July 2006 Archives

This was taken at the top of Laurel Falls

I'm finally getting around to posting my pictures. I tried to put some that weren't repetitious. The one of Polina & Jacob has been digitally corrected. I had to remove a girl's backside from the picture. The girl was the operator of the go-carts and I didn't realize she was there when I snapped the picture of Polina & Jacob. I got a good enough view to tell she was going commando! It was kind of funny. I'll echo everyone else's sentiments, it was a great vacation.

I love hearing about and seeing the pictures of the vacation I missed! For those who hadn't heard, on the day before the vacation I decided that I wasn't feeling right so I wanted my doctor to check me out and give me the "all clear" before I left for that 12 hour drive. Of course, my doctor wasn't in his office that day and the nurse there told me that I would have to go into the hospital to be monitored and checked. I really didn't want to deal with the hospital but knew something wasn't right so I felt a strong urge to get checked out. Lo and behold, the nurse said 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. She said I would spend the duration of my pregnancy in the hospital- so obviously my Tennessee vacation was out. Very scary and disappointing news! I was given Brethine to stop the contractions and IV fluids to hydrate me. They also gave me two steroid shots to develop the baby's lungs in case he/she decided to come early. My doctor only kept me overnight and discharged me the next day (over the phone, because he had forgotten about me) because my contractions were under control. We went home and got a good night's sleep and I was fine until later in the next day. I went back in to the hospital with contractions at 2:30 in the morning. They kept me until Sunday afternoon and sent me home again. I saw my doctor first thing Monday morning and he put me on a Brethine drip at home. I'm on modified bed rest. The Brethine drip is with a home health service that is also monitoring my contractions. It's all very high-tech! I refill the medicine in the pump about once a day. A nurse came out on Tuesday and gave us about a 30 minute lesson. It was very overwhelming, but we're managing fine. Joey will change out my IV tonight so we'll see how that goes. I put a sensor around my stomach twice a day for an hour to monitor my contractions and then put it in a machine that's hooked to the phone line and send the data, much like a fax. The service calls me right back and lets me know how many contractions I had. Then they can adjust the dose in my pump accordingly. I'm 31 weeks along now. Samuel was born at 36 weeks. I'm hoping to make it at least that far. I'm getting a lot of help from Joey's mom and my mom and other family members and friends. Samuel is being well taken care of!

As far as Tennessee goes, we would listen to the reports from those who called about activities going on and Joey and I both would say "they need us there," to direct hikes and manage bonfires and fishing expeditions. We heard they got lost looking for Laurel Falls and we both said "we wouldn't have gotten lost." It's easy to say such things when you're sitting in another state. Joey couldn't believe there wasn't a bonfire every night. He's an Eagle Scout and loves the outdoors. His friends used to tease him when we would go camping because they said he was always messing with the fire. He had to poke it or fool with it continuosly. We'll be on the next family vacation with our two little babies in tow!

As has been reported, we had a wonderful time in the Smoky Mountains. Everything about it was nice - even the hour out of our way home because Scott (and Phil too on Sunday) would not take my advice about which direction to go! It was a pretty drive with the river either to the left or right depending on if we were going the right way or the wrong way so that was fine . . .

Before we left, we had to spend 1-1/2 hours in a famous knife shop in Sieverville. It was a three story high building and Patrick and Scott thoroughly enjoyed themselves looking at one million knives, swords and a variety of other sharp objects. Scott allowed Patrick to buy a butterfly knife. We weren't out of the store 10 minutes before Scott cut his finger while playing with it. I went into the convenience store for a straw and came out to him with a napkin wrapped around his finger! Patrick loves this kife and deemed this the best vacation ever, expressly because of the said illegal weapon.

On another note, Brianne, Kellie and I went to see Mama Mia last night at The Fox Theater. They had given me the tickets for Mother's Day. Brianne had seen the play in December on Broadway and just loved it. She knew that I would like it too so planned to take me if it ever came to Atlanta. I'm glad it did. It was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed it. We had dinner at the restaurant, Little Azio's in Atlanta, where Greg works. It was very good. We walked the four blocks to The Fox from the restaurant and none of us were too comfortable in our dress shoes. Of course mine were not nearly as high and stylish as Brianne and Kellie's. They looked fabulous but I was more comfortable!

Tonight we are climbing Stone Mountain, having a picnic and watching the Lazer Show. Geraldine, Red, Charlie and Caroline may join us. Kellie has lived in Warner Robins all her life and has been to the Lazer Show but has never climbed Stone Mountain. I climbed it for the first time October 1978 when Scott brought me to Atlanta to attend his brother's wedding. My children and I love to climb it and used to do it regularly when they were younger. Brianne won't be going with us because she is going to a Braves game with a few friends from Milledgeville.

Scott has gone fishing and for the rest of the day, I plan to put my house back in order after being on vacation.

We didn't notice that the mountain scene we picked out had an "A" behind the number. It was 158-A, not 158. We ordered the airbrushed shirts and then went to ride go-carts. While they were going around the tracks a second time, I picked up the t-shirts. I was bummed out when the people at the shop told of our mistake in ordering. I got the tearful reaction I thought I would get from Julia when she saw her t-shirt. Shelby sweetly offered hers for Julia to wear. I was not spending another $20 on a shirt, and we didn't have time anyway. True to her good attitude, she rose above it, and has worn the shirt twice already, though she has no interest whatsoever in basketball.

On this day, we walked 1.3 miles to Laurel Falls. It had the bear attack signs, and this one. When we reached the falls, after my fearful moments where I felt so vulnerable to falling off the side of the mountain because there were no railings, a little girl of about 4 was crying because she didn't want to walk down. Her mother spanked her hard and told her to "walk." I turned to Sue and said that I needed a spanking too. Aaron kept getting off the trail, tempting fate and scaring me.

We had such a good time. Sue, Janine, Katie, David, Elizabeth and their children were comfortably set up in five cabins. I had my own bedroom and bathroom in Janine's cabin. The bathtub had a resident spider and all of the sides of the very large tub were covered with his web. I didn't feel like fooling with that so I used the upstairs shower. The corkscrew road that went up at a 90 degree angle was scary the first time we tried it since our elevation in New Orleans is only FLAT and our cars don't recognize that never-before used "LOW" gear. The little people ran helter-skelter between cabins and were loosely supervised or sometimes not at all. No, I shouldn't say that. I think they were all accounted for at all times. The only mishap among the children was a wasp sting for Shelby on her chin. Not bad considering how many there were. Each cabin featured hot tubs that were almost constantly occupied. Adults and children alike thought they were wonderful. One cabin had a mouse that was very selective in his eating habits -- some things he liked more than others, Elizabeth said. Katie and her group left Monday morning, but before they did, they made one more pass at Cade's Cove and got to see a bear. She said he was spotted at the edge of the woods, trying to decide whether or not to cross the road, and then finally he made a dash to the other side. There were cars all up and down both sides of the road, people taking pictures, all trying to get a good shot. We only saw a few deer when we went, but I'm not crazy about the idea of bears in the wild so I wasn't sorry we didn't encounter any. David and Matthew also left Monday, but Shelby rode home with us on Tuesday. Sue, Scott, and Patrick were the last to leave on Tuesday because they only had a four-hour trip back to Lawrenceville. David, Brianne and her boyfriend Greg, and her girlfriend Laura, all had left on Sunday.

As usual, it was good to get home. And in a few months, maybe we'll start talking about where we'll go next year.

I needed a few more days to do some more hiking, some tubing, and my favorite vacation activity - putt putt for the fun of it. I did manage to fit in a death-defying ride with Phil. It was a 2-seater ride that went about 60mph, around and around - sky to ground, with the carriage spinning. It was scary, but I knew that it wasn't my time to go yet, so ultimately it was a lot of fun. Phil never stopped laughing throughout. One could tip the operator to prolong the ride, but it was long enough for me. It went forward a dozen or so times, and then backwards at that speed, that many times.

I will try to post more pictures another time. We took a group photo which I hope somebody posts. My camera batteries ran out. I want someone to send me a copy of that.

A link from Stephen. I'm not sure I want to see an anime feature at the theater although I did like Sin City. I'd watch it when it came to Pay-Per-View or HBO, though.

Asiyah and her Urban Stars team

Asiyah and her soccer team were #1 in the District (they played in 98degree heat) and will be going to the Minnesota Youth Soccer State tournament starting on the 28th of July. Asiyah plays defense for the team. We're all very proud of her! (It's not the best picture, but my camera is on the fritz and Aminah's is full of pictures)

He was a skating fool, this Captain. Smart enough to bring his own. I fell at least a dozen times, but I am okay today. I thought I'd be sore. The other skating adults, Jackson's aunts Denise and Beth, agreed with me that it was the skates, and not our balance and coordination. I should have left the floor after the 5th or 6th fall, but I was determined to conquer those wheels. I had them tightened at one point, but I could still feel something amiss. In all of my years skating, the total number of falls I had over the years did not compare to how many I took yesterday in one afternoon.

I knew they thought I would dress up, but I couldn't find my sword. I am glad they had the spirit. I'll have to start working on my super hero costume.

That was a fun party. Most of the adults dressed up too.

Jacob, Jackson, Joe

We had a pirate themed skating birthday party for Jackson today. It was a great success. Many of Jackson's friends came dressed in costume. We gave out eye patches and earrings to all the kids. Joe & Polina were so decked out they even had face make up. They looked fantastic. Polina got out on the skating rink all by herself and even entered a race for 4 & 5 year olds! She's got so much gumption! It was really a lot of fun. David, Janine, & Joey all showed off their skating moves. Jackson's actual birthday isn't until Thursday. He'll be 8 years old.

Next up, Jacob's Super Heroes party. His birthday isn't until the end of September but he's been planning it all summer, talking about who he's inviting. When we hatched this plan for Jackson he immediately wanted a super hero party. He wants to be Robin (of the Batman & Robin duo). I asked why not Batman and was told that Robin's costume is cooler, he likes Robin's mask. He has wanted to be Robin since last Halloween. I didn't get him the Robin costume last year. Maybe this year I'll spring for it!

I've been otherwise engaged teaching summer school and have not kept up with everybody's business via the BLOG but I'm now caught up. When you get so behind, it's hard to get back into it. My summer school session got off to a rough start during preplanning because I had to create a pre and post test for the objectives that the 4th/5th grade teachers selected for the students. I had a combination class of 7 4th graders and 9 5th graders so I had to create tests for both levels and in math and reading. I gave the same writing test. We have to use the county item bank.

Normally, using the county item bank doesn't take long and is fairly easy to use. This year, however, they updated the item banks so the numbers did not match with the objectives the teachers selected. Also, several objectives did not have test questions in the item banks so I had to create multiple choice questions for the objective. I once learned in one of the psychology classes I took at Georgia State that it takes 8 hours to make up a good multiple choice question. I believe it! I had to hunt down reading materials for each grade level because my special education students don't read at that high of a level so I did not have appropriate materials. Once I got past the tests, summer school went fine. I had a very nice group of students - not one behavior problem for the first time ever.

On the last day, July 12, Scott, Patrick, Ray and I took off for the lake. We stayed until Saturday. On Thursday we went to visit Bunk at Camp Winfield where he has been a camp counselor and lifeguard for the summer. It is so beautiful up there. We were taking a walk around the camp and were on our way to the chapel when Scott spotted the black MOTHER bear and her two cubs which were approximately 50 yards away from us up a hill. Of course, I shrieked and started edging backward while the morons in my family were edging closer for a better look. That mother bear looked at us long and hard for what seemed like an eternity before it slowly trudged on up the hill out of sight. The bears had been spotted by many of the camp employees over the summer. They said there were three cubs but Scott, Bunk and Patrick only saw two. I only saw the ENORMOUS man-eating mother!

We spent the rest of the time just chillin' at Lake Hartwell. We had good weather. I got a little tan and relaxed a lot. Scott enjoyed fishing with his new fly rod and had great luck so life was good all around.

I upgraded our blog software last night. It will appear a little different when you login but it works the same. Having the tools on the left side instead of the right might take some getting used to but you guys are beyond letting things like that freak you out, thankyouverymuch. As always, let me know if you are having trouble with any of it or notice something that shouldn't be.

I’m kind of a fanatic about upgrading. I like staying up-to-date on software mainly because upgrades are easier when you are upgrading to the next version from the last version. Ultimately, you almost have to upgrade eventually and it is generally more difficult if you are several versions behind.

I've removed my email address from the blog site. I'm sure you all have it anyway. I'm going to be changing my email address as soon as I can decide on one. Spammers cannot harvest anyone's email address here any more. The only one they could harvest here for the last few years is mine. Everyone here has probably gotten at least one spam comment email from the blog. I want to emphasize that the spammer is not contacting you directly. They are leaving a comment on the blog and the blog is simply notifying you that someone has commented on your entry. Unless you, yourself, put personal information in one of your entries, no one can get it here.

I can't believe they let me buy a car, but they did. I must just look trustworthy. I have only been on my job for a couple of weeks. It is in my name. Michael made an appearance yesterday and vouched that he takes care of the mortgage and one of the debts that is in both of our names. That is all they needed to know.

Michael quit his job with ServiceMaster this week and while I was buying the car, he interviewed for and got a new job starting when we come back from the Smokies. We are both excited and have agreed to share the vehicle. He has even silently agreed to not smoke in this car so that maybe the new car smell will be retained for a while. I have declared it to be a non-smoking car, and so far - the trip to and from Winn Dixie - it has been smoke free. He put it out before getting in to go home. I don't know how long he'll let that happen, but who knows? It might happen. He will be driving to Baton Rouge a couple of days a week when he starts working for the grocery distributor that he'll be working for.

We are still trying to get settled and have been making many changes since Katrina blew through town. This new car is a fun thing for us. Yes, I know I still have to pay for it, but really, with what has been going down job wise for us this past bunch of months, I feel lucky. I still had that nagging feeling like the sales people saw me coming and suckered me somehow, but that feeling isn't dominant. It is a zippy car with modern features; plus, 34 mpg. hwy, 25 city. And, we will no longer have to let the backseat passenger out because the door only opens from the outside. My father-in-law's old car that I have been driving for the past two years has gone to it's final rest. Welcome, Kia-lu.

Happy Birthday to my big sis~Nancy!!! I hope you have a wonderful day. Try and stay cool with all the heat! Love, Carol

All of our usual puddles had dried up for many weeks until we got some very good downpours. It is frog heaven around here again. Chip loves it too. Lily only likes to get her feet and underbelly wet. She isn't a swimmer, but she will herd like the best of them; I can tell. When the kids started off on a walk today, Chip went with them, but Lily stayed behind with me. I couldn't get over that. She loves to go for walks and will knock me down trying to herd me onto the path when she sees me go for my boots. It is obnoxious, really.

We had Matthew, as well as Shelby, overnight and all day today for a treat. Matthew and Aaron accompanied me on my walk today. None of the pictures I took of him came out. The lens didn't open and I didn't know that. It's a shame. He is very cute. And sweet. He and Aaron baked a cake this evening, but he left before it got frosted. I am sorry about that. David had to run. Julia went home with them. Tonight she will sleep at Ronda's and spend tomorrow there. She and Shelby have been together since Monday evening. The cousin dynamic is apparently a lot easier than the sister one is for kids.

Dan, Nicole, Nicole's friend Kristin and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on Friday night. Though Johnny, Orlando and Kiera are good, the movie (in my opinionated opinion) was a disappointment. I won't give away anything, but it wasn't nearly as fun as the first one, too many weird special effects. Oh, well, the girls loved it and hope there is a 3rd one. Has anyone else seen it and what did you think?

How many people can get this? I'm seeing these all over the web. Not sure about the copyright issues if there are any. Scott?

for Brian. Yesterday was his 17th birthday. He got his driver's license yesterday morning and has been grinning ear to ear since then. He was not too eager to get his license and we had ended up going to a second driving company for his behind the wheel training. (Thanks Carol!) All of his friends have their licenses so what's the hurry? He's got a ride anywhere he wants with his friends or Paul and I. He borrowed my car last night just to drive around a little while without his parents telling him what to do in the passenger seat. He wasn't gone that long and the car returned dent free. Life is good.

We went walking in the woods today. Poor Shelby has a huge blister on her heel from wearing boots that were too small for her. She didn't complain at all. David said he'd probably hear about it all the way home.

We had a good time at David's house last night. He is the barbecue king. Then, it was fireworks in downtown Slidell. They were as colorful and loud as ever. Pretty display, nice evening.

Okay. Here I am again. The movie I thought you might want to watch a few weeks ago is going to be on again tomorrow night at 7 p.m. American Movie Channel made this movie, a first, and they really did a wonderful job. I thought it was worth watching and hope you will too. And then let me know if you liked it, okay? And listen. If you don't ever watch Westerns, don't look at this one just to please me. And then complain. But if you do like Westerns, this is it.

Happy Birthday, America

Have a happy & safe holiday.

Rob -- Put on your memory cap and see if I'm correct. I believe I made a mistake (gasp) in the date of Grandma Tompkins' death. I put it at 1978. I think it was 1975, the year you graduated from high school at age 18 (that's where the "8" came from). If you agree, would you mind going in and changing it? I tried, but once again I failed. I did it one time and I don't know how I did it but I remember thinking it wasn't all that hard. Now, it's beyond me.

And on a lesser note, have you noticed that now people say "graduated high school," rather than adding a "from" like I did above? I don't know how that came about, but it's been quite awhile since it started. In fact, my friend Erline always said that, and it was many years ago when she and I worked together.