Hubby knows my every mood and most times I’m a happy bubbly wifey with a twinkle in my eyes. Today I woke feeling a little, oh, shall I say neglected. Can’t believe I just said that as hubby never neglects me. We’ve both been busy with Lauren lately and Bobby was quite busy with her all evening it seemed.

I don’t know how he can tell something is bothering me as I tend to go right about my business. I had the bed all made and was laying his clothes out on the bed. When I came out of the bathroom closet area back into the bedroom, he was sitting in the recliner. It was unusual for him to be in the recliner as I’ve never known him to do that on a work day morning.

After I finished getting his things all laid out for him, he held out his hand for me to come over. And then he rescued me by pulling me over to the side of the chair and into his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and just held me close. I already know that I’m important to him as he shows and tells me daily. When I ask him how he can tell something’s wrong, he replies “I can tell by looking into your eyes”. I’m so glad he pays close attention as my personality is the type that needs that kind of loving daily. He’s the BEST and my cup is FULL! I’m off with a Happy Heart and it’s a Bubbly Day!

I just got off the phone with mom around 3:15 this afternoon when she was released from the hospital. The x-rays showed that she’s fine other than her scuffed up and aching body. She told me the story of how she got hit. She remembers crossing the street and told of how there was not much traffic on the street to speak of. A train was coming and the day was off to a good start. She remembered seeing a car (the sheriff – she didn’t know at the time) coming her direction but that she had plenty of time to cross the street. She didn’t see the lady that hit her and the report the officer gave was that the lady was backing up with excessive speed.

Mom was hit on her left side and is in quite a bit of pain from the hit as well as from the fall. She remembers trying to get up as quickly as she could as she remembered there was a car (the sheriff) coming. Well it was the sheriff indeed and he ended up helping her to her feet. Mom’s friend from the little shop next door brought her a chair and she asked for ice right away as her head was dripping with blood. They would not let her move and there she waited for the ambulance to transfer her to the hospital.

Her head, cheek, knees, arm and hands are pretty scuffed up and her left side is hurting quite a bit. Her left leg is bothering her as well as her back. Mom describes her hands looking awfully black and many other areas being black and blue. Sure wish I could make it all better but I’m so thankful that my momma is going to be alright. I know dad’s going to be taking really good care of her and I hope she’s feeling better soon.

The lady that hit her was a young pregnant lady carrying twins. She and her husband went to the hospital to see mom and I’m sure she’s pretty shaken herself.

Your mom is in the hospital were the words I heard from dad this morning. Those were not the words I wanted to hear as a bazillion thoughts ran through my mind when I got the call. Actually, she seems to be fine and they are going to do some x-rays to check her out to see that she’s ok.

Mom got to their place of business (Downtown Stuart, FL) early this morning and was taking some trash across the street to the dumpster when a car was backing up and hit her. There just so happened to be an officer watching the whole thing. The person backing out was going at quite a hefty speed and struck my mother. She’s got some scrapes and is banged up a little but don’t think it’s anything major. I’m ever so thankful she’s going to be alright and hope that person learned a valuable driving lesson today.

We have left Kristy’s room alone leaving her things just the way she left them when she went off to college two years ago. It feels just like home when she returns and I’m pretty sure she likes all that stuff just the way she left it. I.e., posters covering the walls, a basketball hoop on the back side of her door, pictures of friends taped to the walls, two bulletin boards covered with pictures of her friends and homecoming/prom memorbilia. Her large desk with lots of shelving above was completely decorated with tons of memorabilia and whatnot from all of her HS years.

Now that Lauren arrived (3 weeks ago), her desire was to ‘Take Over’ Kristy’s room as she likes that room the best. However, Lauren did not go for Kristy’s decorating style. Lauren brought many things from home so that she could decorate her room/walls while she was here. Lauren ‘took over’ Kristy’s room right before Kristy arrived but Bobby and I neither one felt it appropriate for Lauren to just make it hers especially since Kristy was coming back home for a week. So, right before Kristy’s arrival, we had Lauren clean all of her things out of Kristy’s room, vacuum and dust it out and leave it the same way it was when she arrived. And Lauren took over a different guest room. Kristy came home to find her room intact and felt ‘just like home’ I’m sure.

Kristy left a week ago Sunday and we somewhat prepped her that we would be boxing all of her things up and packing those things away. I believe that was in order as Lauren wanted that room over the summer and there is not a chance that Kristy will be back here to ever spend full summers again. I’m even happy that Lauren wants that room so that I don’t have to redecorate my guest room after Lauren leaves.

Bobby promised Lauren (a week ago Sunday) that he would help her clean Kristy’s things out and that is exactly what we all did over the weekend. Now Lauren has her room all set up with not a trace of anything Kristy in there. What a change in there as those two are completely opposite. Now Lauren finally feels ‘At Home’.

No pictures to follow with the before and after makeovers.

Bobby has been helping Lauren with her priorities this summer. One thing Lauren is trying to do is to test out of quite a few classes to get ahead in college as she missed a year by going to Guatemala. In order to pass these tests, there’s a lot of studying to be done.

Lauren feels overwhelmed with the big picture as she will be testing once a week and has many subjects to conqueror. She feels anxious when she looks at the big picture and feels plagued when she tries to absorb it all. Bobby has helped her break it down bit by bit in order to help her focus on just ‘one day at a time’.

Bobby helped Lauren get all set up with Outlook to help her with all of her tasks/appointments. Bobby’s also asked Lauren what other things are her very top priority and those things are put at the top of the list. As Bobby tells her “Lauren, you need to focus on the top priority things first and when push comes to shove, the things at the bottom of your list will have to drop off.” Time management is important for her to learn and Bobby’s doing a great job training her.

The main thing he’s trying to teach her is to make a plan, then make a list of things that need to be done to execute the plan and follow through by making a schedule in order to see the plan finished on time. As Bobby says “if you don’t know where you’re going, how ya going to get there”. Bobby’s not a fly by the seat of his pants kinda guy. He normally – make that – always maps everything out and has a plan before he starts anything.

She’s already gone through the planning stages with him and now it’s her turn to follow through. The big picture is to breeze these tests, the day to day picture looks something like this.

8:00 – Get up, Shower, Have breakfast

9:00 – 12:00 – Library – Study chapters 1 & 2

12:00 – 1:00 – Lunch

1:00 – 4:00 – Library – Study chapters 3 & 4

4:00 – 6:00 – Free time to read, play guitar, go to the gym or to the pool

6:30 – Play basketball with dad

7:30 – Dinner with the family

She’s doing great as she’s right on schedule today. I heard her alarm going off really early this morning and must say she’s putting her heart into this.

It’s been quite the interesting day. Lauren has been trying to get herself acclimated to TX and getting into a grove of her own. I’ll have to say, she’s doing quite well.

We seem to have pretty deep conversations throughout our days as she confides so much in me. At one point I needed a Kleenex while she relayed her love for me. She went all the way back when I first met her at the tender age of 10 (9 years ago). She thanked me for always being so kind and good to her even when she was not so nice to me. With tears in her eyes she continued to thank me for being a part of her life and for always being there for her. I never really thought she would remember the past but she just brought it up for the first time today. She still remembers me telling her how special she was all those years ago. I’m so thankful for our close bond and pray she will always know that I love and care for her. I have to say I feel I’ve been given a prize and the rewards continue to come. I’m so blessed.

Over the course of last week, I was dubbed ‘the deberazzi’. The camera has been following those girls everywhere as we only get to see them for short periods of time nowadays.

Naomi and Kristy pose in the kitchen before their little outing. Naomi is a triplet and when her other two sisters (Sarah and Elizabeth) are here, I have such a difficult time telling them all apart. Naomi is such a sweet gal and is always welcome in our home. Naomi also won some points as she showed up sporting a ‘Michigan State’ shirt. For anyone that doesn’t know, that’s where Kristy goes to college. It’s so hard to believe Kristy’s already a Junior.

Lauren, Kristy, Arianne and Naomi

These girls are all set to go over to the Waffle House late one evening last week. Arianne is a little more outgoing with such an infectious laughter. She’s quite bubbly and adds such a bright spot in our lives. We really enjoy catching up with Kristy when she’s home and also look forward to seeing her close friends from home too.

The house is a little more quite now that Kristy’s gone and Lauren has started to sink into her books and all the reading material that she brought from home. By the looks from the box of books, it looks like a miniature library in her room. Bobby’s going to be moving a nice bookcase into her room to accommodate her. She also plans to study while she’s here to prepare for testing to see what classes that she can test out of.

Lauren and her dad plan to do some daddy/daughter stuff and one of those things discussed last night was the ‘tango’. Lockheed Martin Recreation Association (LMRA) offers numerous evening dance classes but the tango is the one that tickles our Little Miss Lauren’s fancy. That should be so much fun for them.

There are some days that I feel like I’m flying by the seat of my pants and the winds can change depending on everyone’s schedule. I “think” we are going to post pone our trip to Alaska until July. We want to spend as much time with Lauren as we can so I believe those changes are in the works. Otherwise, we will be leaving next Friday (the 26th) and I don’t feel prepared at all. This summer is all about going with the flow and that suits me just fine.

Mother’s Day is always a special day for me as I’m blessed with 3 great stepchildren. They all treat me with so much respect and I could not ask for more on this special day.

Below are some of the words that were written and on top of that I had some beautiful writings from them. After reading special sentiments from them, my heart smiled. They have welcomed me into their lives and I’m so blessed because of that.

To a Special Stepmother

You came into our lives so gently,

and you never tried

to take anyone’s place.

You loved us

in your own special way…

and we want you to know

that we really love you, too.

Our tenderhearted Lauren paying her respects. She found a “dead” bird on our front doorstep so she took it upon herself to give that precious bird a special burial in the yard. We have a rather large window above our front door and on seldom occasions we will hear the sound of a bird crashing into it. I can’t get over what a great big heart Lauren has, even for the fallen little bird. She’s quite special.

I’ve never dreamed of going to this place, not in a million years and the scenery ”Captures My Heart”, be still oh my soul! Alright, ok – Answer – This picture of Bobby and me was taken in our kitchen last evening by one of the girl’s right before the birthday boy’s desert. I didn’t really care for the blinds in the background, so I found a background that blew me away. The reason I’ve never dreamed of going here is because I have no earthly idea where this beautiful place here on earth is.

The girls enjoyed the campfire in the cool of the evening. Marshmallows were roasted and memories were made.

I captured some pics of my special handsome Bobby as he was leaving for work this morning

Today we celebrate Bobby’s 45th birthday with so much love. He’s been the very best husband, and friend I could ever ask for and so blessed to have him in my life. His love and devotion mean the world to me. He’s my number 1 who exudes happiness and joy. I wish My Darlin’ a Very Happy Birthday and many more.

He requested the flag that flies over the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor Hawaii quite some time ago. So I made arrangements for his flag to fly over the Arizona today. There will be a certificate included with his flag along with a special message for him. He’s getting some other items but I know that flag will be very meaningful for him as we’ve visited the memorial 3 times now.

Tonight we have plans for Babe’s fried chicken again! That’s one of the places Kristy wants to go while she’s here and a very good excuse to enjoy that on this Bobby’s very special day.

Today was another busy day in the yard. The grass is cut and everything is in order. Now as I sit in the late evening hours, I hear a soothing thunderstorm brewing. To me, thunderstorms capture my utmost attention. The smell of rain, the wind in the trees, the giant thunderheads in the sky, the distant rumbling, the flash of lightning, I soak it all in.

Today was a marathon of events and the party is still not over. Bobby called to see if I would be up for Razzoo’s per Kristy’s request. So, off to Razzoo’s we went around 7 PM. We enjoyed a fabulous Cajun meal served up with fried pickles and rat toes as our appetizers. I love pickles, but fried pickles are out of this world!

A family gathering at Razzoo’s for dinner

Fried rat toes and pickles. The rat toes are stuffed Jalapeños dipped in batter and fried.

Fun atmosphere

Sisters

Lauren and Kristy whipped up some cookies when we got home and believe it or not I didn’t indulge at all. Guess I had too many fried pickles! A few of Kristy’s friends came over and are still gathered around the kitchen table. We hear sounds of laughter, girls talking over one another and catching up on old times. It a happening party down there and they ended up eating all the cookies that were made.

Oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies in the works

Bobby chops the pecans

Let the party begin

Kristy and Lauren are off to 6 Flags tomorrow (weather permitting) and I’ve promised to make cookies for grandma (my mother-in-law) since they polished off all the cookies. We’ll see if I can bake without getting my fingers caught in the cookie jar.

Not sure what day it is as we are going a mile a min around here. Perhaps you’ve noticed the decline of my presence in the blogosphere of late. The seams of hibernation have burst and, well… Life has picked up an unusual element of craziness. Late nights, early mornings, gardening, landscaping, spring cleaning, reorganizing, redecorating, hands full with girls who bring laughter to our home. Last evening Bobby commented that it was so good to hear the laughter and chuckles from the girls. And on and on and on…

Lauren’s appointment for her pictures went well and they scheduled to have her pictures taken while Kristy’s here (this Friday) so they can have a few together. These will be Lauren’s senior pictures as she was “too busy” her senior year (last year) to get them taken. Bobby’s given the girls a fist full of dollars to spend on clothes (for their pictures this Friday) and they will be off to the Galleria in Dallas shortly, or whenever they roll out of bed.

The girls will be making cookies for their grandma this evening. They told us last night that they need to make extra as they want some too. I’m running into a little teensy weensy bump in the road while Kristy’s here. I’m doing really well maintaining but I’m not seeing anymore really good progress lately.

Kristy wants to hit a few favorite restaurants while she’s here and we understand. She has a craving for brisket, she also wants to go to Razzoo’s where they have fried pickles and fried rat toes (the rat toes are stuffed jalapeño peppers dipped into batter and fried, they really look like rats as the stem is left on to look like a tail), and she wants to go to Babe’s too! We’re going to accommodate her this week as we understand what it’s like to come home and crave your favorite places.

Our last two end tables arrive today and it will be so good to finally have the full set. I’ll be waiting here for the delivery guys and I’ll be sure to answer the door when the bell rings this time.

Lauren is fervent about poetry, music and “the coffee shop”. And not just any ole coffee shop will do. She loves an atmosphere where art abounds and musicians bloom. It’s all about ambiance and “beautiful people” (defined as having a beautiful heart) as she likes to say. She seems to be diving right into life here and has already found one of her favorite coffee shops in our little area. Now I’m eager to see just what it is that tickles her fancy.

Last night was open mike night at the coffee shop and she was ready to plunge right in. She’s quite the outgoing one and has never met a stranger. She left the house with her guitar, poetry book and the biggest smile on her face. Most of the songs she shares are straight from her heart and written by her. After her performance the owner invited her to fill an hour spot for Saturday evening and she accepted. We’re definitely going to pay a visit one evening when she’s performing.

Its Bobby’s Friday off and they are off on their weekly date. Bobby’s taking Lauren on a few errands and then to an appointment to get Lauren’s pictures taken. I think it’s so important that they have their time together as they need that bonding time, just the two of them.

For me, Lauren is kinda like having a friend/sister around. Lauren always wants to sit and have lunch together with me at the table. We find great stuff to talk about and I find she’s such a warm young lady with such a great big heart. We’ve also started walking together and the exercise is just what I need. We’re having such a great time with her and I think she plans to stay with us for several weeks if not longer.