Just one of THOSE Days

Today is just one of those days. Today would have been my dad's birthday. Needless to say, I have been quite down today. Actually, I have been down for the last couple of days. On Thursday, it was 1 month ago that my dad died. Just thinking alot about it the last couple of days. My kids and I had a memory cake for my dad on Thursday. Just a way to remember him and his birthday. My kids thourghly enjoyed the time of remembering. I thought that you all might like to see who my dad was, so here is a glimpse of him.

CARVER, JAMES L., PH.D., 63 - of Safety Harbor, FL, and formerly of Rosedale died on Monday at his residence in Rosedale. Born in Craig, Colorado he lived in Rosedale for 39 years before moving to Florida. He was an US Army Veteran of the Vietnam War. Mr. Carver was a register nurse having worked at John F. Kennedy Hospital in Cherry Hill; Ancora State Hospital; Kessler Hospital In Hammonton and Meadowview Nursing Home in Williamstown. He also formerly worked as a Colorado State Patrolman. He was a member of the Riders of the Lamb motorcycle club. Mr. Carver is survived by his wife: Jacqueline A. Carver (nee Wooton); two daughters: Melanie Ann Carver of Safety Harbor, FL; Shannon Marie Connors of Mt. Airy, MD his mother: Eva Grace Carver of Golden, CO; one sister: Karen L. Vogeler of Golden, CO; one brother: Lance Craig Carver of Browns Mill; four grandchildren: Kenneth James Connors; Elizabeth Mariah Connors; Michelle Leigh Connors and Daniel Jackson Connors. Memorial Services will be held Wednesday 11:00am in Victory Bible Church, 816 S. Egg Harbor Road, Hammonton, where a visitation with the family will be held from 10:00am until 11:00am. Memorial donations may be made to Mt. Airy Christian Academy 16700 Old Frederick Road, Mt. Airy, MD 21771. Arrangements are by the Carnesale Funeral Home, Hammonton, NJ.

Published in The Press of Atlantic City on 12/30/2008

Two Days and Counting.....and other Misc Things

Ice, ice everywhere. Yesterday it was snow, today it's ice. The kids have been home from school the last 2 days. Well, actually, the youngest didn't have school on Monday (teacher work day) and twin #1 was sick Monday. So, they haven't been to school yet this week. Tomorrow, the 3 oldest have an orthodontic appointment, to #1-see if they need braces, #2-determine when they would need to start treatment if needed. My twins' canine adult teeth look like they are growing in sideways. The dentist did feel that removing the baby canines would allow cause the adult canine to move on their own (path of least resistance philosophy) to the correct position.

Since the kiddos school was closed due to the weather, I had to follow my family's tradition (something my mom and dad started with me and my sister on snow days), take the kids out to breakfast. Yea, sounds kinda funny...school closed due to poor road conditions related to snow and ice, and I take them out first thing in the morning to breakfast. We only went to McDonalds for hot cakes and sausage, but they did get to have the entire indoor play area to themselves.

My right ankle is acting up again. I broke it twice over the years, and now it is considered a weak joint. Well, yesterday, it decided to pop. It now is about twice the size and it is about all I can do to walk on it. It did this once or twice before, just need to rest it for a few days.

As if that wasn't enough, I have been helping my mom with the house in NJ (my childhood home that my mom and dad have been trying to sell for about a year). Well, about 3-4 days ago, the realtor called to say that there was a water leak in the house. My mom called her brother (who lives near the house) and he has fixed the leak, but unfortunately the cause of the leak was because of no heat in the house. No heat in the house was because no oil in the oil tank. No oil in the oil tank was because of a leak in the oil line. We were hoping it was just the coupler that attaches the oil line to the tank, but, NO!! It is the entire oil line that has multiple pin holes. Now, we need to have the entire oil line replaced. I have been helping my mom, because these types of things just up set her right now. I understand completely. Today she called me to tell me that now she has to shell out $1000 for new tires. She knew that she needed them, but on top of everything, it is getting too much. Still having to pay the mortgage on the NJ house, new oil line, oil for the NJ house, new tires, funeral costs, etc. Everything is just adding up. It seems like ya just can't get a break. Luckily we have a deep faith, and know that this is just a trial right now, and one that will make us stronger in Him.

I Heart Faces-Joy Edition

Is there anything more joyous than a child enjoying water? Enough said.

Check out other photos or add your own by going to
http://www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

You Will Never Believe This

Kristen, over at We Are That Family is having an unbelievable giveaway. She is giving away a Kate Spade handbag, yea, a Kate Spade handbag. Go check it out. How cool is that. Here are the details of the handbag as copied from Kristen's Blog.

Details:
Kate Spade Clinton Street Flat Serena Handbag in Magenta



Dotted with vintage boutiques and cozy restaurants, New York's Clinton Street is the essence of the city's creative spirit. Embodying this vitality is the Flat Serena Handbag from Kate Spade's Clinton Street Collection. Smart in structure and iconic in style, this oxford nylon bag trimmed in patent calfskin leather works with so many attire choices. Handbag also features zipper closure, interior pockets, 14K gold-plated hardware, 100% cotton-twill lining, 8-1/4" handle drop, and Kate Spade leather license plate signature.


Retail $245

Don't wait, the contest ends Friday morning.

My Little Gumba

My little Gumba, aka Danny, is sick today. He woke this morning saying he was dizzy. I immediately took his temp, 101.8. So, no school for him today. I gave him some Motrin and now that his fever is down, he feels fine. He is sitting in the kitchen playing his brother's DS.
He is having fun having a day off school with his mommy. I think that soon we will go lay down in the back room and watch cartoons. What could be better? No school, laying down with mommy watching cartoons. That's what I would want to do if i were him.

You Gotta Check This OUT!!

Alicia, over at MORE than WORDS is having a great giveaway. She is giving away a total blog makeover. Yes, you heard me right, a TOTAL BLOG MAKEOVER. The contest ends on Jan 24, 2009, so make sure you hurry. I already have entered!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Look at the size of that tongue. #1 twin (in pink striped bathing suit) was having a blast, she got to get up close and personal to her favorite animal in the world.

Kids Having Fun

Today we had our first official snow with actual accumulation. It was only about an inch, but as you can see, the kids loved it.

I Heart Faces-Week 2 Entry

Here is my entry for this week in the kids contest. This photo is a picture of one of my twins. I choose this photo for the look on her face, it is so typical of her. She is an identical twin,so telling her apart from her sister is usually done by personal likes/dislikes. This is just one of a few photos where I can tell who it is by the look, I can see her personality come through and know it is her. This is just one of my favorite pictures of her. I took this picture in my front yard in front of a Japanese Red Maple tree, a favorite spot of mine for portraits of the kids.

I Heart Faces is a new photography blog that has a contest a week, check it out for more great photos and you can enter your picture too.http://www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

Sunday at Pizza Hut

After church today, kiddos and I went to Pizza Hut. We had a great time. Initially, I had coupons for each of the children to have a free personal pan pizza, but since the waitress messed up, they took 50% off the bill, so I kept the coupons for another time. I could have saved the coupons, but 5 people eating for $15, decided to keep the coupons for another night out. Later, I made Buffalo Wings. Very easy. I boil the wings until they are cooked throughout (about 10mins max), then dredge them in bread crumbs and deep fry them for 2-3 mins. The best part about cooking them this way is that the wings stay very moist on the inside. The kids love them this way too, since they just taste like fried chicken and it is not too hot for their little tongues. I just dip mine in a buffalo sauce to my liking.

Just got done watching the Eagles loose to the Cards.....BooHoo. At least the second half of the game was good, even though my team lost. Now onto watching Baltimore and Pittsburgh, should be another good game.

Joy of Children

Woke this morning to find a dusting of snow on the ground. Kiddos woke, saw the snow, the squeals and jumping started. They then had to turn on the TV to see if they had school....even though I already told them I checked and they had school. I drove the oldest to school, to then turn around and get my youngest home to make the bus. Because of the snow, my road was backed up for 15 miles. Luckily, I know the back roads, and ended up driving my youngest to school, to find that the buses were just leaving the middle schools to start the elementary school runs. He was so upset that he couldn't play in the snow....all 2 flakes of them. Yes, that little bit of snow caused major traffic problems. It is great seeing the kids excitement over the little things in life. Snow, getting popcorn for a Christmas present, having a cookie for dessert, getting a kiss from mom. I am so lucky to have such great kids that don't whine if they don't get every new fade out there, but cherish what they do have. Just this past week, my one daughter willing helped my sister clean the kitchen, just so she could spend time with her aunt before she her aunt headed back to Florida.

On another note, I had to get rid of the cat my dad gave the kids. Angel, named because the cat had a guardian ANGEL looking out for him, decided that he didn't like me and attacked me out of the blue. He backed me into a corner and clawed my legs up while I was taking wood in the house. He has never done anything like that before and it really scared me. I decided to take him to the local animal control agency, who will be watching him for a few weeks, and if they need to test him for rabies they will let me know. Hopefully, he just didn't like me bringing wood in the house.

YEA!!!

Go EAGLES!!! Growing up around the Philly area, I was so excited about the Eagles winning. I know that not may gave them half a chance against the Giants, but Donnovan and the gang came through for me. Good luck next week against the Cards. On the AFC front, the Ravens look like they will be facing the Steelers. I know that the game isn't over yet, only 1 quarter left, but the way the Chargers are playing, looks like the Steelers will steal away this one. Living in centeral Maryland, Steelers vs Ravens, can't go wrong there. The best senerio for the Super Bowl would be Eagles vs Ravens. One will see.

Yea, I love football. Grew up watching it my entire life, can't help but enjoy watching it. I love having a room full of people watching football with people rooting for each team. The yelling back and forth, not much better. My son was rooting for the Chargers (too many kids at school like the Steelers), so I had to egg him by rooting for the Steelers. It's soooooo much fun.

Right now, my sister is working with my girls and their spelling words. Words like d-i-s-t-a-n-c-e, a-u-t-h-o-r, d-a-u-g-h-t-e-r, a-w-e-s-o-m-e, and n-a-u-g-h-t-y. They are only in 3rd grade, and some of the words that they have to spell is amazing. They have 20 words every week, and spelling is not Michelle's best subject. She is a master drawer, but spelling and math are just a struggle. Lizzy is better at spelling. Lizzy actually uses her phonics and is able to figure out the spelling of the words, and the words she is not able to figure out, writting them 5 times is usually enough to make them stick. Michelle, no amount of writting them helps. She just has a block to spelling. Every week it is like pulling teeth to do spelling, at least they have the some words every week, the joy of twins in the same class.

Things are getting a little better emotionally. There are times that my emotiona just come flooding, but getting back to work this weekend has helped to get my mind off things. My mom drove back to Florida on Friday, and she is home now. I still worry about her, but know that she has good friends in Florida.

My bathroom has been on hold. The trouble with getting the shower base really put a stop to things. While my dad was here, he was able to do the electrical work for me...Thanks Dad. I now have the shower base in place, and just need to put up the durarock up, then the tiling can begin. I will try this week to work on getting the durarock in place, weather permitting.

Well, that's about all for now.

Back to life

I obviously haven't been around much lately. Have had a few things going on. My laptop, that I usually blog on, had a broken screen and needed replacement. I finally get it back today. Had to do the Christmas thing, then the funeral thing. The funeral actually was easier than I thought. We had a great tribute. My dad always wanted to be cremated. We honored his wishes. The night before the funeral, we all troded up to my uncle's house and had a great time of remembering. The next morning, we went to the church. Meet with family and friends. The memorial service was more like a church service. Don't get me wrong, there was some crying, but it wasn't that bad. After the service, we all headed over to the family burial plot and threw some ashes there. It was nice, a place to go to honor my dad, and grandparents.
The kids are doing great. My youngest 3 wanted to see their Poppie at the funeral home to say goodbye. My oldest just wanted to remember Poppie from Christmas. At the cemetery, again my oldest wanted nothing to do with the throwing of the ashes, my younger 3, they had to be involved. My kids even picked out the urn for the funeral service. It was good, made them have a say in how their Poppie was remembered. Even my mom agreed they picked the best one for him.
Now we are just trying to get back to normalcy, not that things will ever be normal for me again. Kids are back in school, and I start back to work tomorrow. Life goes on.