Monday. Monday. So good to me.

At least I'm really hoping it will be. 

Monday is hopefully Hopper's last visit to the orthopedic surgeon. If he releases her to full weight bearing status on Monday, it will make things so much easier around here.

It will end the need for a wheelchair, the wheelchair ramp, the shower transfer bench, possibly the walker and best of all...it will end the need for the dreaded bedside commode!

Don't get me wrong. They've all served their purpose, and we're very, very grateful to have had access to each and every one of them. However, at this point, we are more than ready to be rid of all of them!

Hopper has been confined to the living room, dining room and the Scooter's bedroom. The main bathroom would have been available for her to use, except that we tore it apart back in April. We were hoping to get the shower, toilet, and floor redone before Bugster & Bubster's wedding in July. Guess what we didn't get finished before Hopper broke her leg?

The result of us not finishing the remodeling project has been multiple trips up and down the stairs with the commode bucket every day since she's been home. 

Lest one wonder, it's been just as fun as it sounds.

Another fun result of not having finished the bathroom remodel is the adventure that is getting her down the stairs to the shower. The wheelchair doesn't fit past the edge of the cabinet in the kitchen, so at this point in the journey, she uses the walker until she gets to the top of the stairs where she sits on her behind for the trek down. While we hold her left foot up, so she doesn't put any weight on it, she scoots down the flight of stairs. When she reaches the bottom, she uses the walker once again to get into the bathroom and onto the transfer bench in the shower.


We reverse the process to get her back upstairs and back into her wheelchair. It isn't nearly as physical a process for us as it was when she first got home from the hospital. She's able to help hold her weight more than she could then, but it's still exhausting.


To say it's been a bit disruptive to the norm of our everyday lives is an understatement, and we're all ready for things to get back to normal around here. 


Whatever *normal* is.

The good, the bad and the ugly.

Woke up from a nightmare this morning. Heart racing. Palms sweating.


We were apparently staying with the in-laws, but they decided in the middle of our stay to go out of town, and we had the house to ourselves. I got out of the hot tub (they don't have one, so I'm thinking that came in to the picture from the stiffness in my body over the weekend), and went into the kitchen to fix something for everyone to eat, but when I went in there, I couldn't believe the mess.


The dishes were piled high everywhere. There was trash that hadn't been thrown in the garbage can and was sitting precariously perched here and there. My heart sunk. I walked through the other rooms of the house, and I couldn't believe what a mess it was. There were clothes strewn everywhere. There floor was covered. I couldn't even find the swimsuit I'd taken off when I got out of the hot tub for the clutter.


My heart sank. 


It was then I realized we'd been in town for several days and hadn't even taken the time to visit my brother, and we had to leave in the next few days. I woke up to the realization that it was going to take at least 2 full days of cleaning to get the house in order. 


What a rough way to wake up. I've got a knot in the pit of my stomach. I am sure the stress of not being able to accomplish much of anything since we got home a little over 2 weeks ago. I am motivated, however, to kick some major butt today in the house!


We woke up Saturday morning feeling much better, and we were able to meet Bugster to go wedding dress shopping. She looked amazing! We were also able to find something for Hopper and me to wear to the wedding. We've had Scooter's outfit for over a year, but I'd been stressing over the rest of us. Hopper hates dressing up even more than her dad, which says a lot, but we settled on a colorful ankle-length broomstick skirt and blouse that matched one of the colors. She was happy with it, and because she sees Scooter wear skirts like that all the time, we figured she'd be comfortable wearing it. 


What a relief!


Seriously! A huge relief! Things will go so much more smoothly, if Hopper is comfortable in what she's wearing and doesn't freak out. She wore a shorter skirt when we took Hubster out yesterday for Father's Day, and she freaked a little. She doesn't like the attention that wearing new clothes brings, so it was a rough start to an otherwise great day out, and by the time we were halfway through dinner, she was talking about how cute her outfit was. It was worth getting the stress out of the way now, even though it did put a bit of a damper on the celebration to start.


We were able to pick up a pair of black jeans the hubby will be wearing for the wedding and got them washed and hung to dry, so they don't fade. He won't take any chances by wearing them before the big day. We still have to find a dress shirt for Hubster and get some shoes for us girls, but otherwise we're set. I am so relieved! It's weighed on my mind a lot, and it's just one more big thing off The List.


Another big one marked off? I finally finished the paperwork that had me so stressed out since we got home from vacation. It was dropped in the mailbox at the post office last night. Thankfully, it's just being mailed here in town, so it shouldn't take long for it to get there, and hopefully everything will get straightened out in short order.


I've got entirely too much to do, but I'm hoping I get enough done today I'm not dreaming stressful dreams about the inlaws and the house again. 


I'll be starting in the refrigerator. Found out the hard way that it's not a good idea to lay an opened bottle of sparkling apple cider on it's side, even if the cap is back on as tight as it will go. 


:::sigh:::

Dancing with Daddy

Last year when Bugster and Bubster got married, there wasn't really a reception. They got married at the courthouse just after 5, when the judge was available. We then went to a neat little pizza joint, where we surprised them with the wedding cake I made, and we hung out with them for a couple of hours that evening. But there wasn't a reception in a formal sense. 


This year, things will be more formal. They will have a ceremony, followed by a reception. There will be eating and dancing and toasting and hopefully, some pinata demolishing.


And with my nephew's wedding just days away, I started thinking of the traditions of a reception. The first dance for the bride and groom. The father/daughter dance. The mother/son dance. The money dance, where as many people as can pin money to the bride and groom to dance with them for a moment before the next person steps in, all in attempt to give the happy couple a little extra cash with which to start their lives. And of course, we mustn't forget The Hokey Pokey. 


They are going to have a blast!


As my mind wandered down this train of thought, it wandered to my own wedding reception 25 years ago, when Daddy asked me, if he "could have this dance."


I remember being a bit embarrassed when I admitted that I didn't know how to officially dance. I mean, I danced with Hubster, but not a Waltz or a Two Step. I could only dance Clingon. As in I would Clingon to Hubster, and he would Clingon to me. Which, incidentally, is the only dance either of us knows to this day. 


But when I think of that dance with Daddy, I can feel the butteflies in my stomach all over again, my eyes begin to well with tears, and the smile cannot be wiped from my face. I feel his hand on my waist and the rough, calloused hands of a man who worked for a living under my fingertips.


I had the giggles. I was nervous, even though I knew Daddy wouldn't judge my lack of dancing ability. But I wanted to please him. I wanted to do it right. I wanted to make him proud.


He sensed my nervousness, likely, because I was stiff as a board. He told me to relax.


"There's nothing to it."


"Just follow my lead."


"Those were my toes."


School girl giggles. 


"I'm glad you're happy. Hubster seems like a fine young man."


"Thanks, Daddy. I am happy. And he is an amazing man."


"I said I'd lead!"


Hysterical giggles.


"You're doing fine."


"But just follow me. I'll lead."


The giggles turned to guffaws, as we joked and teased one another, and I stepped on Daddy's toes repeatedly, as I tried to lead, without knowing the first thing about dancing. It was such an intimate moment with my daddy, and it's one I will cherish for the rest of my life. 


I want that for Bugster. I'm trying to talk Hubster into learning a Two Step or a Waltz, so he can have that experience with Bugster, too, but even a Clingon will do.


Because they both need to experience that intimacey and closeness and the giggles that only a father/daughter dance can bring about. 
So that years from now, when Bugster is driving 1000 miles across country to go to a cousin's wedding, she can tear up at the wonderful and fond memories of that special dance with her daddy. 


So she can still feel the butterflies of excitement, fun and nervousness of dancing with her daddy.


So she can feel the calloused hand of a man who works for a living beneath her fingertips.


Because everyone needs to have something so wonderful that nothing can wipe the smile from their face at the mere memory.


This post was written in the car on the way to our nephew's wedding a couple of weeks ago. It is dedicated to the best dad in the entire world, who we lost too soon 4 years ago this week, because it's always too soon to lose someone as beloved as he was and is. I miss you, Daddy, but I'm so very thankful God gave you to us kids as our very own Daddy! I love you from the bottom of my heart, and I can't wait to see you again someday. 

Neither snow, nor rain, nor dark of night, nor rain, etc., etc., nor rain...

No. I don't work for the US Postal Service. But we've needed to rely on their motto to make it to our nephew's wedding. The weather has been horrid at best, and it's caused signficant delays along the way. A thousand mile trek is long enough in it's own right. Add torrential rain, hail,wind, and fog, and it gets a lot longer.


I'm not complaining. Really, I'm not. I'll take the delays we've had due to bad weather (the first 230 miles took 5.5 hours to drive on the interstate due to hail, rain, and accidents) over the tornadoes and flooding that so many in our country have dealt with in the last several weeks. The delays are simply an inconvenience. They're not actually life altering.  So like I said. I'm not complaining. We are incredibly thankful for the safe trip we've  had so far.


It's amazing to see all the different hues of green in the landscape of the Midwest. From the lush green grasses to the budding trees and the newly plowed and planted fields, (one of my favorite sights ever), it reminds me that there is life out there that is bigger than my own. That my existence is but a drop in the cosmic bucket of life. It's a nice reminder. It doesn't make me feel small and insignificant, but rather it reminds me that I'm part of a bigger picture. A picture that is ever changing. 


Growing.

And growth is good.


Growth is change.


We've talked a lot about how things have changed over the years. The last time we made a 1000 mile trip was well over a decade ago. If the car broke down, we had to hope for a passing car to stop and help us out or hope to limp into the next town without ruining the car completely. We had to have maps stowed away in the glovebox to be spread out in the front seat, so we could see where we were going. Back then, it seemed like a much bigger problem, if we missed an exit.


Now, we can call the tow truck ourselves from the safety of our car, rely on GPS to make sure we don't make a wrong turn, and browse the internet on our way across the country. We can find out with the click of a few buttons, if there are any stores in the upcoming miles where we can buy much needed toiletries or snacks and what their hours of operation are. We can call the Highway Patrol of any state to report a drunk driver, an accident, or a fallen tree that's impeding traffic. 


We'd have to bring books of all sorts and games to try to keep the kids occupied in the backseat in days gone by to keep the, "She's touching me!"s to a minimum. Now there are MP3s and personal DVD players and portable electronic games to fight over. They have an upside, though, because they give a kid more to do than to fight or get sea sick while trying to read when the wind picks up.


Yep. Growth and progress are good.


Except when they aren't. 


Like when the little gadgets that keep a person entertained entertain them so well that they no longer no how to connect with people around them. Like when a person is so wrapped up in the video game/phone call/text/Facebook/MySpace/instant message thing that they don't even realize their family is falling apart. 


Or on a much smaller note like when the newly purchased headphones and MP3 player that Hopper was using disappeared sometime during our overnight stay in Lincoln, and we didn't realize it until we got to Des Moines, and poor Hopper had a total meltdown, because she loves music, and it soothes her and makes a 1000 mile trip more bearable. Thankfully, we'd stopped at a Target store when we noticed, so we were able to replace them without too much of a fuss, but not before the stress level was raised fourfold. My back is still spasming from it.


Then, about an hour outside our final destination, we hear Hopper from the backseat...

"Ha ha! Find it!" 


...as she pulled it from a pocket in her bag that somehow had been missed when we tore the back seat apart looking for the thing.


Yep. Technology is a good thing.


Another good thing about technology? It can allow for you to call en route to a wedding 1000 miles away and pretend you're not able to make it, so it can be a fun surprise that you actually made it.
As long as it's used for good and not evil, technology can be a wonderful thing.


Bwahahaha


And yes. They were surprised. 


In a really good way. 

Clarifications and then some.

I feel I need to clarify something about yesterday's post.

It was very difficult to admit I was having such difficulty dealing with the loss of my dream of our daughter's wedding. I knew I'd been having problems with it for some time, but I had no idea what the problem was. I just knew that every time Bugster would want to talk about the more formal wedding ceremony that they'll be having sometime next year, I would either get irritated or start crying. And I had no idea what the problem was.

Shortly after I went through dealing with the tote of yard toys, Bugster and I were on the phone. She started asking me questions about next year's celebration, and I got a huge lump in my throat, but I didn't have any idea what triggered it. So I told her I needed to get off the phone. That I couldn't talk about the wedding right then, and that I'd talk to her later.

She asked what was wrong. I told her I had no idea. I didn't. I had no clue. I told her that I wasn't sure what it was, but that I would be blogging about it, because I knew I had to deal with things. So she did know the post was coming, but neither of us knew what was wrong. And as I started to write my post, I realized there was a lot that I hadn't dealt with, and it seemingly came from nowhere.

I just knew that whatever it was that was wrong I needed to face. It is totally unfair to Bugster for me to cry or get irritable every time she brings up next year's 'shindig', as she calls it. I'm sure she would eventually pick up on the fact that it happened every time the wedding was brought up. It would take all the fun out of any dreams that she had for their ceremony next year, and it would not be fair. At all.

So I faced it. And I feel bad for Bugster being sad that I was sad, but I'm okay now. Really. And we were able to talk a bit, and we're both fine, and we're on to planning next year's wedding. And she sprung it on me tonight that *I* am responsible for making the wedding cake! I'm not sure, how I'll do it, or if I'll try to do something along the line of the one I made this year for them. Next year, I'll definitely start planning it more than a week before the wedding, though. And I'll do what I can to practice on birthday cakes, so I can do the best job I'm capable of doing. I just hope it lives up to her (and my) expectations.

So there you have it. Things turned out quite well, and I'm feeling much better than I was when I wrote yesterday's post.

Actually, *better* is a bit of a subjective term.

I did accomplish quite a bit out on the porch today, but I just wanted to get busy, so I decided to forgo the shower. Yeah. We all know where this is leading, don't we?

I'd gone downstairs to start yet another load of laundry from the 'last 9 years pile' when I discovered water all over the laundry room floor. We have sewer back ups from time to time, so I assumed it was the sewer backing up. The spot on the floor was right near the drain, and the swath it cut was the appropriate size for a sewer backup, so I called the emergency number for the water district. They came out and checked the lines in the street. Unfortunately, this is something that happens at least once a year, sometimes 3 times a year.

They cleared the line, even though things didn't appear to be blocked as a precaution, and I appreciate it ever so much. They did ask, though, if I would please run the washing machine on a rinse/spin cycle, so I could see, if the water was still coming up from the drain. So I ran downstairs, turned the washing machine on, and glanced over at the floor again.

I was surprised to see that the water hadn't drained very well. It looked almost like there was a leak, because the water was still pooled in areas. When I looked a little closer, I noticed water dripping off the water heater. Actually, it wasn't quite dripping. It was running. We looked up the symptoms after we sent the water district employees on their way, and it appears to be the pressure valve.

And while a pressure valve isn't all that expensive, the heater is already 9.5 or 10 years old. So we really probably shouldn't put any money into trying to fix it, since the average life of a water heater is only 10 years anyway. So we've got that going for us.

Oh. Yeah. The point I started to make earlier?

I didn't get my shower today.

Oh joy.

Whadda ya get? Pruuuney fingers!

My nephew got married about a month before our oldest daughter got married. He lives several states away, and we were not able to get to his wedding. They are having another ceremony a year from now, I think, but I'm not sure we'll be able to make it to it, either. It just depends on so many things. However, we will be visiting family soon, and we'll be having a bit of a family reunion. So I've decided to make them a pinata for a belated wedding gift. They can use it at the family reunion, or they can save it and use it at the reception for their official wedding ceremony. It's up to them.

I've made pinatas for a couple of my brothers who got married several years ago. They turned out really cute. I wish I knew where the pictures were, and I'd post them, but I have no clue where they might be. Maybe someday...

One brother collected Mickey Mouse stuff his entire life. He just loved Mickey. So as a bachelor, he had the Mickey phone, the sheets, the pillows, etc. It was just a part of who he was, and it was really kind of neat. So the pinata I made when he got married was the head of Mickey Mouse. However, one side of the head was Mickey and the other was Minnie. Minnie wore a veil, a pearl necklace, false eyelashes that went out to here, and blush. Mickey had a top hat and a bow tie.

We bought 3 5lbs bags of candy to fill it, and I apparently made it a bit too strong. After all the kids had gone through blindfolded, they then went through several times w/o blindfolds to hit it. Eventually people were getting a bit restless, so the men in the family took a baseball bat to it with no blindfold, and it still took several swings for it to break open. Still, I'd rather have a pinata that is tough to break than to have it break with the first hit and leave the little kids without a turn at it.

A couple of years later, another brother got married. He'd loved elephants from the time he was tiny. He'd collected quite a few over the years, so it was a no-brainer to choose to make a Mr. and Mrs. Dumbo pinata. Again they shared the same head and ears. But this time they both held flowers. Dumbo held his trunk way out in front of him and had a single red rose in the tip of his trunk, like he was presenting it to his bride. I can't recall, if he had a top hat, but I think he did as well as a bow tie. Mrs. Dumbo held her trunk much closer and it was curled around a little bouquet of roses as though it were her bridal bouquet. She also had the false eyelashes, rouge and veil. I can't remember, if she had the pearl necklace, but I think she did. They never broke it, and as far as I know, it still has 15lbs of candy in it. They've been married for over 10 years now, so I don't know how much I'd trust that candy!

I included a little card with each of the pinatas with the verse from Genesis 2:24 on it. "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." The pinata was just my very loose artistic interpretation of the Bible verse. Everyone loved it, and I always thought of how I wanted to make one again.

Enter my nephew and his new wife stage left. The only thing is that I'm not sure what they like. So I'm going to do a moose....er...a Mr. and Mrs. Moose. I'm not sure how close it will look to Bullwinkle, but I'm leaning somewhat in that direction. It will at least involve a two-sided moose head. And once again, I'll make sure I enclose a note card with Genesis 2:24.

I got started on making it today. I put the first 6 coats of paper on the balloon. I'm hoping it will be dry enough tomorrow I can add the string and 6 more coats of paper. If not, I'll just work on the smaller balloons that will be the tips of the noses. My fingers are going to be so wrinkled and pruned for a few days. That's okay. It's for a good cause.

I'll take pictures as I go along and post them all in one post when it's done.

And I'll be using plenty of lotion before bed!

The great cake fiasco.

Friday before the wedding, I asked our oldest what they had planned for a cake. They hadn't. They figured that anyone who wanted dessert could get it from the pizza joint they were going to for dinner after the ceremony at the courthouse. So I decided to make some phone calls. I thought it would be fun to have a little cake there for them. Something. Anything. A wedding seems somehow incomplete without a cake to me. You know?

I just thought maybe it would be fun to get them something different. They'd never had a donut cake before, so I thought I'd call around and see, if I could find one locally. A donut cake is literally a huge donut filled with Bavarian Cream and iced with chocolate or vanilla icing. I thought it would be different and fun, but I couldn't find anything withing 100 miles. I did ask for a call back from a bakery who thought they might be able to do one, but I didn't get the return call until three days before the wedding. At that point, it was a little too late.

So silly, silly me decided Sunday morning, a mere 5 days before the wedding, to make a cake for them. However, I have no experience whatsoever with making cakes.


When I make birthday cakes, I'm usually in such a hurry that I make a cake in a 9x13" and frost it in the pan, buy one, or cover a roll of toilet paper to look like a German Chocolate cake. That's it there in the picture.







In fact, I think I've literally made 1 layer cake in the 24 years we've been married. I just get so busy around birthdays that I never seem to have the time to even try with one. So I have no idea what prompted me to think I could manage making a wedding cake, let alone a fondant covered cake.

Before we left the house on Sunday, I printed off 8 40% off coupons for Hobby Lobby, but since Hobby Lobby was closed, we went to JoAnn's. It just made more sense to give it a try and have the supplies for future cakes than to spend extra money on a cake to have it made in a rush. We scurried to get the supplies I needed before our daughter met us for some last-minute wedding shopping. I didn't want her to know what I was attempting for two reasons. If it didn't turn out, then she wouldn't be disappointed, and if it did turn out, it would be a fun surprise.

While I was shopping, the hubby went through the checkout line for me repeatedly saving 40% on supplies each time he went through and used a coupon. They were really good about all of it, and I know we couldn't have gotten the supplies without the coupons. Plus I have all the stuff to make future birthday cakes.

Wouldn't you know that I forgot the cake pans? I have a silicone cake pan my husband bought me as a gift one year, and I like it just fine. But I like it for cooking in the microwave. For some reason, I have the worst time trying to bake cakes in them. Some instructions say you still have to grease silicone pans. Others say you don't. And yet others say to grease and flour it. But I always have such a hard time getting the cakes out of the pan. They always come out in pieces, but I still gave it a try.

So Monday night, I tried my first cake. In the silicone pan. I followed the high altitude directions for it, but the cake came out as crumbly and coarse and yellow - not white. And I really wanted it to seem like a wedding cake. And wedding cakes are white, and moist, and dense, and not crumbly. Hah. I piled myself into bed around 1:00a.m Monday night. I was exhausted. And I still had to clean the kitchen counter off and figure out this whole cake baking thing.

Tuesday came early. After getting the kids off to school, I worked on getting the kitchen cleaned up.I really wanted to work on the cake some more, but I knew I needed to get the kitchen cleaned, if I was going to be able to relax enough to concentrate on doing the cake. By the time the hubby came home, the countertop was cleared, and I was ready to try my hand at baking again. He'd stopped and gotten me a couple of sets of metal cake pans to use, so I got them washed up and popped them in the oven with a fresh batch of cakes. This time, I only used cake whites, and the cake was whiter, but it still stuck in the pan. Plus, of all things, the oven turned off in the middle of the cycle, and the cakes didn't finish baking like they should have. It was a mess, and I was stressed.

So I crawled into bed after 1:00 a.m. again and just died. Got up at 5:15 to get the girls off to school and realized that it was an early release day. It was one exceptionally stressful day with our middle daughter freaking out over bringing the trash cans up to the house early, and the youngest one being obstinate about wearing her glasses. Because I was so swamped and so stressed, hubby ran to the grocery store and got me three more cake mixes (this time without pudding in the mix), so we could maybe have a white cake and not a yellow one.

He went to work, and I set to cleaning cake pans and trying to find high altitude directions on the cake mixes. Yeah. There weren't any. And even though I followed the directions on the package to a T, and they turned out white, they were very, very fragile cakes. At this point, though, I'd already baked 6 sets of cakes - 5 different white cakes and 1 chocolate. And the wedding was the day after tomorrow!

So I threw the cakes in the freezer to firm up while I made homemade buttercream frosting. I needed to frost the cakes in order for the fondant to stick. So I got busy with that, and did a quick crumb coat on the cakes and stuck them back in the fridge to harden while I attempted to color the fondant.

Coloring the fondant wasn't as difficult as I'd expected, and I have to admit that I got motivated as I saw the colors turning out right. But by the time I'd gotten the fondant colored and the ladybug parts cut out, it was once again well past midnight. So I crawled into bed again. After all, 5:15 comes early, and I had to finish getting ready for my Mom's arrival and I had to get some rest. I had to be done with the cake before our daughter came over to spend the night before her wedding with us.

Thursday was a bit of a blur. I got busy as soon as we got the girls out the door and on the bus to school. I had to make even more buttercream to ice the cakes with and got that out of the way. Even though I had the ladybug parts cut out, I still had to roll out the fondant and I'd never done that before. Still. It seemed to go fairly smoothly. Until I actually put in on the cake.

I'm not sure, if it was just no longer pliable enough, or if it was too floppy, but I ended up with extra folds on the cake. No matter how I tried to smooth them down, I couldn't seem to make them disappear.







So I rolled even more out and made a grass border to cover it up. At this point, there was only about 29 hours to go before the wedding, and I had to do something.






When my husband woke up and was on his way to shower for work, he stopped by the kitchen. He only had one word to say. "Unbelievable!" I wasn't even finished with the grass yet, and I hadn't gotten the daisies on, either, but I figured that was a pretty good sign.


So I finished throwing it together, got it boxed up, and had him take it downstairs and hide it until he could take it to the pizza joint before the wedding the next day.

Then I cleaned up the mess I'd made in the kitchen, hid all the decorating supplies, so our daughter wouldn't see them when she came over later that night, and dragged myself to the shower. Oh. And I sent a few pictures of the cake to friends.

All in all, I think I did okay for a first attempt. I know I'll do things differently the next time. And I know for sure that I'll be looking for a non-fragile cake recipe, so the cake doesn't get lumpy on the sides from collapsing on itself. It really didn't look that way before the fondant. It's all a learning adventure, right?

Most importantly, the kids were surprised, and they had a wedding cake for their special day.

My mom, the straight man.

Let me just start by saying that I can never seem to get anything over on my daughter. I guess I'm not good at keeping secrets from her or at least at not keeping a straight face when I'm trying to pull something on her. So the fact that we pulled this off was huge...

A week or so before the wedding, I finally convinced Mom to come for the wedding. I'm still not sure how I did it, but I'm so glad I did! She said that the only way she'd come, is if we didn't tell our oldest. Which also meant I couldn't tell our middle daughter, because she'd tell everyone! So I told our youngest daughter, because...well, being non-verbal, she can keep a secret! It helped me, and it sure made her happy! And even though he knew it was supposed to be a surprise, my hubby almost gave it away on a few occasions. He covered well, though, and she didn't suspect a thing.

Mom would be flying in on Thursday night. The night before the wedding. A couple of days before they were to get married, I got a text from our daughter saying she wanted to spend the night before her wedding at our house and get ready here. It couldn't have been more perfect. So we made plans to watch Survivor and eat pizza with her little sisters. We'd make a night of it.

However, we were so excited when she got there that we kept pausing the tv to say something, and it took almost an hour and 45 minutes to watch Survivor. At one point, we even had to pause the tv, when Mom called from the airport during a layover. She talked to both me and our oldest and told us all about my nephew's ballgame she was supposedly attending. It was perfect timing and added credibility to her not being able to make it for the wedding. It was just perfect all around.

Except for the fact that when she called me back 2 minutes later to tell me what time the 'ballgame' was, she was laughing hysterically when I replied, "Good. I'm glad you'll have plenty of time to get there!" I have no idea how I kept a straight face! Inside, I was squealing and screaming with excitement. I even caught myself smiling at the tv when I was thinking about it and having to get myself under control. It was hard work!

The younger girls are used to going to bed really early, so they went to bed 15 minutes or so before we finished watching our show, and they were asleep by the time I left 20 minutes later. Mom's plane was supposed to land at 9:10 or so, and by the time we got done with Survivor, my stomach was flipping with excitement.

At 8:45, I told our oldest that I'd forgotten that I had to run to Target. Would she mind sitting with the girls? Then I ran in the bathroom and freshened up a bit and brushed my hair. I mentioned that I should change my shirt, because it's rather worn, but she said, "Mom, it's only Target. It's not like you need to dress up!" (I realized then that I couldn't change clothes, or she'd suspect something). "What are you getting, anyway?" When she asked what I was getting, I had to act offended and like it was a gift she couldn't know about. She accused me of being obvious. I had to do everything I could not to bust up laughing and give something away. I can never seem to surprise her. It drives me nuts.

I finally got out the door and had my cell phone in hand to call my sister who knew all that had been going on. I had to actively remind myself to be securely locked in my car before I dialed, because I was afraid my voice would carry, and our oldest would be able to hear me in the house. I felt like I was going to burst!

So I called my twin sister, and we talked and laughed while I drove to the airport and tried to figure out where I was going. I'd only been to the airport one other time, since we seem to drive everywhere we go, so it was an adventure. One I got to share with my sister. It was so much fun, and I'll cherish the memories forever! I didn't realize exactly how close we lived to the airport, and I actually had time to burn before going in to pick up Mom, so we had more time to talk.

Being in such a silly mood, I decided to make a sign and hold it up for Mom. After all, it had been a few years since we'd seen each other, and I didn't know, if she'd remember what I looked like. I got a piece of notebook paper out of my purse that I'd written a list on, and I wrote MOM in pen on the back, since I didn't have a marker with me. I made the O into a ladybug, and I held it impatiently in front of me while I waited to see Mom's face.

My sister asked for me to have my phone on speaker, so she could hear everything as it happened, but I found out later she couldn't hear a thing. I'd pick up the phone every once in awhile and talk to her, but for the most part, it felt like I was just holding my breath in anticipation. I think 3 planes all landed within 10 minutes of each other, and I thought I'd never see Mom come through the crowd. Well, I guess I didn't. At least 200 people came by before she did, and there was no crowd around her by the time she came down the ramp. She was alone. She'd thought that I would be picking her up where she deplaned, so she'd sat down and waited for me. I'm so glad she didn't wait too long!

I was SO excited to finally see her, and it killed me that I couldn't walk to meet her, because of the safety restrictions, so I just willed her to walk fast. We couldn't seem to talk fast enough or hug hard enough. She didn't have to wait for luggage, so we headed out to the car after calling my sister back and letting her know Mom made it in okay. Then we began to plan how we were going to surprise our oldest daughter, and we hardly had time to get it straight before I pulled up in front of the house.

My twin sister wanted to be able to hear the surprise unfold. So I called her on my cell phone, and walked into the house while talking to her. That way, the bride-to-be wouldn't question me being on the phone that late, and she'd be able to hear everything. In the meantime, Mom called her granddaughter to talk to her a bit more and would wait in the car for a few minutes before coming in. I don't know for sure what they were talking about. Mom was asking for me, but I was asking our daughter to talk to her, because I was on the phone with my sister. Our daughter was definitely confused by all of it.

Whatever they were talking about, it had our sweetheart's attention. She was engrossed in conversation when the door squeaked a little bit and Mom walked in. You should have heard the blood curdling scream! Followed by sobbing. And laughing. And screaming. And more laughing. And the blubbering continued for at least 20 minutes. It was priceless! And on the other end of my cell phone was my twin sister sobbing over the beauty of it all.

And it was beautiful. And it made our daughter's night. It made all of everyone's night!

Mom helped make our daughter's wedding complete. Thank you, Mom. We love you with all our hearts!

I will forever be grateful that Mom gave the gift of herself to our daughter for her wedding.

One tired mother...in-law.

I am SO exhausted. What a long few days!

I'll write more about it tomorrow, probably, but I'll tease you a little about upcoming posts...

1. The wedding and details-including a sweet surprise from our daughter first thing in the morning!

2. The first surprise of the weekend for dd...my mom flying in a a surprise! It was a complete surprise!

3. The second surprise of the weekend...I attempted my first ever fondant cake for their wedding. Shoot. I think I'd only done one other layer cake in my life. So it was pretty much a first all around. All in all, I was pleased.

4. My sister's little ladybug miracle. It's pretty neat. :)

Right now...I'm beyond exhausted. I'm going to bed now, and I will write as I have time in the next few days. I'll post pictures, too. I promise. :)

The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get.

So. In the midst of the chaos that is the day before any wedding, we realized we still had to pay our state taxes. It's not like I didn't have other plans! Sheesh!

Got it out of the way, but I feel like I could jump out of my skin. Just glad it's done.

Got my 'project' finished. So, Dear Daughter #1, if you're reading this, you'll find out what it is tomorrow. :D

I've been up since 5:15 this morning. That was a full 8.25 hours ago. Which isn't that big a deal, if you're getting your sleep and aren't stressed. It will be a good 10 hours or more before I'll be in bed. I want a nap now!

Hoping I'll still get a chance to blog tomorrow. I guess I'll have to play it by ear.

Right now - I'm off to take a much needed shower to hopefully wake me up for the rest of my day!

Ramblings

I got absolutely nothing done toward dehoarding today, but I had a lot of fun! We went shopping for last minute stuff our younger girls need to wear for the wedding. Found exactly what we were looking for, which is good.

I got the skirts they're wearing ironed tonight. Our oldest loves, loves, loves ladybugs, and she's thrilled about the skirts. They're red satin w/black polka dots and a little bit of black crinoline sticking out from the bottom of the skirt. They'll wear black blouses w/white tank tops underneath and black leggings.

Our oldest will be wearing ladybug shoes when she ties the knot. Yep. Ladybug shoes. I'll post pictures eventually. It ought to be fun!

I thought of something I'll be doing for the big day, but I won't be writing about it until after the fact. If I write about it now, she'll probably read about it, and I don't want that to happen! (So, #1, if you're reading this...you're outta luck! :D)

I'll hopefully have more to write tomorrow and will get caught up on reading the blogs I haven't had time to read today.

I've got to get up at 5:15 to get the girls ready for school.

Don't you think that time should be illegal? It's entirely too early!!

Say what?

The other day, our oldest daughter dropped off a basket full of things she no longer wanted. I took what the younger girls could use and got rid of the rest. It was a painless thing and I didn't feel bad about it, because we'll use the things she brought over. The only thing I wondered about was the basket itself.

It's a wire basket with one of those canvas liners that Velcros in place and doesn't slide around. But the edge of it was bent, and the canvas itself had what appeared to be a coffee stain that was on it when it was given to our daughter. I was able to bend the wire back into shape fairly well, so I took the liner off, cleaned the dog hair off it with one of those lint rollers, and then I washed the liner. It shrunk a tiny bit, in spite of it being hung to dry, but there wasn't enough shrinkage to concern me. I needed to replace the blue basket that we'd given our youngest for her things a few weeks ago. We needed a basket for our scarves, gloves and mittens.

So tonight, I stitched the corners to the wire basket, so it wouldn't flop around too much, and stuck some of the gloves from the closet in it. I also cleaned off the shelf in the coat closet for the first time in a few years. The coat closet never gets too dirty, but the shelf hadn't been touched in quite awhile, and I had to clean it in order to put the basket up. If I put it under the coats, our youngest would forever be getting in it to get scarves out to play with. She's a bit obsessive about scarves and plays with them year round. I'll no sooner get them washed and put away when I notice that she's gotten them out again. So the basket is going on the top shelf of the closet, and she won't be able to see that the scarves are in there. Now I just need to wash the scarves, so I can get them put away until next Fall!

I got rid of most of what was on the shelf, which was a nice surprise. I did keep the big foam #1 fingers for the local baseball team, just in case we get to catch a game or two this summer. I still have to clean the bottom of the closet out and wash the winter coats before all is said and done. However, I also have to put some shelves back in under the coats. We had made a couple of shelves when we bought the house, but they're sort of rickety. We need to cut some more and get them in there, so we have a permanent place to store the phone book again.

I was thinking we might be able to get to that this weekend, when I realized that in actuality, we probably won't, so I'm not going to put a firm time limit on it. I'm just putting it toward the top of the to-do list. And actually, I could probably do it on my own, if I only had a piece of plywood to cut. I may have to run to the hardware store in the next few days.

Our oldest took me off guard tonight, when she mentioned that they'll be getting married next week. I knew it was coming up. I've known the date for quite awhile. But for some reason, it shocked me that it's already next week! It will just be a simple ceremony at the courthouse with her family and some close friends.

Still. I don't know that my mind will really be into making shelves for the coat closet. I guess we'll see!

I don't know how to title this. Doo da doo da day!

Got nothing done yesterday but getting my hair cut. I'm hoping it makes a difference with these huge knots that now comprise my shoulder.

Hung out with the family. Went shopping for dresses for our eldest's wedding. She's getting married in a couple of weeks at the courthouse. Then they're going to have an actual wedding a year from now when they're more set financially. We had fun. Didn't quite find the dress yet, but I'm sure she'll find something in time.

I am not sure, if it's just because my shoulders already hurt so much, or if it was all the noise or what, but the day was very stressful for me. The knots in my shoulders were double tied by the time we got done. I don't have any great fear of going out in public. At least I don't think I do. But it did feel like a heaping does of sensory overload. I guess I need to force myself out of the house a bit more often, so I get accustomed to being out in the fray again.

Hoping to get something accomplished today before going out with our oldest daughter again tonight to look at more dresses. I'm really hoping we can find one.

More than that, I'm looking forward to some alone time with our baby girl. :)