August 2012 Thread!!!

[BlessedMama]

Ooohhh, Rose! Sounds like a nice deal and getaway! Praying you can make a good decision when it comes down to it!

Jennifer, glad C is home and know you're anxiously awaiting the other arrival(s)!

I need to get some breakfast--I usually have broth, get too busy, and then mid-morning go "Oh yeah! Breakfast sounds nice!"

to everyone!

[okasanbear]

It has been really hot here recently, and the inside of our home is just really uncomfortable sometimes getting as hot as 40 degrees C. We have a few fans...but it is just HOT!
I try to have the kids do their summer homework for school before it gets too hot, but doesn't always happen. Outside is not much easier to handle, but the kids and I are doing our best!
I am on a mission to make sure that the kids are drinking enough liquids and pushing them all day!!! I too have been drinking a ton of water, and yesterday I think I guzzled all day long!
Unfortunately, I was thirsty in the evening so I drank a big bottle of water.
Last night I was up about 7 time to use the restroom! Not much sleep for me, but my dh pretty much sleeps through everything, but this a.m. he was very concerned and asked me if I was feeling o.k. It was kind of funny to tell him that I just drank a lot of water yesterday since we were so hot all day!!!! He wasn't sure what to think!!!!

One good thing about this heat wave and sweating all day every day, is that I am losing weight!!! Yeah! 8 kilos so far, I am just not interested in food at all, and since our kitchen is the hottest room in the house and cooking in here is just miserable...I cook for the kids and then dont want to eat it! I just want cold fruit!!!

I didnt say it in the other post I wrote, but the big problem with my IL was that they forced the kids to go to the altar and pray to the ancestors.
uh NO!!!! So I worked with the kids on what to say next time they demand something like that. GRRRRRR I know they wouldn't have done it if I were there.

hugs to all
JONI
Joni

[okasanbear]

Rose, I am so excited for you!!! Will be fun to see what the Lord has in mind for all of you!! Yeah for the pampering, and the trip!!!

Trisch, praying for you and your family!

hugs to all
Joni

[just7]

Joni! I want to growl with you!! What did dh say about his parents forcing the children to pray at the altar?
Rose--oh enjoy the house hunting. I LOVE looking at houses!

Worked some in the garden yesterday. There is tall grass throughout it. I was pulling that and tying up tomato plants. I went out twice and came back in after a while and then my arms started itching and burning. I think it is that tall grass. I dread picking beans because I know that always gives me a rash. Maybe I'll wear one of dh's 'work' shirts...long sleeved button down shirts that he wears in the winter when he is working out in the garage.

Have a great day everyone!

[BlessedMama]

Oh JONI! I would be mad over that, too! Glad you were able to talk with them, but oh! How sad!

Jennifer, I wouldn't want to work out there, either! I know you're getting anxious to have your honey home!

I'm just being lazy.....

[WendyD]

Rose - Sounds like an awesome trip! Yeah for the spa.

Joni - Hugs! It's so hard with the difference in culture. I know that it is hard to stand up to your parents. Good for you handing responsibility over to your DH for bathes. :-)

Jennifer - Everyone is almost home! Yeah! I miss working in the yard/garden/ I don't do it here because it's so blooming hot, I don't enjoy it. To me it's an exercise in how much can you sweat and be miserable. I used to though. Now, I just do quick hanging baskets for decoration.

I got my DS's hair cut today. Trying to get it together for school. I forgot to get his eyes checked this summer. Ugh! I was going through papers and found stuff from the eye doctor. How could I let that one go? I also meant to get their pictures done...nope, not done. Grr! I need a smack in the head. Ok, maybe just a to do list....

[MommyRose]

I miss working in the yard/garden/ I don't do it here because it's so blooming hot, I don't enjoy it. To me it's an exercise in how much can you sweat and be miserable.

Wendy, I'm thinking this is a common thought in Texas? I've noticed not a lot of flowers and landscaping (besides boxy bushes) around the houses themselves in the ads I see. I get that way here too...and its such a fight to keep everything alive and well in the high heat times and unless I get out their early then I've missed my window of opportunity.

Aw Joni! Not easy stuff! I'd have gotten mad too!!

As of today I now have a teenager in the house! Ack!! He's so very proud and happy to be 13! We're going to be adding more and more teenagers to the mix too...ought to get very, um...interesting.

[just7]

Yep---teenage boys---INTERESTING!!! Lol. It's a little scary when the 12 yo is maturing faster than the 14 yo!!! This week the 12 yo's voice is getting deeper and deeper. Almost unrecognizeable!!! He's not as physical as his brother---maybe it's just that the 14 yo is like a workhorse and so his 'teenage' hormones are channeled better??? I don't know but 12 yo was driving me crazy last night.

Never did get out into the garden yesterday! I had a super stressful morning and then had lunch with my son-in-law's mom. Hey--she was one of my best friends long before our children married!!! Ha ha. When I got back, dd's family had just left and my nephew as well. I just had to enjoy the 'quiet'. Should have donned that long sleeved shirt and enjoyed the quiet in the garden though. It's raining and doesn't sound like it will let up any time soon. Guess I'll get the house in pristine shape for dh's homecoming!!!

[WendyD]

Joni - Ugh on the heat! I really don't care to eat when it's hot. Congrats on the kilo loss! Even if it was sweat.

Rose - A teenager!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my!!!!! Congrats or condolences? I'm going with congrats. lol As for the gardening, the best way around it is to go with native plants to the area. What works for me in my part of houston, might not work for you in Austin. When I lived in Charlotte, NC I could plant pansies and they would last 9 months out of the year. Now I plant my pansies in Nov and they last about 3 months or so. My neighbor is a major gardener and she's done best with native plants, but she waters a ton. I'm keeping my hanging baskets alive via my rainbarrel right now. Watering is expensive where I am, but if you have a well it won't be a problem. You'd have fun learning about native plants. The most fun is spring when all of the wild flowers come up. We love to take a drive out toward Austin and San Antonio and find them. I love doing that here in Texas.

[just7]

Our Mommies must all be VERY busy!!

Just a quick check in---dh and ds made it back safely from Poland. DH took Monday off as well and we got away for lunch together. Of course, he was really starting to feel the jet lag set in so he had a bowl of soup. I wrote him letters while he was away as we had no contact other than that one quick phone call....that I wasted by talking about the POOL!! Although---his advice really helped! ha ha He had read my letters and so we were able to talk about so many things that had come up. Because he had already read about my thoughts and feelings (as well as detailing what had actually happened) we could move right into what we needed to do. I'm thinking (and he agreed) that I may just have to do that at times even though he is now home. There can be days and even a week or more where we hardly get any time together. If he has a bit of insight into what is going on and how I'm feeling about things or what I'm thinking, then when we do get a chance to sit down and talk, we will be that much further along. He hates to read, but he does say that he likes how I write....it gives him a better picture into my heart.

Our son had a great time working. He was the youngest member of the 33 member work team that went. He gained the title of Master Roofer. Our pastor even made a point of talking about him during the evening service on Sunday. DS even pointed out to others how to do something...dh says that ds was often right, too. He was also a great sport so he became the team mascot. One night he told Dad that he was changing into his bathing suit because the guys were tossing him in the lake. Dad asked WHY?? And ds said that he had lost a bet. DH asked if he was going to fight them about going in the water and ds said NO. He had lost the bet and it was the honorable thing to do to pay the consequence. Now--dh also said that ds was getting a bit "bold" for his breeches and needed to be taken down a peg or two...but I guess he is developing into his "manhood".

DS is sick again, though. He recovered well and put in hard days work while there. DH says that he worked right alongside the men and didn't stop until they did. I didn't expect anything less. He IS a hard worker and just eats it up. The day they left Poland, he had something to eat at the airport there. By the time they got on the plane in Munich (had to switch planes), his stomach was acting up and he was throwing up sick the whole 7 hrs back. The plane was a double decker and he had to run for the bathrooms that were on the lower level each time. His throat started hurting again because of that activity. Now he sounds like he did when he left. I don't know if I should take him to the doctor or not. Part of me wonders if I should think about the possibility of Mono. I think he had the strep virus most of the summer but never had full-blown symptoms. Probably because he DOES work so hard and so he is always sweating it out. But when my active young man is willingly making himself Throat Coat tea and resting on the couch, then something isn't right!

Rose--how are things going?? Any moving news? Is your weekend in Austin, this weekend?
How are you doing, Joni?
Anyone hear from Nikki? I wonder if they are settling in well.
Wendy--the kids must be getting close to going back to school, right?
Trisch--how is the HTF training going?
Lori? Doing well?

Hi to anyone else I missed!