'm not saying anything to Mimi), Amy looks frustrated at her and escorts her to the back room, uh oh, she must be in trouble, Richie Von is still in his uniform because he had drills, and both Richie Von and Daisha keep questioning me about why I was going to the Rosary for David, I thought, how rude, why don't they want me to go to David's Rosary???, we're still standing in the kitchen and I told the kids to get them a plate and let's eat, Daisha and Amy tell Richie Von to go out to the car to get my Valentine's gift from their Dad, they said to turn away from the door because they don't want me to see it as he brings it in, I hear the door open and Richie Von says "OK, turn around mom, here's your gift from dad", I turn around and there stands two men in uniform, one Richie Von the other MESM (Richie). I cried, I hugged, I kissed, some more crying, I was so surprised. They've been planning this since last October. (still can't believe Richie Von kept the secret) I know he has to leave on the 19th but I will greet every one of these 10 days with a smile and thank God that I have them. Happy Valentine's Day to me. It was the best ever.

My Valentine's Day Gift

Richie Von saying, "we got you mom"!

Still can't believe it. The best surprise ever.

Oh no, Mom's here, that means work!

Sadie's bed arrived at Michael's work place week before last on a Tuesday. And you know me, I showed up at Daisha's the next night with no tools in hand waiting for Michael to arrive. (He has all the tools and I wasn't sure where Richie's were) Anyway, Michael walks in smiling at Daisha like "I knew your Mom would be here before I got home and I bet she won't let us eat before we get Sadie's Baby Bed put together." Yep, that's me!!! But in my defense, before Michael got there we had Madyson's bed moved to the other side of the room while Daisha's rolling her eyes at me saying "Mom, just wait till Michael gets home, that bed is too heavy" and I had the Baby Bed parts removed from the huge box and perfectly organized ready to start construction. Michael says, "OK, let's get started, where's the instructions?" Um, Uh, Ok...We looked everywhere, it came with NO instructions, none, nada, zilch. So, Daisha gets on the internet to see if she could find something to help us, again, nothing, zilch. A little anger starts to set in because I want to get this bed put together. Michael says, "we can do this without the instructions". Well, thanks to Madyson's help, our foreman of the job, and her knowledge of the proper use of tools we got the bed put together. She did take a few white donut breaks and didn't offer to share even one of them with us and, by the way, Mimi's the one that brought the donuts over to their house. But putting that aside, the bed is done, the mess is cleaned up, tools put away and we are starving. Now, let's order Rib Crib.

We all scream for Ice Cream

Who doesn't like Ice Cream? I haven't met anyone yet that doesn't and we all have our favorite, mine is Vanilla with Chocolate Syrup. I figure it's pretty nutritious because it has milk in it. : ) : ) The girls were over last weekend and I try to have this (healthy) treat for them when I know they're coming. There was one snag... I bought the kind that comes in the little cups. I thought by getting it in these little cups I wouldn't have to muscle it out of the carton with the scoop, I wouldn't have to wash the bowls, and there would not be any of this "she has more than me". However, Haylee and Madyson baulked because they wanted theirs on a cone. So...to make them happy I scooped it out of the cup and maneuvered it onto a cone, ~And poof, now I have two or rather three happy campers~. Little Bit (Jamison) didn't complain, she just wanted Ice Cream.

Madyson's Culinary Skills

Daisha seems to think Madyson is around Mimi too much. She loves to help me cook, bake, vacuum, sweep, fold clothes, dust etc... This day she wanted to bake cookies so I pulled out the sugar cookie recipe, the little table, the rolling pin and tupperware mat, the cookie cutters and the sprinkles. We had a lot of fun and made a great mess... a mess that Madyson cleaned up! Please remember, I did not force her into this "child labor", she just loves cleaning. I guess she may be a little like her Mimi, but that's not a bad thing, is it?

Sadie's not cooperating!!!

Sadie wasn't very cooperative today for her 4D Ultrasound pictures. Daisha and the nurse poked, pushed and jiggled her around trying to get her to turn and "Face the Camera" but she wasn't budging. Finally the nurse told Daisha to get up, move around and walk around the office a few minutes to see if she would turn her little face so they could get a full view. I think that just made her mad so she decided to show them. There's a slight possibility she may have her Mommy's personality. You know the Daisha attitude at times! Something like ~I'll show them, I'll just cover my face with my hand so they can't get any pictures of me~ Just teasing Daisha! The pictures they did get look a whole lot like the one's of Madyson while Daisha was carrying her. We'll see her in person soon, 91 more days!

Haylee & Mimi Time

Funny, my little Haylee is growing up so fast. Time seems to have slipped by more quickly than I thought possible. I remember the day she was born, the day she came home from the hospital, the weekends Daisha and I drove to Enid to see her and the kids... The pictures I take with my camera are the memories we have created together and I have so many of both with Haylee. Since she started school I feel we haven't had as much time together and I miss her smile, her singing, her crawling up in my lap to get hugs and kisses, and I could go on. This last weekend I picked her up early on Saturday to spend the weekend with me. I took her to the mall so she could show Mimi how to do the "Build a Bear" thing and the Disney Store. We had a blast.

First you Pick out your Animal.

Then you choose a little red heart to insert in the animal for sound effects. Haylee chose a doggy barking.

Some kind of "Insert the heart with Love" ceremony . So cute!

Stuff!

Fluff!

Bathe!

Dress!

Accessorize!

Register!

Whew!!! That was no easy task, but it was a lot of fun! Haylee taught me a lot last weekend and I look forward to many more of these. I Love you my Little Princess!!!

This One's For Lita

I have several "projects" I want to finish before Richie gets back from his deployment to Iraq. One of them was to get all my photo's together and in some type of order. You know, all Daisha's together and by age, all Richie Von's together and by age, and so on... Anyway, I was reading Lita's blog tonight, which by the way I enjoy reading, and she said, and I quote, "I challenge all my blogger friends, who will admit to sinking to this level, to post their Glamour Shots." Now, I know Daisha's gonna wring my neck when she see's the picture posted here of us from Glamour Shots but she's just gonna have to get over it... Anyway, this ones for you Lita. And Lita, just for the record, I have never thought about what picture they will post of me at my funeral. You crack me up! My thoughts are more like, "who's gonna do my hair and my make-up so that I look like me and not like a wax figure".

Update on "Little Bit"

Jamison got her "Hot Pink" cast on this past Monday and on Wednesday...SHE took it off. I believe she will be, well let me rephrase, she IS a very determined little girl. We all signed her cast and maybe she thought it wasn't pretty anymore and she no longer wanted to wear it. Not really but sounds good. Richie and Amy sure have their hands full with this little angel. : ) : ) Anyway, back to the Dr. on Monday for a new cast.

I Call her "Little Bit" Granddaughter #3

Our number 3 Granddaughter is Jamison. I call her "Little Bit" because she's so tiny. She is one year old and is a little pistol. She has no fear, already shows signs of being a little tomboy and has two of the cutest dimples when she smiles. She stays busy and I'm not sure if it's to stay awake or to keep her Daddy and Momma on their toes. Maybe both!

First look and you think, aah... she is a little angel, that smile, cute little facial expressions, wet kisses, sweet hugs around your neck, etc... and then you turn around and she's grabbed the germ-X and runs from you so you can't take it from her. Yeah, she's still a little angel, a "quick" little angel.

This past week she had a little accident! : ( Fell of the couch and broke her left arm down by her wrist. Right now they have her arm in a split and she's suppose to get the cast put on Monday. This hasn't slowed her down a bit. I have a feeling this will probably be one of many accidents for "Little Bit".

Our 27th Wedding Anniversary

I think I am married to the most wonderful man in the world. I met Richie in 1975, he was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wheel of a car in his baseball uniform at Douglas Park. He said hello to me, I said hello back and that was about it. He was this skinny guy but soooo cute.

Our next encounter was a few weeks later. He gave me a prank phone call at a friend's grandmothers house I was staying over night with. He started calling me, and the next time we saw each other was at Bruce Eubanks house, shortly after that (June 20, 1975) we were a couple. He can't believe I remember that date!!!

Long story Short: We dated each other a couple of years, broke up a couple of years and started dating again in the early summer of 1981. He proposed in July of 81 and we set the date of our wedding, January 2, 1982. (We had to work around his college baseball schedule of course)

Our wedding day was memorable, our honeymoon is still our secret and our life since has been blessed. What more could a girl ask for! He's perfection in my eye's and in my heart.

These last 27 years I have lived with, laughed with, cried with and loved this man. He's my best friend, the father of our kids, a Papa to our grandchildren and I thank God every day we have each other. He is MESM. (You'll have to ask us what that means and where we got it). I Love You MESM.

A New Year

Here we are, starting another New Year, January 1, 2009. It amazes me how quickly the years pass the older I get. I've often wondered why, not that it really matters. Maybe as we get older we appreciate our lives more and want to slow it down to saver everything we do and every moment we have with those we love. Richie and I have never really done anything special to bring in the new year. No traditions, no parties, none of those grand "get togethers", but we've never been bored per say on the New Years Eve's we've spent together. This year Richie wasn't home to spend my December 31st with. I did talk to him via our laptops thanks to "Skype.com" and even though he's a million miles away from home I feel him here with me. I ate my black eyed peas and some greens, I asked him if he had his and he said he didn't have any there to eat, (kinda made me sad, why, I don't know) and to tell you the truth I've really never understood why we do that. My kids never would eat the "regular" black eyed peas so a few years ago I came across a recipe called "Texas Caviar" and everyone loves it, especially my nephew Brandon. Daisha ate her one bite on a corn chip and Richie Von and Amy called me last night while they were at the grocery store so I could tell them the ingredients they needed to make it. I sent some home with Michael and my brother Robert just sent R.J. to my door to get some of the delectable dish for their household. I guess there is one tradition we have for this Holiday, eating black eyed peas. Did you have yours?

The Bella Story

This is a picture of Madyson and our 4th Grandchild "Bella", oh yeah, the little bear is "Pearl". Let me tell you a little about Bella. Bella is a doll that I got for Madyson for Easter this year. Wasn't an expensive baby doll but she was pink and if you ask Madyson what she wants she says "Pink". Pink anything. She was looking at a toy catalogue for Christmas and everything she picked out was "Pink". Anyway, back to Bella...After Haylee and Lauren saw Bella they wanted the same doll. I got one for Haylee and Becky got one for Lauren. However, neither one of them latched onto the doll like Madyson. Bella goes everywhere with Madyson. We are talking church, naps, breakfast, lunch, dinner, potty, baths, vacations, rides in the car seat, in the family pictures, sits in the cart during our Wal-Mart shopping excursions, you get the picture. Bella was also instrumental in the potty training of Madyson. Not that Mimi totally agreed with the way Michael & Daisha did it, they would take Bella away from her the whole day if she had an accident in her big girl panties. I told them "She's 2 years old, I thought the rule was suppose to be 2 minutes or at the most 2 hours", but what do I know, I'm just the Mimi.

A few weeks ago Daisha and Michael were talking about how dirty Bella was looking, I believe the word "disgusting" was used. I mean, there have been times I had to wash Bella's outfit before I would even take her out in public. So a new one was purchased and Daisha said she was going to put "old" Bella up as a keepsake. I thought that was a great idea. Well, yesterday "New" Bella was finally removed from the box and presented to Madyson. We wondered how she'd react to the new doll because she's so attached to Bella. She acted excited and seemed to treat her like she loved her but we knew right off the bat it wasn't quite the same. She calls both of them Bella, but that's about as far as it goes. Tonight the New Bella was invited to go to Papa Buck's for our Christmas with them but Madyson said "No, she staying here and going to bed". I guess there will be no replacement for Bella. Sorry Daisha. I know how bad you two wanted the switch to work. One more note on Bella: This is the only thing we don't make Madyson share. She seems to love this baby doll like we love our own children. You have to see Madyson with her. She talks to her, loves on her, kisses her and treats her so tender and loving like we hope she does her new baby sister when she arrives next April.

Let's go "see" Santa

Every year about this time most Mommy's want to take their little ones to "see" Santa Clause on the pretense (and usually unknown to the child) to have their picture taken with this Jolly ole Man. I must say the Mommy's aren't the only ones that want one of those pictures, the Mimi's, Nana's or Nanny's want the same picture of their grandchild.

Last week after church Amy took Haylee and Jamison to the Mall to get the girls picture with Santa. They're all dressed up in their beautiful little Christmas dresses, bows in their hair and looking like they're little models out of a catalogue. Haylee is six and at this point in her life she's always ready to say cheese in front of our cameras. However, Jamison, our innocent little one year old will only let one man hold her, her daddy, and usually can't sit still long enough for you to focus your camera.

Just two weeks prior to this Daisha and I are at the Mall shopping. We're on the second level of the Mall and down below we see Santa. "Look Madyson, there's Santa, he's waving at you." She waves back, we turn away and go into JC Penney's. I asked her, "Do you want to get your picture with Santa Clause" and she quickly replies "No" and then "Hold me Mommy". Through the rest of our shopping we have to take turns holding her and she never stops telling us how she doesn't want to have her picture taken with Santa. She tears up a few times and we finally tell her Santa's gone, he went to lunch. We finally had to leave the mall. Over the next few days we kept talking to her about getting the picture and she would say, "tomorrow we can". Well today at church my nephew Justin played Santa for the kids. Once she knew who he was she sat on his lap and took a picture, she was even smiling.

Smiling or crying the "Pictures with Santa" are always good memories.

Ouch!

Talked to Richie via email on Monday. He said he had a "little" accident. Apparently he got his thumb closed/smashed in a door of his Helicopter and the back part of his nail popped out. Yeah, that's right, I said the back part of his nail popped out. I can't even think about this without cringing. Now, anyone who knows me knows how low my pain tolerance is so as I'm reading his discription of his thumb, his nail bed and the pain I got sick to my stomach. One of the medics that was on his flight told him to go to the TMC, get the nail removed and it'll heal faster. My immediate email back to him was "Well, duh, and also you won't be snagging it on WHATEVER. I said, "Get the nail removed and let me know how your doing." His response, "I'm not coming off the flight schedule for this, I'll just suck it up awhile, take my advil and tylenol." Tuesday night he was able to Skype me and proceeded to put his thumb up to the Webcam to show it to me. No, I didn't look and yes, he laughed at me. Men... I do miss him!!!

Getting Ready for Christmas

Christmas this year... Well, Sunday I was really wishing for a miracle, more like praying for a miracle. I was hoping Richie would surprise me and come home for Christmas but I know "It ain't gonna happen". Had me a little pitty party Sunday, (don't worry, it was a short one), but I'm better today. One thing I do to put my attitude back into check is get busy doing "anything". I've been painting the inside of our home. I started with the entry hall, took Daisha & Amy's advise and went wild (for Barbie) on a color called "Earth Green". I had a lot of help from Daisha and a little from Madyson. I like it. After that project I started down the hallway to the living room and now into the kitchen. I still need a second coat on a small area in the kitchen and need to finish painting the rest of the trim and the main part of the house will be done. I wanted at least this much done before Christmas. Yeah!!! Please, any company needs to stay out of the army room. That's my "work" area and if by chance you do see it, please don't let Richie know what it looks like. I promise I'll have it cleaned up before he's home.

I also keep busy getting Christmas gifts bought and wrapped for the girls. I did most of my shopping on line. Now I didn't do it online because I'm lazy, I did it because I didn't want to fight the crowd. It works for me and I still have my Christmas smile. I have a few more things to do before I'm finished but for the most part I am done.

I decorated my tree in Red & White with lots of Candy Cane's. Haylee came in and saw the presents and said, "Mimi, can we open them". I told her we still have 20 days till Christmas. She put the sad face on but only a few seconds and asked to watch a Christmas movie.

I also keep busy spending time with my little Princessess. I can't tell you how much they mean to me. Life is smiles with these little beauties..

About Me

I have been married to Richie for almost 27 years. Can't imagine my life without him. He's a great husband, dad and papa. I know, I know, this is suppose to be about me. But I am all about my family.

Me, I am #2 of six kids. I have an older sister Becky, a younger sister Susie and 3 brothers between me and Susie ... Billy, Robert & Jimmy. I have 7 nephews and 6 nieces, 1 great nephew and 5 great nieces. Let me just say this about these numbers, they change every few months. There is always someone in this family that's having a baby or going to pretty soon. I have the greatest parents any one could ask for. I love being from a big family. Getting together for events and holidays is something else. :) :) :)

Now, here's the best part of me. My two kids and their families:

Daughter: Daisha, her husband Michael and their daughter Madyson. They have one on the way, another little girl. (remember, I told you those numbers change often in this family)

Son: Richie Von, his wife Amy (her father-in-law calls her Amos), and their daughters Haylee and Jamison.

I am known as Mimi to our grandbabies. I love taking care of the girls. Sometimes I have slumber parties for Haylee and Madyson and hopefully Jamison will join us soon. We color - we watch Disney movies - we build tents in the living room, turn off all the lights and get out flashlights for under the tents or lightflashes as Madyson calls them, we play with the little pet shops and read books. Haylee is the one that controls most of our events. Madyson goes along for the ride for the most part but I bet as she gets older that will change. We are learning to "share".

Haylee is our first little princess. She loves horses, Disney movies and her baby sister. She has almost every line and song in every Disney movie memorized. She has a beautiful singing voice with perfect pitch. She is our drama girl and has a heart the size of Texas. She lights up a room when she enters and demands the attention to be on her. She has to be the boss even over Mimi. She is growing up way too fast for Mimi.

Madyson is our second little princess. She loves the Doodlebops, her baby doll Bella and staying at Mimi's house. Bella goes everywhere with her, (bed, bath, store, potty, everywhere) She is so quick to learn anything. She talks better than any two year old I have been around. I think she has the photographic memory like her Uncle Schu. She will steal your heart. She is very loving and tender hearted. She loves her Papa and when she plays on the phone that's who she's talking to. If we are talking to Papa on the computer she is the one that controls the keyboard.

Jamison is our third little princess. She loves any kind of ball she can get her hands on and her momma is #1. The only man she will go to is her daddy but on occasion she lets Uncle Michael and Uncle Brian hold her. She has the most beautiful smile with dimples that will melt your heart. She talks up a storm but we can only understand about every 20 words. When the computer is on she is telling her Papa hi and bye because that is the only way she can talk to him right now. She is the best little thing, however, she is getting a little bit of that girly attitude. (If you have girls you know what I'm talking about) I can't wait for her to come to our slumber parties.

Sadie will be born in April 2009. We are very excited to have us another princess.

What do they say about little girls... "Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice, that's what little girls are made of". Well, guess what...it's true.