Alive

See this?



I refuse to touch it, because if I do, it will die.


Kelly brought these flowers home from school and transplanted them into this pot.

They are thriving!

I'm staying away from them.

Tools for Tots

I love this family!





I love how this former high school student, who welded together an amazing contraption with three wheels and a motor, now has this:

A sippy cup in his back pocket.


And he likes it.




Did I mention I love this family?

Get to Work!

Last month, there was "Bring Your Child to Work Day."

So, with Dr. D's permission, I did!



Miss Nancy had a ton of little projects for her to do.




I had a ton of filing for her to do.







I also brought her into the back and had her do some of the sterilization, but I didn't let her touch anything sharp.


The next day, Miss Nancy and I were wishing she was still there! She was so helpful!

Fragile

I bought Himself a new wedding band for our 25th Wedding Anniversary.

I talked extensively with the sales person about the best ring to purchase.

I told him how Himself is very rough with his hands, that he's always pounding on things (drummer) and he fidgets with his hands and ring quite a bit.

The sales person told me that Tungsten is the ring for him. He said it was the most scratch resistant of all the metals. He told me that stainless would discolor.


What he did NOT tell me, however, was that if it were dropped on a terrazzo floor, it would do this:







90 Days to the DAY of the purchase, we took it back to the jewelry store. My original sales person wasn't there so we we talked to someone else. I can't fully convey the ridiculousness of our conversation. She tried to convince me that ANYTHING dropped on a floor would break. She actually said, "If I were to drop my glasses or my phone on the floor, I know they would break." She even told me that she had a customer hit his with a hammer and complain when it broke.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Evidently, this ring is made of Tungsten CARBIDE. This makes it like ceramic, not steel. Tungsten Carbide will, indeed, shatter if dropped on a hard surface.

Had I known this, and knowing his habits, I would have walked away from this ring immediately.

New sales person told us we would have to pay $20 to ship the broken ring to the manufacture so they could send us a new one. I told her SHE could pay the $20 and give us a new ring. She said I was outside my 90 day exchange limit. I told her it was 90 days to the DAY and had the receipt to prove it. She told us she couldn't pay $20 for every person who came in with a broken ring. I shut up at this point, but Himself told her this was unacceptable.


She gave us a new ring.

I will be shopping for another ring, one made out of REAL metal and that will last for another 25 years.

Disappointment.

Snapshot

Have you ever had a completely innocuous event happen, but then when you look back at the photos, you realize it was actually momentous?


Sometimes I forget how much Ty hates for me to take his picture. I have countless photos of a scowling teen peering/glaring through his long hair, indicating that if I didn't put the camera down immediately I would be in big trouble.

Then he had a heart change. It seems as though he realized that it would take only a few seconds and history could be documented and he could move on with life. I now have photos of a smiling, adult son! (I'm thinking his Brown-Eyed Girl may have had something to do with it.) I'm so thankful for this!


Once in a while, though, he has simply had enough.


The night before Easter, when they were all coloring eggs, I was happily snapping away for documentation. They finished the eggs and cleaned up, and we had all gathered onto the big red couch (AKA Red Mammoth). I was still taking pictures when Ty stuck his hand out like he hasn't done in a while:

"Will you stop taking pictures? Please?"



This next shot shows me in Mama Rebellion, stubbornly taking his photo again with the thought of, "Don't tell me what to do, young man! I'll take your picture if I darn well please!"


And there it is. There's the momentous occasion.


In the first photo, his other hand is beginning to reach for his ringing cell phone. In the second photo, he's walking away from the noisy women with his phone to his ear, answering it.



It was the call he had been waiting for, the call telling him he could lease the apartment he'd been asking about, and when could they meet?



My firstborn now has a Landlord and will be moving out June 1st, a month earlier than originally planned. We are SO excited for him!


Since then, there have been arrivals of furniture.
He borrowed a co-worker's truck so he could bring home his new couch.


Of course, we all had to test it, and then he covered it back up with the plastic to keep the dogs from it. Actually, I think he'd prefer concertina wire and laser beams with an alarm system to keep them from three feet of the couch!

Bed frame, coffee table, all are gathering in anticipation of his move. He has a place to sit, a place to sleep (once he gets the mattress) and a plan for table and chairs.

He: Get furniture for apartment.

Me: What's his color scheme?!?

He: Do laundry at Mom's.

Me: Do laundry at Mom's!

He: I could eat some meals at Mom's.

Me: Eat meals at Mom's!

He: Plans for Mega Media Setup.

Me: Eat meals at Mom's!


Himself and I could not be more proud of our son. He has done all we have asked him to do, and he has done it well. We have done all we could to prepare him for his future and he has a great job, great plans, and a great God. The time is so right for this milestone! Once again, I'm experiencing the pains of the season I'm in, but it's not in a wailing and weeping kind of way.

This is good and right and wonderful, but my firstborn is leaving forever. There are centuries, millennia of parents who have walked this path, and now I am one of them. Bittersweet, I look forward with great anticipation to all that comes next!

When the Cat's Away . . .

. . . at a dental convention in Chicago . . .


. . . and there are no patients on the schedule. . .


. . . and there are no hygienists scheduled that same day . . .







. . . .the mice. . ..





. . . wear colors!!!!

Our normal scrubs are black and khaki. The first time I went into the office on a doctor-out-of-town-and-no-hygiene-day, I couldn't believe the bright colors everyone was wearing to do their work! I planned and plotted and found these bright scrubs, then waited for my moment.

Tabitha didn't disappoint, either!

Tomatoes

We, along with several other families, each have a 10x10 garden plot at our church. There's also a few plots planted for those in need.

It's been a wonderful experiment!

I think we were the first family to get plants in the ground. A dear friend (and wise farmer) warned us that we may have been planting too early as there was still a frost to come.

The frost did indeed come and I thought my tomato plants were a goner. Surprisingly, they survived their pitiful, wilted state and came back stronger than ever!

Right now, until I can get Glenna and Kelly out there to plant more seeds, the tomatoes are the only thing left in our plot that yielded broccoli, cabbage and lettuce. The problem was the bugs were eating the tomatoes before we could! Since we only went out there once per week, I'd see one starting to ripen and think I would pick it the next week, but it'd be half eaten when I saw it again.

The solution was to pick then when they were still slightly green and let them ripen on our window sill.

Now I think of my Mom every time I walk into the kitchen. She always planted tomatoes, and there were always tomatoes ripening on the back of the sink.

Delicious!

Ink Blot Test?

I just got home from work, had kicked off my shoes, and was scanning blogs and emails.




I half listened as Kelly came into my room and said, "Mom, I'm going to hold up some items. I want you to tell me what you see. Do you see trash, or do you see something else?"




Thinking she was going to show me some modern art work, I slowly dragged my gaze to the foot of my bed where she was sitting. This is the sight that greeted me:

Rather than ink blots and modern art, Kelly was holding up each item of mail and papers that I had left on the table.

=/

=D

Where We Feel Appreciated!

For Administrator Appreciation Day, we were surprised by Dr. and Mrs. D with a basketful of goodies!

After our Morning Huddle, Neb asked Dr. D, "Is it time?" I was new to this, so I didn't know what she meant.



"Yes," he replied. "It's time."



That's when Neb started digging in to her basket. He didn't have to tell me twice!











Thank you, Dr. and Mrs. D! We certainly felt appreciated, and still do!

Where I Catch Kelly. . .

. . . with funny expressions.

Fun Times at the B's

As is tradition, we were invited to the B's for Easter Dinner.

As is also tradition, Mrs. B invited the girls to do a craft! They so look forward to this, and I know Mrs B does, too.



The peanut gallery:
They watched video clips on Mr. B's iPad instead of doing the craft.
















































Kelly and Abby decided to each make one earring without seeing what the other was doing.


Kelly's:


Abby's:

A Rare Sighting

All three of my babies in the kitchen, doing dishes.
Happiness, whether they're doing the dishes or not!

Kelly's now home from college and had to say goodbye to Abby until next year.



His Brown-Eyed Girl was there, too!
Since it was the night before Easter, she brought an egg coloring kit and they all colored eggs.

I wonder what happened to the eggs? I haven't seen them since that night!

My kitchen is SO small, and it cracks me up how we all crowd in there.

It's Your Birthday!

Happy Birthday NEB, the most amazing Financial Coordinator in the world!



So glad we were able to celebrate with you during Cinco de Mayo!




So glad you didn't know what I was saying when I told the waitress, "Es el cumpleaño de ella."

Where'd you go?



Team D Dental!
Love my team members!