Busy, Beautiful Days

What a busy, busy week I've had - and it's not over yet! So I'm a little behind on, well, everything, but also on blogging.

Here I am with my new fridge last Sunday! I'm loving it. I will love it even more once Paul gets the water lines hooked up to it so I can used the handy dandy ice doorway ice dispenser! You can get a glimpse of our construction behind the doorway there. That used to be the bathroom; now it's set to become my office. Paul has been home most of this week so he's gotten quite a bit done, which is nice.

I had my pre-op appt. yesterday for my upcoming surgery. Sounds like it is going to be a bit more of a bigger deal than I thought. It will still be outpatient but my dr. told me I'll be wanting to take it easy for several days afterward. I kind of thought once the anesthesia wore off I'd be good to go, but evidently not. I really do not have time, though, to be down for several days. She looked at my cervix yesterday to help her determine which kind of ablation method to use. She says I have a super-tiny, tight cervix, which oddly enough, made me feel proud! It's only because I've never pushed a human being out that thing, I'm sure! But anyway, she's going to use the method where she inserts a camera. That way she can get a good look at the inside of my uterus first. She said if she sees any weak spots, though, she won't do the ablation. I doubt there are any of those. She said this method is a little more thorough, too.

Dr. Morgan said, "Now, there's no turning back after this - are you absolutely, positively sure you are done having babies?" But she then hastened to add, "Although it would be extremely dangerous for you to do so!" Yes, I'm sure...not liking it, but I'm done. Actually, it isn't another baby that's appealing - it's just the thought of a fifth child. I saw a pregnant woman yesterday on my way up to the office and my first thought was, "Boy, am I glad I'm done with that stage of life!" It was fun to go back for awhile with Sam, but I really have no desire to do the baby thing ever again.

After that appointment yesterday I ran out to Penneys because I had a really good coupon. But I've been so discouraged lately with clothes shopping. I have reached a point in my life where I can't find anything I like. Stores are full of these thin, drapey fabrics that you layer - and that is not me. I am more into classics and they're kind of hard to find right now. Plus, I'm ever-mindful of my age and I know that the cardinal rule with older dressing is to not show too much skin and to not try to look like a college student again. At the same time, though, I'm not ready for elastic waisted pants (although they would be comfortable!) and seersucker blazers or sweatshirts with cutesy designs embroidered on. I used to have so many choices and was limited only by practicality and money. Now, I'm willing to spend more, but I can't find the clothes! However, I did find two shirts for spring/summer yesterday, so I was quite pleased. The big thing this season is rolled up sleeves that hit just above the elbow and are secured to the sleeve with a buttoned strap. I found a worn-denim shirt like that that I bought. Of course, my upper arms are so fat that I had to get an XL in order to even feel comfortable in it. I also found a red t-shirt with red embroidery on it. But I'll have to be careful when leaning over! My big hunt right now is for an Easter dress. I'm having zero luck with that. I can either look cute, flirty, and twenty-five or I can look like Laura Bush. Maybe Barbara Bush, actually.

After that I had to show up in Pleasant Hill to decorate for the Network Formal that is tonight. I've complained about this before. It's forced servitude that I have to put in for the privilege of paying to send Will to the homeschool co-op. Not that I'm really complaining - it's just the way they do it . I've been really pleased with the progress Will has made this year in his class, so if I have to put in some hours of work to make that happen, then so be it. I thought I'd be there an hour, maybe two. Hah! I was there for over 5 hours! Silly me - I thought that because I was on the decorating committee I just had to decorate. No, I ended up ripping apart place cards and putting chairs around tables. Ugh - too much work! I was under the impression that we had a set-up crew coming in. Apparently, we were it. I didn't mind doing the extra work (well, moving a hundred or so chairs was pretty tiring) - it was the just the time because I've been on such a tight schedule lately. I had to call Paul and say, "Um, if you guys want to eat tonight it'll have to be frozen pizzas or soup!"

I had to laugh, though, at one of the decorations that went up. It was a backdrop that I didn't work on. It looks, to me anyway, like a giant woman's private parts. I kept waiting for someone to say something, but nobody did. So maybe they don't see what I do. My mind must work in perverted ways. But the resemblance is uncanny - in my opinion, anyway! Reminds me of that episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond" where Marie takes an art class and makes an art sculpture in all innocence that ends up looking like a vagina. Everyone is horrified but nobody has the guts to tell her. But I didn't say anything to anyone, lest I force them to see something that their own minds hadn't registered as being offensive. Besides, I know it was totally unintentional.

But, one nice thing came out of it. There was this gal there that looked so familiar to me. I finally found out who she was and I immediately remembered her from 21 years ago, from my year at Faith! We were classmates, although we didn't run in the same circles. Her husband, who was also at Faith that year, is in the same business Paul is. They have 3 kids and their oldest attends the Network. But what is also neat is that she works part-time for a faith-based organization that provides SCL (supported community living) skills for mentally challenged teens/young adults. That's something I'm going to have to arrange in a few years for Ben. I'm hopeful now that maybe I could go through this gal's organization and maybe even she could be Ben's worker. I don't know. But it's something I have simmering now in the back of my mind. So, anyway, we had a nice time chatting yesterday and catching up.

Last week Sam told me, "I tired. I tink I'm getting grumpy." Hah! And then one day, I was entertaining myself while doing some paperwork, by singing, "Come on, Baby, light my fire." I think those are the only words of the song that I know, so I sang them over and over again. Sam looked at me strangely and then said, "Mom! You know babies can't play with fire!" Ha, ha, ha!

Oh, I forgot to mention our anniversary. It was lovely - 18 years on the 20th. We went out on Sat. night, intending to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. However, the state wrestling tournament had brought in all these thousands of people who all descended on the Jordan Creek restaurants on Sat. night. We should have made reservations - just didn't think of it. So, it was going to be over an hour wait there. So, we went over to Johnny's Italian Steakhouse - also an hour wait! We ended up at Red Robin, which is not exactly an enclave of romance. However, we did have a nice meal.

Paul asked me what is something that is true of our lives today that I would have never imagined 18 years ago. I laughed and said, "Having all boys!" He said he would have never imagined moving away from Council Bluffs. But, then we went on to agree that probably the biggest thing is knowing that we can still have terrific disagreements (fights?) and they don't mean anything. In the early years of our marriage, they would leave us shell-shocked and wondering if we had married the wrong person, would our marriage survive, what was wrong with us that we didn't always get along, etc. But now we know that they're just fights, that's all. And it's not like they happen very often, anyway. But they are survivable. We aren't divorcing, we aren't out of love. We're stronger than we ever were before. It's a secure feeling.

On Sunday, which was our anniversary, we got an ice cream cake from DQ - $20! Good grief. But, it was good! David made us a sweet card. Then, Paul stayed up late figuring up his self-employment stuff for our tax appt. the next day and I went to bed long before him. Ahh - romance!

I have been asked to guest-blog on another gal's site in April. She has a son on the autism spectrum and most of her blog posts are devoted to that subject. April is National Autism Awareness month. She also asked if Will or David would be interested in writing about being a sibling of a child with autism. I haven't asked them yet - we'll see.

Well, I think this catches me up for now. This afternoon I have to go help with Special Olympics practice again. Will said he wants to help, which I think will be good for him. Then, later tonight I have to go back to the church and help undecorate from the formal. That's ok. It will give me a chance to see all the teenage girls dressed up and will give me an idea of what the moms wear. If Will is still in the Network his senior year, I just may force him to go to the formal - for me!

Here's to a less busy week next week - maybe? Looking at my calendar, I think not. Perhaps being unable to move for a few days due to pain will be a good thing for me!