Hi all!
I just wanted to touch bases with all of you. I have been absent from this forum for the most part over the past week or so - mostly due to the fact that there simply are not enough hours in the day! LOL

Just so you all know, my inconsistent attendance will continue as I have big things on the horizon:

Maya's 6th birthday - which is a big "to-do" ..... again. The entire Kindergarten class, all the cousins, a couple of family friends and the neighbor kids are all attending so I have a lot of work to do. It's a Chinese theme this year and as usual, I cannot stop myself from going all out. I will blog all about it right here!

Our trip to Orlando is in two weeks! I have to get everyone packed - which is a major ordeal since we are in the middle of winter and in Florida, they are not. And, I have to get the house ready for my Dad, who will be house sitting while we are away. I will take my old laptop with me and check in with all of you while we are away - and to make sure my Dad isn't on here posting and pretending to be me! LOL 

I am going to do a post all about our trip plans including the absolutely spectacular resort hotel that we are staying at.  I still cannot believe my good fortune at finding this place for the price I did.  You will not believe this place!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day and big hugs to all of you!

Jen Returns!

After major computer problems, numerous outings and one family disaster, I am back to blogging! It has been one He** of a month and I am quite frankly glad to have it behind me for the most part.

Right after the 4th of July, I started having trouble with my computer. It starting acting very strange it became harder and harder to get online. Thinking it was my AOL browser, I downloaded a couple of other browswers to try them out. Doing so only made the problem much, much worse. So, I took my Gateway computer - that I custom ordered and paid big bucks for - to my local computer repair place. They called me a couple of days later saying that the machine was working fine - and it did for a couple of days - but they they whole computer became totally unresponsive and will not work at all.

I felt at first that I ought to try and have my Gateway fixed. It was quite expensive afterall but my husband encouraged me to just go and buy another one. So, yesterday, he took me to Best Buy and I chose a Sony - and purchased the extended service plan. So far, so good. Even the Windows Vista is not what I thought it would be and all is well!

In the meantime, we had planned a trip to Yellowstone Park. It was so hot that we decided at the last minute to change our plans and head to Couer d Alene, Idaho to visit Silverwood Theme park instead. In the end, I was glad we went to Couer d Alene because as soon as we had made our plans, my 92 year old Grandmother passed away and my Dad was a wreck. After all sorts of drama that I don't care to recount, I finally ended up in Idaho with my family enjoying cool weather and having a great time riding some rides and eating everything that I should not!

We also had Owen's 4th birthday party. He had a wonderful time and is thrilled to be a big boy now. Of course, all of the boys that we invited we on vacations with their families so it was Owen, his sister, all of his cousins (who are all girls) and Owen's friend Lindsay. All the girls did a great job of being really excited over toys meant for boys and had a great time trying on Owen's Batman wings and playing with the remote control cars and Transformers. All in all, a great day!

So, now things are beginning to wind down and we are getting ready to settle in for the school year. I am getting the paperwork together for Maya's Kindergarten registration and going through all of her clothes and shoes to make way for the new wardrobe! She is very excited and I am scared to death. My baby girl is going to ride the bus with all those other big kids and eat lunch without me. I have resolved NOT to cry about it, but I am not sure I will make it

I give all of you my word of honor that I will visit blogs very soon. I hope all of you are well! Take care and enjoy what is left of summer!

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 37 yesterday - which seems really weird because I still think 37 years olds are...........well, old.

I am 37 with two kids under the age of five. I must be old *and* insane! LOL!!

Here are a few interesting facts about January 20th:

1265 - In Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now also known as the "Houses of Parliament".

1649 - Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other "high crimes".

1801 - John Marshall is appointed the Chief Justice of the United States.

1885 - L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.

1929 - In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking film filmed outdoors, is released.

1969 - The first pulsar is discovered, in the Crab Nebula.


1986 - Martin Luther King, Jr., day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.

1986 - The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the Channel Tunnel.Other famous people - besides me, that is, born on January 20th:

1358 - Eleanor of Aragon, wife of John I of Castile
1896 - George Burns, American actor, comedian (d. 1996)
1930 - Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr., astronaut
1956 - Bill Maher, American actor, comedian, and political analyst

My birthday falls on a 'cusp day' in terms of my astrological sign - which I find fun just to look at to see how wrong it is - and so I am influenced by both the Capricorn and Aquarius signs. The Capricorn/Aquarius Cusp is from dates January 19 to January 23. The Capricorn/Aquarian is thought to be ambitious, responsible, traditional, careful, reserved, introvert, stable, fixed opinions, tolerant, broad-minded, self-confident, unique, intellectual, original, offbeat, experimental, cautious,competitive, business-oriented, and multitalented. The Capricorn/Aquarian is prone to be rebellious, saturnine, over-critical, dogmatic, narrow-minded, over-cautious, judgmental, cold, stubborn, and aloof.

Hmmm....so I am tolerant, yet judgmental and narrow minded. Ambitious and business oriented yet overly cautious and an introvert. Wow. I'm messed up.

I spent my day yesterday with my hubby, my kids and my Mom and sister Jill. We had lunch at Chili's - where I ate way to much - and then went to Target. For me, the perfect birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAROL! MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU!

Today is my dear friend Karol's birthday. You can check out her blogs at The Life of Karol Lynn and at A Storyteller's World

The smoke has cleared here - even if just for the time being. I cannot express to you how glad I am to not be able to see the air that I am breathing!

Autumn is coming to the mountain. The temperatures are dropping down into the low 30s at night and some of the leaves are starting to turn. Now, I try not to use four letter words, but I would really like to see the materialization of one four letter word - SNOW. Crazy I know, but I would like for it to snow in the higher elevations very soon. With the coming of snow, the fire season ends. So far 572,000 acres have burned in the state of Montana during this fire season. Fire season will not end until we get some snow and so I am praying for rain and/or snow.

The fire closest to our house is still 100% uncontained - which means it is burning out of control. I am unsure of how close it actually is to the house, but it is close enough that the hunting areas that my husband likes to frequent are closed to the public. For now, we are safe!

If you are interested in looking at pictures of the damage done in Montana, click here to get a good look at what has been going on here in Montana this fire season.

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to my sister Julie, who is 33 today! Love you lots Sis!!

Julie is a musician and has her own website. You can find the link in the Other Place of Interest section of this blog!

Still Crying......

Monday was my son Owen's third birthday. I have been a bit weepy ever since. I cannot believe that he is three already. I seem to barely remember him being a tiny baby! He cannot be three! Where did the time go?



We had a big party for Owen - at which he was the only boy! The other two boys who were invited were unable to come for various reasons. That did not seem to bother Owen at all. He carried on as usual and had a great time! The child received a bumper crop of gifts, including a wooden dragon that my sister spent hours putting together and lovingly painted orange and green which are Owen's favorite colors. Everything else either had wheels or flies. Bill spent the entire rest of the afternoon playing with Owen's toys including the helicopter the neighbor girls brought over. It is so funny to look around for your husband and find him out in the yard in the middle of all of the kids playing with toys! LOL

Owen was the child I never planned to have. He was a total surprise - and one that I am grateful for. Having two babies only 16 months apart was extremely stressful and difficult. I was out of bed and doing business as usual (almost!) two days after have a c-section with Owen because I had no choice. I had a 16 month old baby to take care of as well as my newborn.

I took a lot of crap about not breastfeeding Owen. The truth is, I physically could not do it. I had a hard enough time functioning as it was, let alone throw that in there. I did not breast feed Maya either. The pediatrician, of all people, told me not to worry about it (as he passed the Kleenex). It is difficult on moms who have had rough pregnancies and then a c-section. Throw in a 16 month old and breastfeeding should have been the least of my worries! I really appreicated that from our doctor. He was the last person I ever expected to hear say that.

I guess I am just feeling very sentimental today and for some reason breasts have been a big deal around here lately - cannot say why - and the bad feelings about breastfeeding showed up. Funny how things do that! Owen, in spite of my failure to breastfeed him, is a very healthy and growing three year old boy. I cannot believe it! He will be the last of his kind because I cannot and should not have any more babies, but I am so grateful he is here and that I get to be his Mom!

God gives us things for a reason. Owen has important things to do in this world and I cannot wait to see him grow up to be a man who loves God. Just not yet.......