I haven’t done a damn thing, today. I woke up, around 3:00am. My throat hurt in a way I’ve never experienced, before. It felt as if someone had taken a hot knife, and slit my throat. The burning and pain was absolutely miserable. I got up, took some Tylenol, used a throat spray, and drank a glass of very cold water. The combination allowed me to go back to sleep, for awhile. I slept very fitfully, until I finally just got out of bed, this morning. I’ve gone back and forth between feeling freezing cold, and then suddenly finding myself so hot, my shirt becomes drenched in my sweat. This is awful.
I’ve been laying around, in the basement. Both of the dogs insist on staying right by me. I’m sure they’re aware I don’t feel well.
Adam’s also taking good care of me, today. He’s made sure everybody got something to eat, did a load of laundry, and he and the kids pitched in to make sure the house was all cleaned up. This is definitely not how I intended to spend this Sunday. I so hope that tomorrow is better. I can’t take another “sick day”, tomorrow. I have to get my kids up and off to school, and I’ll have the littles. I just have to feel better.
I’m going to get to bed early, tonight. My body always requires rest, when I’m sick. If I don’t allow myself to lay around, and sleep when I need to, it takes so much longer before I finally feel better. This is no fun, at all. ☹️
I suppose I should begin by saying, I’m fine. Everybody’s good. Having said that, we did not make it to Knoxville, on Wednesday. Mikayla had driven over to her high school, “real quick”, Wednesday morning. As I was making my breakfast shake, I got a phone call. It was Mikayla , informing me her car had just died, right at a very popular stoplight. First, I called Adam, and informed him of our situation. Then, I decided to drive over, and see what I could do to help. On my way to where she was, I could see her stranded car…and then, bam, I got into a minor accident. I have never, in my whole life, been in any kind of accident. Until, then. And, it was all my own fault. I was distracted, searching for my stranded daughter, and I didn’t even see it coming. I was able to tell Mikayla what happened, and make my way back home. Then, I had to make a second phone call, to Adam. I never thought he’d be mad at me, but I was expecting some frustration. Surprisingly, he was nothing but understanding and kind. There wasn’t one ounce of upset radiating out of his responses. Justin and Jackie met Mikayla, just as Adam was able to get there. They determined the issue was a very minor one, and fixed it within minutes. After that, everyone made their way back to our house, to examine the damage to my car. Fortunately, it too was very minor. Unfortunately, it was too late to make it to our appointment in Knoxville, to tour the college campus. That had to be cancelled, and rescheduled.
After Adam and Justin left, to get back to work, Jackie and I made mimosas. We still had champagne and orange juice leftover from Easter, and the circumstance just seemed appropriate. As we talked, in my kitchen, Jackie told me that Adam had mentioned he’d had a real bad feeling about our trip. He wasn’t upset at all, that it hadn’t worked out. For whatever reason, he’d been uneasy, so our misfortune didn’t bother him so much. That made me reconsider our morning. Maybe, just maybe, there really was a reason for all of our inconvenience. It could’ve been a blessing in disguise.
Later, that evening, the littles were dropped off. Well, 2 of them. The baby, Emma, was having surgery. She had her trachea removed, on Thursday! I kept the other 2 littles, while she was in the hospital.
We had a water balloon fight, and played outside. Everyone had a great time. And then…we had yet another accident. As I was picking up the baby chair, the tray slid out of position, and the chair fell onto Caroline. It hit her right beside her eye. I felt so incredibly awful. I was struggling not to cry, myself.
I got her an ice pack, gave her some Motrin, and snuggled her. After about an hour, she was back to playing. Kids are just so resilient and tough!
This morning, the littles watched TV with Adam. The baby was discharged from the hospital, and the littles got picked up. I had this afternoon to myself, and it was wonderful!
This evening, Adam grilled pork chops for us. We all sat around the table and teased and laughed about funny family stories. It was great. Now, I’m downstairs watching a movie with my dogs. Adam’s upstairs, watching the kids play on the Nintendo switch. I’m already just about ready for bed. It’s been a very loooong week.
Baby, I love doin’ life with you You’re everything I wanna wake up to Give you all of my heart, the moon, and the stars ‘Til my time here on Earth is through ‘Cause I just love, baby, I love doin’ life with you
~Kelsey Hart
It looked awful stormy out, this morning, but it never rained. The clouds passed by us, and the sunshine came out. It’s been hot today!
Ignore my very dirty screen, here. Mikayla has had my car for what feels like forever! I need to get it cleaned.
After the littles left, I ran over to the Publix grocery store, near us. Wyatt was home sick to his stomach, so I picked up some Gatorade and Sprite, for him.
Tomorrow, Jackie and I are taking Mikayla to Knoxville, to tour the college she’ll be attending, this Fall. I won’t have the littles. We’re planning to leave out by 8:00am, so that we have plenty of time to get there, get some lunch somewhere, and find parking. I have a nervous/excited feeling, around this trip. I’m so proud of Mikayla. I’m elated, for her. I’m also, selfishly, a little sad. I’m going to miss the hell out of her. The other day, she called ME her best friend. That made my day! ❤️
Our neighbors just had a new baby boy, yesterday. Tonight, I’m fixing some ziti, for supper. I’m going to make an extra big casserole dish of it, and bring it over to them. I’m also making a bunch of garlic bread, to go with.
I have had more time. Instead of arriving at 5:00am, the littles come around 9:15. That leaves me plenty of time to spend with my kids, while they get ready for school. Once they leave, I still have a couple hours to do stuff around the house. I can make my bed, get myself dressed. I can eat something. I did two loads of laundry, this morning, before they got here. My energy and my mood have been significantly better. I won’t have the littles, over Summer. Which, I’m glad about, if I’m honest. I’m looking forward to hanging out with my kids, and Jackie. We’ve already lined up several fun things to do, over Summer! Adam’s been teasing me that I’m going to be able to find time for trouble, again! I just didn’t even have the time or energy to get into any trouble with him, for a long while. Adam had been asking me to stop saying yes to everybody, all the time. He cares about the littles, too, but he hasn’t been fond of how exhausted and drained I’ve been. He’s so sweet, because he wants me to take time for myself. He says he misses my crafts, and all the shenanigans. Well, I do believe all of that stuff, and more, is right around the corner.
I had the littles, today. They got here around 9:15, this morning. We played and had fun. We ate lunch, and then I laid them down for naps. I had to wake the girls up, when it was time to be picked up. Everybody was real good for me, today!
The 2 older ones were playing with a new toy tool set I got them. They decided to make some “home repairs” ❤️
It’s sooo hot outside, today! I washed all our bedding and towels, and hung them out to dry. Our deck was burning my bare feet, when I went out to grab everything that had dried. I’d hoped to take Oliver for a walk, after the littles left, but I was afraid the pavement would be too hot for his paws. So, I found something for him, and ordered it!
I guess we’ll find out if he’ll wear them!?
On a completely different topic, I put one of our cameras inside Adam and my closet. I did this, because I’ve had a child keep getting into it and stealing things from the extra snack box I store in there. Every week, I refill our kids’ snack boxes. I put 10 things inside, and that just has to last them one week. So, there’s even some extras. I knew it was Wyatt, sneaking things from my stash, but he wouldn’t admit to it. I busted him, last weekend. Anyhow, this camera also caught Adam, as he was getting dressed for work. My GOSH, my husband is sexy as hell!
😍
It seriously makes me wet, just looking at that! He and Justin have been consistently working out for over a year, now. They’re looking great!
I’m fixing meatball subs, for supper tonight. It’s easy to make, and my family love them. I need to go vacuum the carpets, and finish folding some laundry. It’s been a good, productive day.
We were just talking about all the memories we’ve already made, in the few years we’ve lived in our new house. I remember, when we first moved in, being so excited to make memories here, and for this to feel like home. It wasn’t easy to leave our old home. It was the only one Mj ever knew. It wasn’t a conscious thing, and I couldn’t guess when it actually happened, but this most certainly does feel like home, now. Our kids are doing amazing. I’ve got my favorite people close by. We’re consistently adding new memories to our home. It’s such a happy place to be in. I’m genuinely happy to call this our home.
Six in the mornin’, hands are shakin’ Half ready, half scared to death Hand me the world, wrapped in a pink blanket The world falls asleep on my chest
I’m so in love even though we just met Got no clue what I should do next
We’ll get it wrong, we’ll get it right Whole lotta tears we both have to cry You’ll learn to run, I’ll learn to let go Years’ll go fast, nights’ll go slow Lord knows the best thing that I’ll ever do Will be growin’ up raisin’ you
You’ll crawl ’til you run and you’ll run ’til you drive And your drivin’ will drive us both crazy Wherever you go and whatever you do Just know you’ll never not be my baby
~Gabby Barrett
Adam and I went to bed around 10:30pm, last night. We were both awake by 6:30am, but we laid in bed for another hour. It felt so good just to stay in our bed and snuggle, as we listened to the birds singing through our window. The chill of the Spring morning air felt amazing, too. We got up, made our obligatory cups of coffee, and lazily enjoyed the chance to spend a quiet morning slowly waking up. Later, we got dressed, and ready for the trip we’d planned with Justin and Jackie, to Costco. Mikayla, her boyfriend, Wyatt, and Mj were all making a big breakfast, in the kitchen, when we left. We stocked up on the usual items we like to get at Costco, and found a few other things, too. After we had all checked out, everyone was starving. Justin suggested a restaurant, where they served authentic Mexican food. It’s a very unassuming place, but we were not disappointed!
When we got back home, all the kids were in our driveway, helping Mikayla to clean her car. They vacuumed, shampooed, and scrubbed that car inside and out. It looks great! A little while later, Mj came running down the stairs, to find me in the kitchen. She told me, “Mama…I think I started my period.” We’ve had plenty of conversations about the changes her body would go through, so she was very aware this would one day happen. I hugged her tightly, and reminded her how incredible our bodies are, and that this is one of the ways she’s growing up. She started to cry, and complained that it isn’t fair, and she doesn’t want to do this every month! I was reminded of an episode of Roseanne, where her daughter, Darlene had started her period. Darlene was not excited about it, either. She had asked her mom (Roseanne) to name ONE good thing about having periods. Roseanne tells Darlene that she can name three, and gives the names of all her children. So, I told Mj that story, and then she smiled and seemed a little bit more at ease. It’s really emotional, for me, too! My baby is growing up! I’ve watched as her body has seemed to suddenly be morphing into a much more feminine, womanly shape. It’s happening so damn fast, these days.
Tonight, we’re all just hanging around the house. The kids are all upstairs. Adam’s watching TV, in the living room. I came down, to the basement, to sit out on our back patio. It’s perfectly pleasant, outside, this evening. I’m thinking about running myself a bubble bath, so I can shave my legs, and make my skin soft and smelling great. Adam and I didn’t have sex, last night. Both of us were exhausted. I’m feeling very horny, tonight.
Tonight it’s bottoms up (up) Throw it on down Rock this quiet little country town and get up Drop a tailgate on your truck Find a keg and fill ya cup up Kick it on back Pretty little mama looking at ya like that…
We haven’t gone out and done fun things like this, in way too long! We do have a lot of things coming up, and last night definitely reminded me how much I love to go make memories like these. I’m so glad we did that!
The concert went much later than expected. It was about 11:30pm, when we finally got out of there. The boys picked us up. We’re not planning to do much of anything, this evening. I know the guys have to be exhausted. Saturday, we’re all making a Costco trip. We’ve also been doing some “Sunday Fundays”. It looks like we’re going to have another beautiful weekend, so I think we’re going to barbecue and hang out for another Sunday Funday.
I’m going to go start making the lasagne for tonight’s supper, and enjoy a quiet Friday night at home.
It’s been raining nearly non stop here, the last few days! It’s been making it hard to find much motivation at all. Today, Jackie and I hung out. Mikayla’s car had to have a whole new transmission put in it, and that was finally finished. So, we went to the shop it was at. I ended up just paying the shop, and brought her keys home with me. That place is down in a holler. There’s only a very rutted up dirt (currently mud) road to get down to it. I decided not to attempt driving her car up that road, and Adam and Justin are going to go get it tonight, instead. While the boys are doing that, Jackie and I made some very last minute plans. We’re going to a concert! I’m super excited!!
Now, two flags fly above my land that really sum up how I feel One is the colors that fly high and proud, the red, the white, the blue The other one’s got a rattlesnake with a simple statement made “Don’t Tread On Me” is what is says and I’ll take that to my grave
Because this is me I’m proud to be American and strong in my beliefs And I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again ‘Cause I’ve never needed government to hold my hand And I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again ‘Cause my family’s always fought and died to save this land And a country boy is all I’ll ever be
~Aaron Lewis feat. George Jones & Charlie Daniels
I actually spent a lot of time in Charlie Daniels park, over in Mt Juliet, TN. I remember climbing the rock wall, and the water park area. There’s lots of sprinklers, with water flowing out of various shapes and kid friendly designs. I brought my kids there, to play, several times. There’s a picnic area. We used to pack a lunch, or buy Subway sandwiches, and sit on picnic tables, in the shaded area. Charlie Daniels died, not too long ago. He was a truly good man.
I haven’t had the littles, the last couple of days. I’m not gonna lie, I’m enjoying this “freedom”. The schedule, with them, will be changing. I’ll have them 2-3 days per week, now. I’m so good with that! Yesterday was busy. My kiddos were home. The school allowed them to leave school early, to watch the eclipse. We stood outside, on the deck, and watched as the sun slowly hid behind our moon. We had a full eclipse, back in (I think) 2017. I stood outside, with my babies, to watch that one, too.
Nature, and space, have such a powerful way of reminding us just how “small” we really are. Not only did we witness an incredible solar eclipse, we had a crazy pop up storm, yesterday evening. Adam and I were out back, just hanging out. The sky began to grow very dark, to our North. You could feel the air changing. The smell of impending rain was obvious. We hurriedly picked up things that needed to be brought inside. As soon as we stepped in the house, the rain came. Then, our phones alerted us to a severe thunderstorm warning in our area. Before we knew it, we had strong winds howling, and carrying the rains sideways. Soon, the hail began to rain down, too. It’s almost beautiful. Despite my fears, it’s hard to ignore the beauty of nature thrusting itself upon us. It’s as if we’re being reminded of our own ignorance. We can’t truly predict our futures. Not with precision, anyway. Or maybe, it’s our insignificance. We are all such a tiny piece of the world, the universe. We’re at the mercy of everything that surrounds us. Things we see, and the things we can’t know are lurking around, waiting to show us who (or what’s) in charge. Readying itself to challenge our naively established belief that we can ever prepare ourselves fully.
Justin and Jackie were a few miles South of us, heading home. They took this, right as the storm was moving over where we were.
I spent today catching up on laundry and housework. It’s rainy here, again. The weather forecast is showing rain, until Friday. It’s humid, and feels warm. The temperatures are only mid 60’s, but the nights don’t cool down much. So, the house is a little stuffy. I actually cut our AC on, on Easter. It was so hot in here! Since we were having company, and going to be cooking a ham and several other things in the oven, all afternoon, I decided it was necessary to cool our house down a little bit. It remained on for a few more days, and then we got cool. It was cold enough, at night, to require the furnace to be cut on, again. Our thermostat has been set to “off”, for several days now. I do turn the fan onto “circulate”, to help move the air through the house. But, neither our furnace, nor the AC, is running.
While I was cleaning up in the kitchen, the song I used for this title played. I thought of Adam. I remembered the way my teenage brain used to completely ignore boys like him. He was one of the guys who never cared to keep up with current trends, or bothered to wear clean boots. His hands were stained in grease, from whatever vehicle he’d been working on. He had a rifle hanging in the back window of his extended cab pickup truck. He just was not “my type”. That is, until he was. Adam won me over. His dirty boots remind me how hard he’s been working. His calloused hands are the reason my own hands are soft and pretty. He puts his family first, always. He’s never selfish. In fact, the only reason he does have some good boots, or new sneakers and joggers for working out, is because I went out and got them for him. He truly doesn’t give a damn about the way he looks, or what he’s wearing, so long as his wife and kids are happy with what we’ve got. Ya know, a very wealthy man could hand his wife a million bucks, and people would be jealous. They’d praise his generosity. If that money is simply a fraction of what he has, it’s nothing to him. Having a man who works as hard as Adam does, and then gives every single dime of his earnings to his family…that means more to me. He sacrifices himself daily, for me. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I am so blessed.
This is just a random one my phone made, but I love it!
I’ve been putting lots of pictures together, intending to make a slideshow video for Mikayla to play at her graduation party, next month. I cannot believe she is about to graduate high school 🥹
This is part of it
I’m so blessed. Looking through these pictures and videos just makes me extra sure of it.
Chronicles in Submission 