A great morning! I got a few things accomplished...I had been putting off two errands for months and finally got them taken care of, so I was very satisfied with my end to procrastination in that department!! Then I went to Target and got a few giftcards for friends. Each time I go to Target with my toddler, we always get popcorn and a drink. It keeps his fingers occupied while I shop as fast as I can until he remembers that there are many backhoes and trucks there in the toy department. We were able to escape without much drama and were in there for a total of about 10 minutes!! In the parking lot, I noticed a few birds eating morsels of food. I unloaded my bag and purse from the basket and was getting ready to transfer my toddler, but he had other plans in mind. He wanted to watch the birds. We ended up standing by the vehicle (fortunately, he was still buckled in the cart seat) for at least 20 minutes. It was so fun!! I didn't have a time schedule and we threw bits of popcorn down for the birds. And I kept showing him the different birds while observing their run/walk/movement to the popcorn! Eventually, he realized that loud monster noises make birds move away very fast! And that was that!!

I had my house leveled this week. It was getting unlevel due to age and sinking (it's rather wet where I live most of the year.) It needs to be done about every 5 years but it hadn't been done in at least 13 years. It's amazing how you can spill something now and it will not automatically run a certain way across the floor quickly. Now, it just sits in a puddle like it is supposed to. True, there are some sheetrock cracking, but it feels great!

Today was a windy pleasant day. It's that kind of weather you wish could be repeated over and over.

What a beautiful day!! It's finally sweater weather!! My toddler likes to dig, dig, dig!!! He takes his backhoe outside and digs in the yard (sometimes for hours.) Finally, leaves are beginning to fall.


It appears that my mother-in-law will probably be discharged from her rehabilitation hospital this weekend/Monday. She will be very happy, although she is nowhere near where she was before her surgery, hopefully, she will feel more at peace in her own home. I've been cleaning her home for a couple of weeks now. Wow! What a bunch of 'unnecessary stuff' she has around her rooms!! While I have enjoyed someone else taking care of her while she was the hospital, it puts so much pressure on me when she returns home as I'm the only one who can go to her when she needs something. It's good to see her alive and doing better though.

My mother-in-law broke her hip this morning. I spent all day at the hospital. I packed a huge bag of stuff to entertain the toddler, and it worked. It's the MIL who needed something to do. She carved a habit at home day in and day out so whenher schedule is changed, she feels out of whack. Not being able to get up certainly made it uncomfortable. The weekend accident is untimely too as most people in the hospital work Monday through Friday too. She's a frail and onery 83 year old who needs lots of attention. I hope she hads her surgery in a couple days and in a week or so, is back to *normal.* I'm SO tired today after getting up and down all day chasing the toddler, chasing nurses, and feeding MIL (who is in a lot of pain.) Hope tomorrow is better!!!

I'm so tired. Having a teenager takes a toll, especially when they don't live up to their potential. There are so many things I wish I could *change* regarding my teen. But at this age, I have to be strong, never falter, and be a good role model. You know, I haven't been grounded since I was a teen. But when you groung your kid, it's as if you're grounded too. So, I think I'll be grounded for months!!! I guess it'll be a good way to save money, who knows? :)

Each morning and afternoon, I take a walk around my neighborhood. I pack up my toddler, grab a frozen bottle of water, a dumptruck for him to play with and take off. He used to hate to ride around in the stroller, but lately, he hasn't complained. We stop at the park and play in the rocks and slide down the slide. Since it has been a tad cooler, it makes it much more enjoyable. Today's adventure was pulling moss off of rocks...it seemed to take up a long time and kept his interest. It's funny what things catch your eye. There are times we walk by a place and not notice anything in particular and then as if it magically appears, we notice something of interest.

I have acquired passengers along our daily trek too. My brother, nephew, or husband will accompany me at times depending on their schedules. Even the dog... It's kinda like having dinner together with everyone describing their day, recent happenings, or just smalltalk. I love it!!!

I'm outta gas! That's right...I smelled a weak faint smell of natural gas under my house today. So,I called the gas company who immediately sent someone out to check it out. Unfortunately, it wasn't on their end, it was a leak on my end which meant that I needed to call a plumber to repair the leak, get the city inspector out to ok it and then call the gas company back to replace the gas meter. True, this is the safe way to handle thie situation. I just wished that it would have happened AFTER the three day weekend of Labor Day!!! I'm now wishing for a hot shower, and I can't cook on the stove! Thankfully, I have a microwave, doesn't everybody?!? I'm hoping that I can get all this resolved within a week. Cold showers aren't so bad...I mean, it'll make me appreciate the warm ones I'm so accustomed to taking. That's was the first part of the day...the day actually got worse...... I'm so thankful nothing terrible happened like the house blowing up or any of us getting hurt, a little inconvenience improves my character and appreciation for the little things in life.

As my 20 month old sleeps, I can finally catch up on tasks such as paying bills, checking email, reading magazines that I've been ignoring, but instead, I sit here and am watching tv. I don't know how long it's been that I've actually seen a whole movie uninterrupted. But, I wouldn't trade this little tyke in for the world. I don't need much else.

School is starting in three weeks! I used to love to go school supply shopping. The smell of new crayons, pristine notebooks, markers, and full gluesticks always make me wanna go back to school. Unfortunately, my daughter doesn't use crayons in school anymore and her supplies are so different depending on each class that I don't do that anymore. I will definately miss it. The school cirriculum is so different as well. Whereas she started out writing cursive in kindergarten, by the time she got to fifth grade, it wasn't mandatory anymore. She hasn't written cursive in years and I wish that it would be expected as it were when I was in school long ago. How times have changed.

Being my first post, I thought it would be easy. I have read so many other people's posts that seem to interesting or thought-provoking, I suddenly can't think of anything. I sit watching my son play on the floor and sway to a song some character on tv is singing. He isn't watching the program but loves to listen to the songs. He glances over to me to make sure I'm still in the room. My stack of photographs sit on my computer desk ready to be placed into albums which is my fun deed of the day. I am rewarding myself with this task since I cleaned up the house last night. Sitting on the floor next to me is my cat, Gabriel, who just rolled over and is now tummy up, stretching, and going back to sleep.