Stars and Stripes Share Cafe

Yeah!! Just popped in to see if you posted a pic yet and you did!!!! OMG she is absolutley perfect.. I am soo happy for you guys. She looks so peaceful in your arms. Congrats momma xoxo love you!

Happy Birthday Katie!!! Your little kung foo fighter over there is kicking but. Love it! Shes awesome just like her mommy xoxo

Glad you had fun Tracy....its unbearable here. The weather is hitting 100 degrees...I'm melting (to bad I'm not literally lol)

Lauren - She's SO cute!!!!! Congratulations! Urgh, I'm sorry she's got to stay one more day. Maybe you can catch up on some much needed zzz's?

Katie - Happy belated b-day and congrats to your kiddo for all of the awesome medals:) Very cool if you could share a b-day!

Erin - Hi! Hope you are catching up on some sleep too:)

Lorena - Antibiotics are working for D and I'm slowly starting to feel better. Hope Miss V is on her way too:)

Tracy - Glad the beach was a good time:) I know, the new school year is just weeks away for us too. School starts on Aug. 6th and teachers go back on the 1st. You?

Met the new ST person this morning and she kept Mr. T engaged.
She was on time, used his name too instead of "buddy" or "pal," AND she parked in the street:) Happy day!

Lindsay~ We go back the 9th and students return on the 15th. We usually have a similar schedule ot what you just mentioned, but with our consolidation plan, we needed more time to get settled.

Jessica~ Our weather has been horribly hot too!! When we left here last Saturday it was 108 and continued to climb as we traveled, but thankfully, when we reached the ocean it was 19 degrees COOLER!!! Love a sea breeze....except when I'm trying to take a pic.

Tibbles stayed with my cousin while I was away and she has a dog too. He is seriously pouting now!!! I know he's trying to adjust to being back home and he's missing them, but it's so sad!

Lauren, gorgeous!! Hope she goes home soon.

Lindsay, where does the ST usually park?

Stacy, it is hard to pick out a car seat. I felt like it was such a huge decision. Good luck!

Tracy, glad you had a good time at the beach.

I'm at work, 11a-11p today and tomorrow and I worked 12hrs yesterday. I'm tired!!

Lorena: Better yet, look at the store for the general model then order online with free shipping for cheaper than at the store, ha!

Lauren: Oh my goodness, I just want to eat her up! Those chubby cheeks and that sweet chin! Love it! Big hugs, so sorry she's not getting to come home with you.

Tracy: Yay for a great day at the beach!! Haha! Molly totally used to pout when we left her, she would go and hide under the bed for a day or two. She can't fit under there anymore though.

Liz: I got it narrowed down to the Graco My Ride 65 minus the new safety surround or the Britax Marathon 70 CS. I've heard great things about both and both have awesome features that the other doesn't!

Lindsay: Score!! Sounds like it's on the right track to a great relationship!

Laura: It is!! It's so hard to make sure you're picking "the one" lol

So tired, think I'll go to bed early today if I'm lucky. Still gotta get ready for church and stuff tomorrow before then plus clean up the house.

Thanks for the pic, Lauren. She is just a gorgeous as I imagined

Home today, I hope!

Lauren - Hope you get some good news when you visit M today:) She's ADORABLE!!!

Stacy - Good luck with car seat decisions:) I've got (2) that need to find a new home, but they expire in December. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to sell them or not. Yeah, I think it's going to be a better fit. Sometimes clinicians forget that they're still a guest in someone's home.

Laura - She was parking in our driveway:( Didn't realize that until hubby came home one day wanting to pull our car into the garage and told me that she drove a Lexus SUV.

Tracy - I'm glad that you're getting some extra time. That's a huge transition for sure. Found an opening for FT at the school who was offering me a .6 last year. Tempted to call 'em and ask if there is any way to reduce it to a .8 and give me 1st Hour off with a 2nd Hour prep. Sometimes when it comes down to crunch time, schools are more willing to accomodate like that just to fill it. Hoping it could be something . . .

Feeling much better today. Hubby and D are off at a blood drive event while T and I are doing Kinder prep worksheets. He was so happy to get to see Thomas and Friends on PBS. Sometimes it's Opera instead.

Lindsay~ Our county doesn't do the part time stuff unless it's the retiree's package.

Stacy~ Decisions, decisions!!!! Back in the day there was just one choice and it worked great. Now it's a big ordeal to find just the perfect one and then there are new ones to trump that one soon after.

Laura~ UGH----long work hours are not my friend!

I can't remember anything else. It's my naptime!! Love being home!

We're wireless! Just waiting on official paper work and we're sprung!

Lauren: she is gorgeous!

Stacy: we have the graco my ride 65. great but heavy when dragging thru an airport. britax are expensive but well rated.

more later.

Lauren - She is gorgeous! OMG, I just want to squeeze her little cheeks! Hope you have the little princess home now.

So much going on.... sheesh!

Stacy - Good luck on the car seat decision. I bought a Apex 65 for Matt but when he was 3 he learned how to unbuckle himself and refused to sit in it. I wound up having to move him to a booster (because he wanted to be like Kimmie). I know he wasn't supposed to but I'd rather he sit safely in a booster than scream and fight and climb out of his other seat.

Tracy - We don't start school until Sept 4th around here. Of course, we don't get out until mid June either.

Lindsay - Good luck with the new ST, sounds like she meets all your criteria, so far.

Donna - I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd probably go to the reunion. Like you said, one a year vs. once every 5-10 years. But if you get that clone thing figured out, let me know!

So we just spent the last week on roadtrip around the midwest. We went to Kings Island and Matt just made the cut off to ride the big rides. He was so excited. One of the rides even scared me, but he loved it. Kimmie too, but she loves roller coaster. And of course, she's so sweet she told Matt she wouldn't go on any rides he wasn't tall enough to go on. I love that little girl!
Then we went camping in WV to go white water rafting. I was nervous to take the kids but it was so tame, they actually complained there weren't harder rapids. And camping was.... ugh. I don't enjoy camping and then the power was out so we had no toilets or water. That's a bit to much of "roughing it" for me!
And we ended the trip with one of my really great friends who lives in Pittsburgh. I don't think I've seen her in 2 years and it was soooo nice to catch up.

It was a ton of fun, but now I have to buckle down and clean my house and weed my garden. The hot weather and lots of rain, exploded the weeds in my garden.

Jackie~ That sounds like a sibling moment to write down so you can remind them when they're teenagers!! Glad you had a good time....minus the "roughing it" part!

Lauren~ WOOHOO!!!!! Yay for breaking out of the hospital!!!!

Okay girls---my cousin's birthday party was last night and Ansley was enjoying the pool when I had a very traumatic event happen and I thought I was dying!!!!!!

I got stung by a red wasp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh stop laughing....it was my first time being stung by anything and that sucker hurt!!! I've not wanted to cry like that ever! Good news is that I'm not allergic to stings (which we've always wondered about). My whole arm is still sore, but I suppose that's normal for a sting. Needless to say, I ran from anything that was flying after that......

Jackie! Would have loved to see you(I live in Pittsburgh). Glad you had a nice trip!

T-Sorry about the wasp bite!

Lindsay-PBS is a mainstay in our house(Thomas). It's the only cartoons I trust that my kid can watch..dinosaur train, thomas, sid the science kid, sesame street...etc.

We are going on vacation in 12 days-this vaca was paid for back in Feb, and now Mike not working, I'm scrambling to figure out ways to save money on vaca....like Food-instead of eating out every meal every day, take the crock pot and make food-but what? Idea's ladies!! Everything else is paid for. It's a resort with water parks and amusement parks that is included with the hotel room and it is beachfront, so I'm sure we will have plenty of free things to do.

To the gym--

Jackie - So sweet of Kimmie to only go on roads that younger bro could do:) Love that! And white water rafting?! COOL!!! Sorry about your weeds. It's been strange weather across the country.

Tracy - Ouch, sorry about the sting! I've only been stung once myself. Good to find out that you're not allergic though. Really, only FT? What about at the high school level? Schools make it so there are only FT positions?

Lauren - YAY!!!

Stacy - You could also try and score a free car seat at your local fire station:)

Liz - I've heard Donna's got some mad crockpot skills:) Trying to remember the pulled pork one, but it was easy to do. Will your hotel room have a microwave? That could help. If you're driving, you could always bring a cooler and save that way. Hoping there's at least that complimentary breakfast. I hear you, any extra ways to save helps. Enjoy your upcoming trip, you deserve this:)

Lauren, it's always nice when they go wireless for the first time!!!! Hope you have your little princess home by now, get some sleep

Donna, I'm still rooting for you coming to SU but at least I'll get to see you for at least one meal this summer if you decide to go to your reunion.

Stacy, any news on your car seat? Have you made the decision yet...

Tracy, hope your arm is feeling a little bit better. You should rub bengay on your arm to see if that helps the soreness. I would love to have seen you run from all flying things though.

Ugh, I was going to go to the gym this morning but it didn't quite work out... I fell asleep on the couch instead and Trevor was nice enough to let me sleep. Nathan started "summer camp" today, really it's preschool but we're calling it summer camp to make it seem more exciting for him. Tomorrow Trevor and I will get back into our daily gym routine... maybe

Laura~ You crack me up!!! I was seriously traumatized by that little flying version of satan!!!! I also giggled to myself when you said that you were going to the gym this morning, but it didn't "work out"....

Lauren~ I hope Miss M. is as layed back as her big brother and is letting you get a bit of sleep.

Lindsay~ No, high school folks are full timers too. There are few "lay coaches" that get paid only coaching supplements, but that's it. I think it's a small town thing.

Saw an ex-boyfriend from college today. I haven't seen him in probably 15 years or so. It was funny to catch up with one another's family and also so see that time wasn't so good to him. I told my sister I hoped that time hasn't been as rough to me as it has to him. LOL!!!!! Needless to say, no sparks there at all!

Jackie - I meant "rides" and I'm sure that's what I wrote. Is there auto correct on this thing? Weird.

Tracy - Gotcha:) That must have been interesting to meet up with a former ex-boyfriend. Hope your arm is getting better. Ouch!

Laura - Yeah, Mr. T's "summer camp" is like a preschool too. He likes it, but not sure if we'll go with the same place next year as he'd still be placed in a room with 3-5 year olds. True, some of the 3 year olds are talking up storms, but I'd prefer him be with same aged peers. Hope N likes his camp:)

Back washed the pool this morning. Hubby off to test water to make sure all is well. I cringe because everytime he comes back from the pool store, it's another $80. I so didn't realize how expensive maintenance would be, but it is super nice when it's 112 F outside:)

Lindsay: Yeah, ones that expire so soon would be hard to sell. Ha, I'm too much of a carseat snob to get a free one, I gotta have exactly what I want and nothing else will do!

Tracy: Exactly!! There's WAY too many to choose from now! Love those moments when you realize you maybe made the right decision.

Jackie: That's one reason I'm not too sure on the Graco one, tons of people have said it's too easy for them to get the buckle undone! Urgh, that's way too far on the roughing it end for me too, I was happy in the cabin type camping.

Liz: PB&Js for lunch? Not sure about dinners...

Laura: HA! Nope, I'm adding another one to the spreadsheet. Think I'm taking the Britax out of the mix, and adding a Diono Radian RXT in there. Gotta find somewhere to check em out in person first though! I think you still burn calories while sleeping, maybe more if you're snoring?

So today Elim was climbing his crib from the outside, fingers crossed he doesn't figure out he can do it from the inside too! My days are numbered. Maybe I could build a cage over the top? Oh wait....there was that couple that got arrested for that, wasn't there?

Another fly by here! We are in Wisconsin Dells!

Lauren-She is beautiful!!!!!!

Lorena-We have a camper, it's like our second home, so we don't get too exhausted!

Stacy-He is all boy!!!

Tracy-I laughed at the bee sing story because that would totally be me!!!!!

That's all I have for now, I will try to get on tomorrow, we are going to lay low around the campground!

Lindsay - Really? You didn't mean "roads"? LOL

Liz - Totally forgot you lived in Pittsburgh! I would have looked you up if I remembered. Oops. We had a good time. Went to dinner at a place that serves meals on TV trays (which my kids did not understand) and we took them to the Carnegie Science Center until their mom got too tired and made them come home. Sometimes she's just pathetic like that! (yes, I'm talking about me!)

Laura - I went for my first run in weeks today and it was pathetic. I almost fell asleep on the couch and realized I'd better get up and moving before I was out for the day!

Tracy - Too bad the ex isn't a bee exterminator! By the way, that's one of the reasons to join FB. Every woman I know has always looked up their ex to find out what happened to them. Mine is not on FB (not so computer savvy) and it irks me to no end! Did find his wife though...

We have the Cosco.. I think that's how you spell it. Love it. So easy to travel with and had good consumer report/safety reviews. It's so nothing fancy... but does the trick!

I am sitting in my own bed... soooooooo awesome!!

Jackie-Science center rules!

Lauren-so glad you are home!

Katie-so nice to see you during your travels.

Gym, park, grocery,park, home!

bbl...

Welcome home, Lauren. So much better than the hospital, I'm sure!

Jackie - That's so funny about the TV trays. Eating and watching TV simultaneously was a technological breakthrough in our day! Ha!

Jackie - Science Center sounds fun:)

Lauren - Yay for being in your own bed:) Got to feel wonderful!

Stacy - So understand, car seats are a big deal.

Katie - Sounds like you guys are having a good time at the campingplatz:)

Liz - How's the way-2-save menu coming along?

Lauren~ I know that "it's my own bed" feeling!!! Seriously a great thing!! Hope that everyone is adjusting to home life easily and that big brother is loving little sis!!!

Katie~ Thanks for the sympathy! Most of my friends here are still laughing and asking about the sting like I was in a major accident!

Jackie~ TV trays?? Interesting! I'm not old enough to remember that.....LOL!! Yeah right!

This ex wasn't one of my best choices in life so my need to keep up with him was non existant! He made some crazy decisions after our breakup and I was seriously glad that I wasn't in the mix. Ha,ha....still no need for FB!!

I'm with Jackie, the whole point of fb is to secretly stalk your ex's to make sure you are doing better than they are!

Stacy, I think we have an alpha omega by cosco, I love it.

Ugh, can't remember anything else. In the ER with Nathan who is having trouble breathing. Worst part is that I worked until 11 and have to be back at 7, told the dr I was in a time crunch to get things moving.

Laura, odd how much T and N have in common. We were in the ER last week for not breathing properly.

Lindsay, A couple of crock pot ideas-meatball sandwiches, wings, taco's...also take cheese and lunch meat, cereal, dry goods--big fat cooler.

My body hurts, today. I think there is some rain moving in.

How and where is everybody?

Liz: wow taking your croc pot is over too much don't you think? besides you want to check with the hotel, since I have seen that some hotels have their electricity interruptors blocked, so guest can't use any electric device with them, I think micro food and sandwiches will do, if your DH is not too picky with food, like mine....

Stacy: yes I forgot that on line delivered, since I do not have that advantage here, I have to select pick up at store.....good luck with the car seat hunt.....

Lauren: I am so glad that you are home with miss Makaela (sounds like Italian in my head, Michella, which would be Michelle) How are you doing??? Oh the picture is priceless thank you, so beautiful, what a perfect chin, and hair, like she went to the salon before arriving.....Hope you the settling home is all right.... How is Micah???

Tracy: ohhh that sounds awful, though sorry I had to laugh a little, little red devil.... well at least you know you are not allergic .... Wow that week at the beach sounds wonderful......

Laura: so sorry for your ER visit hope Nathan is feeling better.... nothing worst that to go to work after caring for our sick children....

Jackie: be careful with that stalking on FB, once I was looking at the pictures of someone I totally dislike, and accidentally I clicked on asking to be my friend..... I couldn't take it back, and she actually accepted me......imagine that! it could just happen to me.....

Katie: Ha, that is the dream of S, to travel around in a camper, I have never been inside one, must be so cool......

Jessica: How are you doing???? With the hot weather.... How is the baby.....

Lindsay: I like polite and respectful people, yes so annoying that your former ST parked on your parkway.... So how are you feeling?? and Mr. D??? is he better with the antibiotic??

Well I am better, and also miss V..... doing some homework with S...... well doing a lot of homework, he has to do a research of good health, including social and emotional health...... a poster of the nutritional pyramid and we have to study for his Science class..... I am bored.....

Work is slow, not much to do, and since they pay me for done documents it is not good for me, since there is nothing else to do.... We want to see Spiderman 4... some friends said it is awesome.....

Happy Wednesday

Lorena

Lorena~ The thought of homework makes my head hurt!! This time of year is no homework time for both me and Ansley since both of us aren't in school right now!

Laura~ Bummer on the ER visit. You still crack me up demanding fast service so you can get back to work.

Liz~ Hope the rain makes it to you.

Lauren~ Where does that little miss get all of that hair??

Well the ER pulled it off and we were discharged at a little before 5am, in just enough time to get home put Nathan to bed and then get myself ready for work. I was exhausted all day but at least I didn't have to call in!

Nathan is feeling much better today, going to make an appt with his pediatrician for tomorrow hopefully so she can see him and weigh in on how he's doing. I always trust her most of all.