Summer Mondays

I actually kinda enjoy summer Mondays.  Not the part of him going back to work, I am totally really for these "40" hour work weeks to be over, but the part where we can just be.  Last week was the start of football, a brand new brake job starting on fire due to the calipers getting stuck - that was fun, a bonus dog (every house needs a black bear to compliment their polar bear, after all), rearranging the living room furniture just because have been in this house a year and I have not done it yet - a new record, Despicable Me 2, a family renewal of vows - and all the drama that ensues, D caught the bouquet and has yet to put it down, there was a disco themed 60th birthday party and then of course all of the crazy last minute de-slobbering cleaning that goes with a birthday party at our house. I survived the double-super-secret lifting of the Lego ban that my hubby instituted - making my son's day and my other half cringe.  It really was a great week.

And now that it is Monday, there is nothing going on.  The bonus dog is home and the family has left.  There is no football, no menu planning, no nothing.  And it is a great feeling.

My husband has worked on the outside of the house for me since the middle of spring. The re-landscaping of the front, the patio...it has been a huge project on his part.  And I love him so much for making it happen for me.  He finally got to put the icing on the cake.  The gazebo is up, the lights are on and I heard plans of making it last through the fall with a patio heater and some Plexiglas.  We broke it in with some Wicked Orchard and our neighbors.  And he was so thrilled to make it happen - for me.   

My FF may be a gumba when it comes to the daily chores around the house (don't get me started on laundry again), but he does work very hard to bring me whatever my heart desires - usually through a lot of sweat equity.  And that is indeed why he has captured my heart.  Tonight, we'll sit on that patio...and just be.  It is Monday afterall.  And that is why I love summer Mondays.

He's a good guy...I guess I'll keep him no matter what day of the week it is.  

Hug those FFs, laugh with those muppets and just BE!  Happy Monday!

A birthday, in a million photos or less...

See that big cardboard box, I didn't even try to wrap it.

We had beautiful weather for D's party.  The sun was shining, the breeze was nice.  Aside from one hiccup with the propane tank and the food all went smoothly.  Bouncing in the bounce house with friends, new roller blades and she has not stopped playing with Megara's new gear!! It created quite the buzz among the little people.  J was disappointed that she didn't totally squeal in delight.  But, my thought is that the proof is in the pudding, she hasn't stopped playing with it yet!  :D

The crowd moves in...

The experienced big girls helping her
get ready for her new roller blades!

We won't discuss the road rash on the back of her thighs,
after this happy pic was snapped.

Today was her actual day. She loved mass, I think  it was because of the sun coming through.  Breakfast after church for D's celebratory meal.  B and our neighbor were junior docents at the Art Museum. And then the exciting part of the day -D got her ears pierced.  It was a total surprise.  When we got to the store there was a huge range of emotions - utter excitement, apprehension and stoicism, shock and tears and finally pride - she was officially a big girl!  We took the pain away with the spending of a gift card at the Disney store and a Blizzard cone at DQ.

My awesome FF, holding my camera bag!

"The artist is unknown..."

Keeping it in the FF family, our girl from next door tells us about
her piece. 

All done at the MAM.

Sooooo bright!

Getting ready was okay, but you could see the
uneasiness creep in.

Yeah, not what she signed on for...

Those were not crocodile tears, my friends...

And a Blizzard from DQ makes it all better.

It is good to be seven. And it is good to be the mom when she turns 7. 

American Girl on a Firefighter's Salary - Part 3

Back down on the work bench,
in order to keep it from my nosy
girls!  Ugh!

I am finally done!  The armoire I told you about last week is finally done, the bed is done, all just in time for the birthday party tomorrow.  Hallelujah!  I did really cut it down to the wire, though.  I wanted to have the armoire done before I picked the kids up from school.  That meant I had to finish the last drawer in the car, while waiting for the kids to come out of school!  But, none-the-less it is done.  

My FF finished the addition to the armoire last night, so I could watch the season finales of Grey's and Scandal.  So sweet!  Megara has to have a place to put her boots, I mean, really! And then today, I put on the final touches - the contact paper (that wouldn't stick) the hardware, with one hinge that would not cooperate.  And now it is done.  I will post non-workbench pictures with better lighting once the Muppets are in bed.  There is a new outfit, complete with accessories, as well as a poodle skirt, courtesy of Fire Wife Elly.  So exciting!  I also believe Grandma is working on a blanket for Megara as we speak as well.  D will be so excited, I cannot wait for her to open them tomorrow!

I'm so glad we kept the mirror in!

I was almost ready to for get this and glue in a dowel!
Scotch Tape was my friend, holding the second screw in place for me!

Ugh, one more drawer to finish, but I have to go pick up the kids from school!

So, you take it with you and do it while you wait, instead of freezing
on the stairs with the other mommies!

Poodle skirt courtesy of the lovely Fire Wife Elly! 

Accessories and a new outfit!

New shoes, what a nice surprise!

Happy Friday, again!  The party is tomorrow.  I will add nicer pictures tonight, staged a bit less hastily. My FF is on shift - go figure, when there is cleaning to be done!  ;)  My dad is coming by to hook up my water to my fridge, I am so spoiled, having gone a week and a half without water from the door! And the weekend is officially upon us!  Enjoy the weekend and your FFs. 

My Poor Firefighter

It was one of those shifts...you know, the 24 calls in 24 hours kind of shifts.  The kind of shift where dinner is eaten in segments and completed around 10pm.  He went in early because he thought he had a drug test and wanted to get those extra 3 glasses of water he had taken in out of his system as soon as possible.  And, that was cancelled.  But, he did end up catching a run more than an hour before his shift technically started (which would have taken until well after that shift technically ended, probably better that my FF took it) and the guy on the shift ahead of him even had his gear set up for my FF when he arrived.  How's that for brotherly love!!

And it just kept going from there.

And today he has a TON on his hunney-do list.  Now, before you get too sappy about, "Oh, the poor FF.  He didn't sleep all night long.  Give him a break.  Oh, the poor, poor man."  Realize that this is indeed something that could have been done, oh I don't know, in JULY when he was playing firefighter at the race track with my dad, leaving me to unpack our house, with 4 children in the mix.  So yeah, pity won't be coming from me!!!  

Tomorrow, my oldest is turning 13.  I will have a teenager in the house from now until January of 2028.  NOW the pity party may commence.  And to celebrate this joyous milestone, we are inviting a few other newly and nearly teen-aged boys over for a sleep over - tomorrow.

Now, FF calls our house, oh so affectionately, The Ice Shanty.  He says it is no larger than those lovely little fishing shanties that inevitably get swept away on Lake Winnebago every spring.  BUT, there are 5 bedrooms (mind you one serves as a dining room) and it is a bath and a half.  So, it is not really THAT tiny.  (Although, I could use a bigger bedroom...)

However, there is some underutilized space in our house that was supposed to be organized, oh I don't know, in AUGUST, but instead...nevermind.  I digress.  

Not ours, but very similar -
sans the paddles or puck. :)

Anyway, as I was saying, there is definitely some untapped potential downstairs. Sofa, DVDS, TV, DVD player, stereo...roughing it though - no iPod dock!  And a Foosball Table and an Air Hockey Table just WAITING to be set up.  But, my FF waited soooooo long to do it, he can't find the bolts for the legs of said gaming tales (or the paddles - well one paddle, or the pucks, or the foosball).  Oh yeah, my FF also sent the Wii down there last month.  The couch for the kids is taken over by the basket of socks my FF is still refusing to fold and I am letting him, but not doing it for him. :)  And with all of those teenage boys converging on our Shanty, they need to have a space to roost. That seems to be the perfect place to send teenage boys...as long as they don't mind the train table and play kitchen...Anyway, that leads us to the urgency for my FF to get that space taken care of - by 4pm tomorrow.  Part of me does feel bad, because it was a looooooooooooooooong night.  But most of me says, well, guess it is time to pay the piper.  This could have been done six months ago.
  

Oh yeah, and he has a relative that was breathing down my neck about where my FF's location...he wants a toilet installed, like six months ago.  He has to do that today, too. Poor little, Fireman.  

Or not!

The weekend is almost upon us.  I can hardly wait!  In fact, I woke up this morning thinking it WAS Friday.  I think I am just trying to skip that talk I have to give our whole staff after school today.  For someone who talks for a living, I HATE talking in front of adults.  Anyway, check up on your muppets and let them know you love them - even when they are driving to the drink of insanity.  Kiss your FFs and be a supportive force as they work to complete their hunney-do lists.  Friday is indeed on its way!  Happy Thursday!

I Love My Birthday

I have no issues getting old.  That does not bother me.  I simply say thank you for every day and every year I am still here.  The old jokes, ehh I laugh at first, by the end of the day I have tuned them out.  I will never lie about my age.  36 is officially the prime of life.

In recent years, my hubby has made my b-day awesome.  Nothing too spectacular.  No amazing presents.  Just dinner of my choice and a birthday cake.  The cake is my favorite part.  Again, nothing spectacular.  I love the "Happy Birthday, Mommy!" in frosting.  It is the best time of the year.  The cake, the kids' laughter, the family time.  That is the best gift I could ever ask for.

This year was no different.  My birthday falls on a Blue Shift - shocking, I know.  My lovely hubby remedied that by taking his PO on my bday.  Sweet and smart, all at the same time.  Hearing the muppets sing happy birthday off-key with MONSTER smiles on their faces, makes my heart just melt. Balloons and brownies from my "other" kids, combined 200+ Facebook messages make for an amazingly humbling experience. Dinner, no cooking, no dishes - ahhhhhh, the angels sing. It must be heaven.  Dessert sundae from the restaurant - I think it might have been yummy, but I couldn't tell from the one bite I got. A T Plush tee from my hubby and a playmate for Bear on Sunday are the perfect gifts.  I really could not ask for anything more.

So, love and thanks to my FF.  You make my birthday something to look forward to all year long.  That is awesome!

Some perks of a firefighter's schedule

J has been off of work for the last 5 days.  In order to make sure no OT is earned unnecessarily, they have PO days (Personal Off days) to balance out the hours.  J happened to get one at the end of this past cycle and one first thing into the next.  That means he only has to work today.  His last shift was the 14th and his next after this will be next Wednesday the 26th.  That made life SO nice yesterday.

Being a teacher,  I have conferences 3 times a year - midway through each term.  Yesterday and tonight are conferences for second term.  Yesterday was also our youngest's birthday.  I was not happy with the idea of not being able to spend her birthday with her.  It is important to me that they have their special dinner (of their choice) and a cake on the actual day of their birthday.  J told me not to worry - she's too little to care about the calendar.  'Tis true, but still...  We always have a party for family, but the day should be remembered as well.  So, when J came down to pick up the boys (they were grateful not to have to hang out here all night) he brought McD's (her choice :D ) and a little birthday cake.  He kept my silly little traditions going, even when I had to work.  What a sweetie!

And that is why I love my fireman!

This could be a fun weekend

I am so glad that Friday is upon us.  I have a stack of papers that need to be graded and entered into my gradebook by Monday - 7:30 AM.  I will definitely have to schedule time for that, but the rest of crazy weekend is looking great.  I need some steam blowing off activities.  Tomorrow, after I clean my house, drop my boys off by my brother and my girls off by my dad, J and I are going to our first social gathering with E2 Blue shift.  This is my first time to put a face with the names.  I have met many of them on our various treks downtown - but mainly as they are backing in the truck after grocery shopping, running down to the weight room, heading off to do whatever it is that firefighters do during the day.  They are all kind of a blue blur in my mind.  If they came up to me on the street and said, "Hey, aren't you Halsey's wife?", I would think I had a stalker on my hands.  I am looking forward to figuring out who is who from the firehouse tales I hear every three days.  That and getting to be a grown up instead of Momma or Mrs. Halsey.  Will be nice to see that gal again!  ;)

Tomorrow is also the Packer game.  I am a rabid Packer fan.  I have had my shots, so although I will bite if provoked, you won't get lock-jaw!  So, Jeff has already prepared his crew for the fact that I turn into a guy during the game.  We have not gone to any of our usual Packer games this season - topic for  another day, as we seem to have drifted from some of our closest friends through this transition.  It has been Me, keeping the kids quiet so Daddy can sleep, attempting to keep me quiet so Daddy can sleep or just Me watching alone.  Not my ideal way to spend my NFL time, but c'est la vie, such is life in the big city.  I am so excited to not have to debate calls with myself, be the only set of eyes to look for fouls or trash talk with myself.  (Although I do have an on-going rivalry with an equally rabid Bear fan from La Crosse, whose family is currently stationed in Germany, to help with some of my football isolation.)  I am a guy in drag during football season.  And this year, I am SO glad to not have my countdown to Pitchers and Catcher reporting going, yet.  :)  I will tell you my ideal scenario - after tomorrow night, not that I am superstitious or anything.

Hard to believe this was 2 years ago.  Liv weighed under 14 pounds for her 1 year check up.
Her outfit in this pic is a 6 month set and she was DROWNING in it.

Sunday - which is why I need a clean house - is the big day for 2 of my muppets.  N will be 11 on the 25th and O will be 3 on the 19th.  We celebrate them together for the sake of our families.  They do get their own cakes.  And luckily N has been okay sharing is day with his baby sister.  I will be so happy to have my family together for the day.  Mind you -we are not the Cleavers and some days I wish to never have a family gathering with them ever again.  This year, we did not have Christmas with that side due to schedules and travel time, so I am looking forward to seeing everyone.  Absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder.

So, now that the baby is already in bed, I should be off to round up the other three stooges.