Junior Prom

Do you remember your Junior Prom?

I do. But I'd rather not. It wasn't the highlight of my year, that is for certain.

For my Junior Prom, I went with the guy that I was currently dating, which wasn't Mike. I was excited since I originally hadn't planned to go. I bought my own dress which wasn't sparkly, slinky or long. It was a spaghetti strapped-lace covered-knee length thing that was really very pretty. I thought I looked rather nice. My date showed up and had a red rose wrist corsage for me. My dad dutifully took pictures that I have never seen. I wonder if they were ever developed. See, that was a long time ago. No digital cameras back then!

I was nervous but excited for the Grand March. We stopped at his sister's house to show off our fancy duds and then we'd be on our way. Well, lo and behold, his sister and her husband were watching WWF wrestling and he got sucked into that.

We NEVER made it to the Grand March. I was SO upset. But being Lil' Miss Nicety-Nice, I didn't say anything and we headed on over to the dance. Which, by the way, is the lamest part of the prom. Who agrees? I spent more time sitting and watching the juvenile antics of all the guys than I did dancing and when it was over, and I didn't win any of the door prizes, we headed out. And I asked to be brought home. I think that was the first time I was home BEFORE my curfew (I had always made it home BY curfew but that was definitely a first for me!).

My senior year, I was dating Mike and we decided to skip the prom (he'd already done the prom thing with his ex-wife) and do the Senior Dinner-Dance instead. Lame-O! Another bad choice.

ANYWAY!!!! I told you all that just to let you know that Mike's oldest son, Anthony, just went to his Junior Prom this past Saturday.

I feel old.

Mike and Michael went to Menominee to see him.

He escorted his girlfriend, Krystal.

They are a cute couple and both looked so nice in their formal attire.

Anthony was also a member of the prom court. Their theme was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

When the crowning took place, each court member received a chocolate bar and the girl and boy with the golden tickets were crowned Queen and King (decided upon by a prior vote).

Anthony did not get the ticket but Grandma was so proud of him anyway. Who wouldn't be proud to claim such a handsome young man as their own?

Do you have a good prom story to tell? Please share!

The Stress of Illness

I'm trying to catch you all up on the happenings while I was away from my 'puter. Some are fun and exciting and some of it may be a bit boring. There was also a fair amount of stress. Tag-along as I finally get to it!

My mom, niece (CJ) and I went down to my sister's home in Illinois on the 3rd of April. On the 4th I hosted her babyshower. It was a lot of fun. But that's another story for another post. You'll just have to come back to hear all about it. Or you can go here and check out the highlights now!

On Sunday, the 5th, we were going to have a quick breakfast with Kim, Russ and the girls before we hit the road so I could get back to the Keeweenaw that night.

My sis and BIL were busy in the kitchen making breakfast when my mom and CJ arrived from the hotel. My mom started to complain about a pain across her shoulders. We thought maybe she just slept wrong but after a few minutes she went to sit on the couch and got really pale and started having problems breathing. I asked if she was okay or if we should call the ambulance. She said she was okay but I just wasn't down with that. I was about to ask Kim what she thought when my mom started retching and grunting. It was SO SCARY. There was spittle around her mouth and I thought she was having a stroke or heart attack. Kim totally freaked in a completely controlled way. I know--WHAT? But really, she took control and when my mom said she was okay, Kim told her in no uncertain terms, "No you're not!". Russ called the ambulance.

Mom wasn't too thrilled about the ambulance but she did realize that she needed medical attention because she was not aware of her "episode". Everything seemed fine as far as the paramedics could tell but they said she really should go in. We opted to take her in ourselves to a hospital that my sister preferred.

We ended up in the emergency room for quite a few hours. Her EKG was fine. She's never had any problems with her heart. So they did a CAT and and echocardiogram. Mom had fluid build-up around her heart which caused the pain in her back and chest. Because of fluid her heart had to work harder and caused the "spell". But she was also experiencing extreme nausea that the doctors could not explain.

After 3 days in the hospital and 3 echocardiograms the doctors decided the fluid was not blood which was a real concern as she's on blood thinners. They released Mom to her own doctors.

We drove home on Tuesday. It was totally uneventful except for the backed up traffic between Kenosha and Milwaukee caused by a burnt out charter bus.

Mom went to see her doctor on Thursday and testing showed an improvement in the fluid level around her heart and also a problem with her gallbladder.

So far, so good.

Then Saturday night my brother, Jason, called to say mom was back in the hospital. She called the ambulance herself after experiencing the same symptoms she had the previous Sunday.

The fluid had doubled since Thursday's appointment. About an 1/2 hour after Jason's call, he called again and said Mom was going in for surgery. The doctor decided to insert a tube and drain the fluid.

With all the strain of being away from home extra long, taking CJ into our home, getting ready for Easter and remodeling our kitchen I did not take it really well. I cried--A LOT. Mike tried to console me.

I think part of it was that I could not be there for Mom. I didn't even have words to pray for her. I just cried.

I still had to clean the church that night so CJ, Mikey and I set out to do that at 9pm. I called my pastor's wife and she prayed with me.

While I was on the phone, Ian stopped in to help us clean. I was so grateful for his help. With the four of us we made short work of it. The kids also prayed with me for my mom.

Mom got through the surgery okay and was out of the hospital by Wednesday.

There are still a few unanswered questions. We still don't know what caused the fluid build-up. We don't know if it's related to the problem with her gall bladder. We don't even know what's wrong with her gall bladder.

I'm thankful that the stress of it all is over for the time being. I am slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things at home. My kitchen is coming together nicely with lots of help from my wonderful hubby.

Stay tuned. I hope to post kitchen and babyshower pics soon.

Read this

If you love blogs about children, families, messes, girls, princesses, ballerinas, pink stuff and fluff, you may just want to check out my sister's new blog The Pink Pack.  http://thepinkpack.blogspot.com  She has two girlie-girl princess ballerinas and one more on the way very, very soon.  Check out this pack of pink! 

 

Warning: Watch your heart around these cuties -- they are sure to steal it right away from you!

Pussy cat, Pussy cat, Where have you been?

Well, it hasn't been to London to visit the queen!

I have been away from my blog for 15 days. Can you believe it?

Actually, the only thing I have done at my computer in the last 12 days is check my email and read a few headlines. That's it.

But today....My life is settling. A little. So I started to catch up on all the posts I've missed. I'm still not 100%. But I hope to visit most of you in the next week to let you know I still exist.

So. Where have I been?

Green Bay, WI - on layover at my Mom's enroute to Kim's for her babyshower

Elgin, IL - Kim's for baby shower

Delnor - a very nice hospital in Illinois with really nice staff. I visited my mom there for a few days after a small scare

Green Bay, WI - on layover at my Mom's enroute to my home....way far away....with a newbie in tow

Home - lots of company and a kitchen remodel

Marquette, MI - visiting in-laws. What was I thinking?

Home - very, very messy house. Problems with kiddos and newbie. We're dealing!

All over God's creation - here, there and everywhere. More shopping than I do at Christmas and the start of the school year! Golly!

School - Ever try to transfer someone when there's less than 2 months left to the school year and the classes from another state don't mesh real well with your local schools?

Home - Yah! I'm home all morning today. I'm excited. But I have more shopping to do. It's gonna pick up the pace here real quick today. Hold on!

Marquette, MI - tomorrow I'm going back there. Gotta drop the kiddos off at the in-laws and then my newbie and I are going to a Ladies Retreat! I can't wait. Just gotta endure the stress until the moment that I can drop into my chair and listen to LaJoyce Martin expound her godly wisdom and humor to me. Hallelujah!


Are you exhausted yet? I understand. I want to go into details on a few of these things later. I just don't have the time right now. So if you'll hold tight, keep your eyes and ears open into next week and don't abandon me now, I'll give you the lowdown. Ok? Ok.

Because I KNOW you want to know some things: who's the newbie? Why Delnor? Kitchen Remodel?

Oh! Oh-hohoho. I'm gonna let you in, alright. And I hope you won't mind a bit of venting too. That's what we're all about right?

Ok, then. I'll let you go for now and I'll get back to you soon. Real soon.

In the meantime, check out these sites -- my favorites!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

http://thepinkpack.blogspot.com

http://photografour.blogspot.com

http://bakerella.blogspot.com/

http://baracksteleprompter.blogspot.com/

http://www.sarahsbluecastle.com/blue_castle/

http://peterpanandfamily.blogspot.com/

These are just a few of the blogs I regularly visit. I hope you enjoy!

Farewell, Coco

Today, at 9:25am, Coco breathed her last breath as I stroked her side on our front porch.

I had just returned from dropping Riley off at the bus stop. Coco was under the deck so I called her up and she ran to the door, turned around and all of a sudden she lurched, fell and went into convulsions. It all happened really fast and she did not suffer.

Still, I sobbed and could barely manage to make myself understood as I told Mike over the phone. He called our neighbor to remove Coco from the porch. We will be saying our last good-byes tonight when the boys get home.

Coco was an awesome dog. She barely ever barked (only at strangers and when she was cold outside and wanted in) and she was SO friendly. All you had to do was say her name, whisper it even, and she'd come sit quietly by your side. She wasn't pushy. And she had an iron bladder. Really! 48 hours in the house proved it once when we were stuck out of town unexpectedly.

We got Coco from our local shelter 9 yrs ago. She was abused and had almost died after being hit by a car and thrown into an oncoming car. Thankfully she survived her injuries to become our dog. She could not jump (due to those injuries) and she did not play. If you threw a stick or ball she'd just look at you.

Coco was awesome. I am not a dog lover. But I LOVED Coco.

I miss her already.