When you're the Best of Friends

It is so nice to have good friends.



You go along together in the same direction...



Keeping each other company on the right path...

And when you rest...

There is always someone...

To keep you warm.

If you work together and get along...

Your journey will be JOY!

Friends!

Hero Dad

"Cut it here, Daddy!" I said through my tears. Dad was struggling to get tape off my finger. Why? Well, after Monkey See's trip to the hospital. (See THIS post for details), Mom and I took a trip down memory lane. I broke my thumb when I too was seven and in second grade.

What?! You are NOT surprised by the fact that I am clumsy?
You underestimate me! No, I mean you underestimate just how klutzy I am! Really! I cannot even be classified as only clumsy(not strong enough), awkward(sadly ineffective) or klutzy(weak adjective). My clumsy episodes are actually rated on the F-scale. Really.

So here is what happened...

Mom and Daddy were out for the evening, and my older sister and brother were supposed to be watching my younger sister and me. I have NO idea why they weren't, but they were upstairs leaving my younger sister and I to our own devices.
I blame them completely! They weren't watching us, and me breaking my thumb was ALL THEIR FAULT!

No, NOT really!

Anyway, J and I were playing with a folding high chair. At one point, I was trying to move it or something with J still in it, and it suddenly went down and took both of us with it. My thumb was right in the joint and was folded in the joint when we went down. The full weight of J and the chair all landed on my thumb. Somehow, and I don't know how, she landed square on the seat as it hit the floor -unhurt.

WAAAAAAA! It is all your fault! ....Oh, I give up! I do not blame anyone. It is one of those things that happen to me because I am rated on the F-scale.

I bet YOU can't say that!

HOPE you can't say that!

Thank GOODNESS you can't say that!

Really. I am TERRIBLE. I sprained my ankle four times this past year! You think I am kidding, but I am not. I really did.

Unfortunately, My poor Monkey See inherited my graceful prowess! She is doomed to a life of scars, scars and more scars! *SIGH* poor little girl!

So there we were, in the kitchen, and somehow I managed to disentangle my thumb.

Now, you know how, when you are little, that you ALWAYS think EVERY boo-boo is a broken (insert appendage here)! Well, during one of my dramatic (I bet you can't believe I am dramatic!) over-reactions (I bet you can't believe that I tend to over-react!), my mother said, "If it was broken, it would be black and blue right away!" And all the other things that mothers say -when they have dramatic (not me!!) daughters who tend to over-react (surely you can't be talking about THIS blogger!)
Somehow that stuck with me. So as I stood in the dining room of the VERY big home we had, I looked at my thumb, and it was absolutely black.

SSSSCCCCRRRRREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!

I think they heard it in China, don't you? Did YOU hear it? It would have been early spring in 19.... OOPS! almost gave my age away! Anyway, if you heard my scream, just forget WHEN it was. And whatever you do, don't tell! Then we can all remain friends!

Anyhoo! S and L came running, and S didn't know what to do, so he called Grandma (you can see a picture of her HERE). Grandma came over, and being from rural Nebraska, the nearest ER was 30 miles away. Back in NE, there are still small-town Doctors! You get the best care from doctors who know your first name and delivered you, all your siblings, and in some cases, your parents. You went to the same Doctor for everything, and nearly everything could be handled there!

But it was closed.

So Grandma, not really knowing what to do, decided to stabilize it by wrapping it with tape.
TIGHT, with tape!

Then she put us all to bed and went home.

I woke while it was dark, and my thumb was throbbing. I tossed and turned. I tried so hard to go back to sleep, but my thumb hurt SO BAD, and I was holding back the tears. Then I couldn't any longer. I didn't want to wake my parents. I thought they might be mad at me for being out of bed, but I could not take the pain any longer. So I got out of bed and went to my parent's room. I think I went around to the other side of the bed -away from the door- and woke Daddy up. He sat up an in the dim light from the yard lamp outside, he could see that there was something wrong.
"Cindy, turn on the light!"

I will never forget as long as I live the look of horror in my parent's eyes as they saw my thumb. It had swelled so badly that the skin and swollen tissue had stretched between the edges of the tape and made little bulges and bumps. It pushed its way out. And it was painful.

They KNEW it was hurting me, and there was a look in my mother's eyes of sheer horror at my pain. My Daddy looked so sad, but he was all business! Mom went and got her tiny little Fiskars (scissors), and Daddy began the difficult job of trying to cut the tape off of my thumb -without cutting me or causing me any more pain. It was a daunting task. The tape had been stuck sticky-side to sticky-side and would not budge -not only that, but the swelling had caused the tape to be even tighter. It took what felt like forever! And I vividly remember telling Daddy to cut it in a specific place, and he told me that it would not get the tape off, but snipped there anyway. Sure enough. He was right! It stuck -steadfast refusing to budge.

I would have to say that, in the whole process from the breaking all the way to the cast, this part was the most painful and traumatic. I was SO relieved when the tape finally came off! There was such instant relief! My thumb still throbbed, but it was no longer throbbing AND constricted -an excruciating combination!

Daddy knew just what to do! He splinted my finger (wrapping it very LOOSELY this time).
By the time Daddy got all the splint on, I could just begin to see the sky turning from black to gray, and it began to grow lighter as I snuggled into their waterbed and fell asleep.

The next morning, Mom found someone to watch J (I think it was Grandma), T & S went to school, and I went to the Dr. He confirmed the break -right on the knuckle- and put a cast all the way to my elbow.

My Daddy was and is my hero. Good under pressure, he always loved me without condition, always accepted me without expectation, and never turned away affection. Daddy always shares. He would go into the store and get a really BIG drink -because he gave every one of us turns to have a drink. I bet he still shares with the grandkids!

He is a great driver. We had a little standard transmission Festiva, and one day, there were a couple of teens in a muscle care at one of the three lights in Norfolk, NE (hehe!), and they were reving the engine. When the light turned green he blew their bangs back! What a shame, all that souped-up power, and no skill to use it! Truly a shame! It is important to note that we had to PILE in that car! There were six kids in the family, and somehow we always managed. I don't think we were all in there then, but I am SURE the car was above capacity!

Daddy is an Army man. He was always so handsome in his uniform, and I loved the way he smelled when he came home. Even though he is retired, I don't think that you ever get the Army out of the man! We would go for the picnics and to pick him up from his reserve weekends, and those young boys respected him. I am sure that they still do. I bet they have nothing but the highest regard for him even now.

Daddy can watch someone for a few minutes, and tell you what kind of person they are. He has a sence about that, but also he can read people like you would not believe. He watched us, as kids, and knew when we needed him. Always ready to comfort, and affirm his unconditional love. I learned how to watch people from the best.

He almost never yelled at us, but when he did, we REALLY deserved his anger! And it meant something that he was always calm and loving in his dealing with my mistakes. He listened to me, and heard me out. Paid attention to my side of the story. That meant so much to me. More than I can say.

There are more things that he did right than I am able to list here. But I am so grateful for the kind of Dad that I have! He gave us the acceptance that we needed, and I never needed to look for love somewhere else. He believed in me. Once he told me, once, that I could be the first woman president if I wanted to. Dads out there: Do you know just how crucial it is to believe in your daughters, and tell them that?! I think that no man will ever know the impact that a father has on every woman in the world. My Dad did it right, but there are so many Dads out there that really don't get it and never did.
Mine did get it, and I am so grateful. I would not trade him for the world.

Thank you, Daddy. You are my Hero! I thank God for you!


Here is my Hero, busy charming Monkey Shine!
They both look so wonderful in these photos!
So often, photos are full of fake smiles, and half-hearted expressions.
But not these! They show just the true smiles of two of my favorite people!


Here are some more great dads:

Team Hoyt

My Hero Project

Hero Dad

Enjoy reading about these dads who were and are heroes to their kids.

I think I will read this post again, and read about mine!

Let's face it, if I am sitting and reading, I am unlikely to kill myself or have any debilitating injuries. Maybe THAT is why I loved to read as a kid! Less risk!

God bless the great dads. God bless mine!
Take care of yourself, you dads out there! We still need you!

Hairdryer Overtime

One of the benefits of Monkey See having an air cast is that it is removable for bath time, and as she gradually is no longer needs it, then we will be able to remove it for longer and longer periods of time. However, right now she has to wear it 24-7, and it is SO terriblycumbersome and ruins ALL the fun. This she has been struggling with!

Mom, Can I ride my bike?

NO!

Mom, can I rollerskate?

NO!

Mom, can I go play in the sandbox?

NO!

Mom, can I play in the pool?

NO!

Mom, can I run through the sprinkler?

NO!

I CAN'T DO ANYTHING!!! (say with whiny voice)

Poor girl! As they were puting the splint on her ankle, the nurse said, "There goes her summer!" I occurred to me that she is right. Monkey see will have VERY limited summer activities.

So, because of her downcast spirit, I made another Mother error in judgment -almost as bad as letting her wear platform tennies! I let her play in the water. At the hospital, they told us that if she was going to have a bath, to wrap her leg in 2 garbage bags, and seal it with duct tape (no, NOT duck tape!)

So when we went to a friend's house for a pre-injury-planned playdate, I brought along the trash bags, and let her play with the kids. She never went in the kiddie pool! She was just playing in the dirt!

When we left, the property value of our friends went down. Monkey See took so much dirt with her that they MUST have lost an acre or two!
You can see my attempt to seal her air cast off to moisture.

Well, this is what happens when you say to your kid -having SO much fun- that it is time to go!
We are working on attitude! No! NOT more! LESS!

Let's try this again, and this time with the RIGHT attitude!

(no picture available)

So we got the trash bags off, and the water was DRIPPING from her air cast! AAAACK!

Well, THAT didn't work!

This is what happens when your strange mother lets you get your air cast wet!



Boy, did my hairdryer get a royal workout -as if drying my VERY thick hair was not enough of a workout on any given day. I had it on the cool setting and dried, and dried!

It took forever! And after it was all done, my poor hairdryer was POOPED!

Here it is sitting down and puting its cord up!

Here it is relaxing and catching up on its TV.

Here it is requesting some time off.

Look at the hope in its heating coils!


Request denied!
My hair is unruly! I need my hairdryer to tame my massive hair in this humidity!


See how it hangs its coils?

Aaawwww! Don't be discouraged, Hairdryer! You CAN take a nap!

I will push the button to retract your cord, and you can sleep until tomorrow!
(Out of focus!)

Here it is, all retracted, and ready for drawer!

Tucked in nice and snug. Good night!


Rest, my Hairdryer! For tomorrow you will be put to work again! And I hope that you still work after that stress test. Just don't conk out on me! I would like to say a special thanks to both Conair and Hairdryer itself. For without you, we would be dragging around a very drippy child! Not to mention all the wrinkles on her foot!

Thank you!

Yeah. We WON'T be doing THAT again. What is wrong with me! Really! What was I thinking?!?! I am guessing that if I don't know, then neither do you! Because then I could not have told you.
Any guesses anyone?

Ahh! I am my own brand of strange. I have no equals only imitators!

Oh, Where have all the bloggers gone?

I have absolutely NO idea where all the other bloggers have been! The truth is they might be blogging, but I have not had time to check because:

I have been busy.

"The stock market has been plummeting, so you have been spending all your spare time buying stocks online?" -you ask.

Negative. (a Nod to my military Dad)

"Hmmm. You are getting your doctorate?"

Haha! Now that is REALLY funny!

Nope. (Nebraska slang)

"Are you scrap booking?"

Not on your life!
(From that one movie that I cannot remember now)

**Disclaimer: Said blogger has no problem with any person or persons who enjoy scrap booking or who are hopelessly addicted to it. Aforementioned blogger just feels that big, expensive, bulky picture books are not NEARLY as pretty, time friendly and cost-effective as bound picture books. This is simply the opinion of said blogger and does not reflect on the policies of blogspot or any non-existent advertisers. Please continue cutting and pasting into your large family novels. Please do! Don't let this disclaimer interrupt you!


"Are you making Creme Brulee?"

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!

Yep, I know it doesn't answer the question, but I just thought I would throw that in there!

Ms. Strange strikes again! (Got that one from a friend of mine. Give a big shout-out to N!)

Actually, we had QUITE the eventful weekend!

Did you see my Father's Day post? Oh, you didn't? Well, that is because there wasn't one. Instead, what we did on Father's day was take care of this:





We were at the hospital on Father's day. She did it on Saturday, and I did all the things that good moms do (since my "good" momhood is in question. For proof, see THIS post!),
ice, elevation, checking to see if anything was broken, etc...
Then when she woke on Sunday it was black and blue, and had swelled considerably more!

So we went to the hospital and they took the x-rays, and we waited...and waited...and waited...and waited for the Dr to come back in. As we were sitting there, it occured to me that if it was a simple sprain, they would have come right in and gotten us out of the ER. I just knew it. I knew that they were gonna tell us of a fracture! I just KNEW it!

So we waited for 5 hours, Ok, not really, but it FELT like FOREVER!

Anyway, they came in and SURE ENOUGH! It is a small fracture on the bone that sticks out from the outside of your ankle.

I was RIGHT! See, Sweet Geek?! I CAN be right sometimes!

She was a trooper! She did not cry, whimper, complain, whine, sob, scream, faint, whine more, wince, or otherwise protest in any way to the splinting process. Her swelling was so bad that her foot had turned in, and as they straightened her foot to put on the fiberglass splint, she didn't give them any trouble at all! What a GREAT kid! We were so proud of her.

So as we wandered home -four hours after we had headed to the hospital- Larry talked about all the things that he had wanted to do on that day -and now the day was shot! I joked, "Happy father's day...my ankle is broked!"

Monkey See was not laughing.

Monkey See was not snickering.

Monkey See was not giggling.

Monkey see did not even smile.

And all of a sudden I realized, just as a look of defeat and sadness crossed her face, that she was blaming herself for the bad Father's Day that Larry had.
I said that it was not her fault, but as the evening wore on, her body seemed weighted by more than her splint. And she kept saying, "If it wasn't for those stupid shoes! None of this would not have happened!" I assured her that we WERE getting rid of the platform tennies that should not even COME in her size! (Silly Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen shoes!)

But that did not seem to ease her pain, and when the kids were asleep and all was dark, I had a moment of realization: Eliana was still blaming herself for a lousy Father's Day, and the comments about the shoes were only an effort, on her part, to pass on the blame, and talk herself out of being held responsible for everything.

Parents, kids hear everything and pin everything on themselves. As I fell asleep, I knew that I had to tell her.

So the next morning I called my manager and told him that I would be late, and waited until it was time to get her up. Then Sweet Geek and I went into the room and I sat down on the bed.

"Eliana, I know that you must feel bad about Daddy having a bad Father's Day."

Her lip quivered, and her eyes filled with tears. Can you imagine what she must have been feeling? Could she have been scared that I would fill her shoulders with an even heavier burden, and confirm that it WAS her fault? What dread she must have been feeling.

"Eliana, sometimes bad things happen to every person in this world, but let me tell you something. There is NO WHERE else in the WORLD that Daddy would want to be on Father's Day, than right where you NEED him! That is what being a Daddy is all about, and being with you is what he WANTED to do! That is where he wanted to be. And it is not your fault that Daddy did not get to take a nap and work in the garage. It is no one's fault, but he wanted to be there for you. That is what he WANTED!"
Sweet Geek confirmed and elaborated on what I said.

Then we told her how proud we were of her -how she had behaved so beautifully and did not cry or anything -even though she was hurting, and that we wouldn't want any other Eliana in the WHOLE world! We were so happy that she was OK, and this mattered more than Father's Day anyway.

The tears spilled over, and she wrapped her arms around me. Suddenly a HUGE weight lifted from her countenance, and her happy little spirit seemed to return.

Being where you are needed is what being a dad is all about. My dad was there for me in the areas I needed him most, and it made ALL the difference in the world! The choices I made were from a place of confidence in his love, and belief in me! More on this later, but KUDOS to the fathers out there who are doing the right thing!

Where your kids need you is the BEST place in the world!

Monkey Do is a sweetie!

Her girlie nature and feminine style goes right to my heart! We have so much in common!

From her cute little outfit...


To even the way she hold her hands...


She just oozes...


grace and loveliness!...
















Rumor dispelled!!!

Do you remember the face talked about in THIS post? Here it is! Worth photographing don't you think?

How to Get Married

My favorite book the girls brought home this week was this one by far! An excellent choice by Monkey Do, and all of us have been in absolute stitches ever since!

It is called "How to Get Married by Me, the Bride"

Written by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Sue Help
Published by Random House

It is an EXCELLENT resource for ANY young person looking forward marriage, and is FULL of exceptional advice!

Like this section that talks about what kind of person you should avoid!
Someone who is too big...



Someone who is too small...



OR someone who only eats bugs. (That would make them VERY unpleasant to kiss, you know. That part was not in the book, but I thought it was worth mentioning! No visual record of such unpleasant interchanges needed. I am sure that you can imagine! "EWWW! I think I got an insect leg!" Enough said.)


There is also this advice about how to BE the right kind of person to marry:

If you have been having trouble getting an engagement, perhaps you should evaluate these areas of your life!

Note the illustration!
If you look at ALL like this, you need to make some positive changes! Empower yourself to BE the right person!


There is also the way to KEEP you fiance!


Then there is also great advice for the TIME of day to get married!
It would be a TERRIBLE thing to accidentally marry the wrong person!


I wonder about all the brides out there who married the wrong person in broad daylight!


How did THIS...
Get past them?!?!


Well, the good advice continues!


There is a GREAT explanation about why you throw that bouquet!


But the best part is what you do after the reception is over!
I wonder how much happier some people would be if their wedding day ended like this!

That is why every single man and woman should own and repeatedly read this book. Instill these principles into your relationship, and when you get married, you will be well equipped with some of the best advice in the business!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Have you ever tried to tell a good joke and could not keep a straight face? Haha! I can't hold in the mirth any longer! This book is a hoot, and I am sure that the authors watched and talked to a kid or two and this book came from that! What fun! And we are LOVING it! Go to your library and check out this book. It is SO funny to read!

Someone who eats bugs! Hehe!

Dirt Pile Nap

(Hear: the Brady Bunch song)

This is the story, of a little lady,
Who was much too tired
And Badly needed her bed.
This was due to her terrible mother
Who let her stay and play outside instead.

And so her mother,
Who was repentant
Carried the filthy baby to her bed!
Where she dreamed of candy, swimming and summer.
And got dirt on her pillow from her head.

The sleepy head, the sleepy head...
That's the way she made it to her bed!


It always amazes me how quickly the girls fall when they are tired. They seem fine, and suddenly they are crabby, whiny or GONE! To be fair, it WAS getting close to her nap time, and she did have a rough night the night before, but she was playing so nicely!

Than all of a sudden...
She began to show signs of tiredness.

For Noelle, that means she was not hamming a smile or making a goofy face with her fingers in her mouth for the camera.

Like this...*

*Now this picture does not have her with her fingers in her mouth because of her mother's obsessive-compulsive need for perfect pictures, and she deleted them all. However, the goofy face is a clear -albeit weak- testament to the manner in which we make faces for the camera.


So I could tell she was clearly fading, but in an effort to document the darling, little, dirty face, I snapped a few more pictures...

Isn't she sweet!

Doesn't she have the cutest little pensive face?...

She looked right at me...

And her head began to slowly lean back as...

Her gaze went blank, and she was clearly...

Nearly asleep -Sitting up!



Then some pesky bird made a noise...

Her eyes darted to the right, and shifted back into focus.

I am convinced that if that pesky bird had not squawked at that moment, that she would have fallen right over on the ground. I look like a terrible mother now! Just imagine how bad it would look if she fell asleep outside in the dirt pile! They would pilfer the picture from my website for those "Help-the-poor-little-children-in-other-countries-who-don't-have-matching-shoes-and-whose-mothers-are-so-poor-they-can't-afford-soap" infomercials.

PLEASE sponsor this POOR, little, underprivileged, undernourished child!

For less than a dollar a day you can bribe her mother into puting her down for her nap on time!


No, I am NOT crazy -not clinically. Yes I AM strange -quite literally!


Here she is, falling asleep on the front step as I was collecting all the other children and odd play paraphernalia.


No...I mean actually ODD. You would not BELIEVE the things my kids use as toys! Poor things take after their mother in the strangeness area.
Let us just hope that as each generation passes, the strangeness becomes diluted to the point that it is nearly undetectable. Then the only indication of the "strange gene" will be an occasional isolated incident of breaking into song or making jokes that are really not funny (just like the ones my poor readers are subjected to).

I think I could live with the hope of that for future generations!



I think I will do much better about getting her down for her nap at a better time. I will certainly make an effort!

C'mon Noelle! Time for your nap!
Yes it is.
Please don't argue.
I don't care that you are not tired!
Bed, NOW, Missy!
Go on...

Do you think 10am is too early? She just got up an hour ago .

STRANGE strikes again!

(I need to take this moment to mention, as a true shoe lover, that the mismatched shoes in those infomercials are CLEARLY the deepest tragedy of children around the world.
No, NOT really! That was another strange joke. Don't look at ME! You are the one who keeps coming back for more! You are NOT a victim of my bad humor! Take control of your own destiny! Be the HERO in your own life story! And BREAK FREE from blogger bondage!)

I just can't stop!