New Toys and Learning Curves

After having lunch with Steve, Candice and Nora one last time before they headed home to San Diego, Rob and I trekked on down and I bought myself a new laptop!  The PC I had been using was Larry's originally and was showing some signs that it might quit soon, plus I just plain hated that one.  He liked have the 10 key pad on the side but that just messed me up royally and it is so heavy, plus it didn't fit in my backpack.  I am now the proud owner of a MacBook Pro with a 13 inch screen.  I am learning the ins and outs of it more each day as it is a bit different.  I still haven't migrated any data, perhaps later today.  So far I like it very much.

I had Brayden for a sleepover last night which was fun.  He hadn't been over for a while without Kolby and sometimes you just need time away from your baby brother. (He calls him a half baby.) We looked at YouTube videos on how balloons were made-that's pretty amazing and much more complicated than you would suppose.  Then we watched some on boomerangs, how they were made and how they were thrown.  After those he made himself a "Boomerang" it didn't fly very well, ;)  Guess we'll do it again!  Kolby's still too young to come for an overnight without Brayden but his turn will come!

After I took Brayden home Rob and I loaded the back end of the truck with things I'm taking to Scott tomorrow.  Bri graduates from Law School tomorrow so we are all headed to Columbia tomorrow.  He's planned a party for her so we get to see the inside of their new (to them) house.  This has been a very busy month!

Miss Nora and her DaDa with Oma

Steven, Nora and Oma (aka Larry's Mom)

Yet another update!

So the weekend didn't stop with Friday!  On Saturday I returned my Mother-in-Law to her home via the train, she had come up on Thursday for Commencement and stayed in the guest house (the trailer/yard weight).  I hit the grocery store on the way home to collect a few things I needed for Sunday and by the time I got home the grandboys had arrived.  I kept ALL the grandkids, that sounds like a lot but there are only three, while the siblings went out to a comedy club.  The boys are very good with Nora, who is quite a bit smaller than they are, and all went well until bedtime.  Brayden, gotta love him, crashed on his pallet on the floor but Kolby and Nora where a different story.  Kolby usually goes down really well for me but about the time I put him down Nora started crying for her Mama (and when she didn't appear then she cried for Dada.)  That started Kolby off crying for his Mama and sent out a distress signal!  We rocked, we went outside to look at the stars, we looked out the window in front for the cars carrying Mamas, and finally I gave up and played with them.  It was very late for Kolby, Nora is a night owl and on California time, when Mamas arrived.  Only a few minutes later Granna crashed!

On Sunday, we all had brunch together, Strawberry waffles, to celebrate Mother's Day, Steve's birthday and Rob had a few more gifts to open as well.  Then Beth and Lucas were off to St Joseph for Mother's Day with his Mom and things quieted down.  Nora picked up a few new words on Saturday, which she practiced on Sunday (yucky, and Charge-I have a toy truck that does the music and you say charge at the end which she loved.)  They had friends of Steve's to meet, Rob and Tanya were gone, so I had the house to myself! 

Yesterday, I managed to find most of the house after all the fun we'd been having!  I am so tired still, crashing early but can't sleep beyond 6:15am.

The weather was lovely until Sunday.  Well, it was sunny then but I had to turn on the Air-conditioning!  I only turned the heat off that morning!  And Friday it's only to be 69F.  Crazy spring!

I think I've caught you up for now so I'll be talking to you!

Graduation Day!

 Last Friday (May 6th) we had a party!  A Graduation Party! For Rob!  If you had told me seven years ago that I would EVER see this happen I'd have laughed in your face.  He dropped out of school at 16, was in and out of trouble and I very nearly lost the hope that things would ever change.  Until one day, 6 years ago, he asked me to go with him to enroll in college.  He began at Community College and finished at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, with Latin honors-cum laude, in Computer Science.  To say that I am proud of him would be a vast understatement! 

 Rob and Tanya, his girl.  She's next to go back to school!

 Rob and his younger brother, Scott.  Both Scott and older brother, Steve, helped Rob with problems.  Scott in Math and Steve with programming issues.  He says he couldn't have done it without them!

 My four children.  Between them they hold SEVEN college degrees (6 from University of Missouri schools) and Elizabeth is working on another Masters.  I am so proud of them!

 This is one happy Mom with the graduate!

And two nephews and a niece who may not have been happy with posing for photos but who adore their Uncle Rob.

Yee-Haw!  I'm four for four!

A lovely surprise!

On Wednesday last I received a lovely surprise!  The door bell rang, which it rarely does, I expected it to be someone trying to sell me something as it was too early for UPS and I didn't have anything ordered anyway, instead it was my postman!  He needed me to sign for a package, from Australia.  I was so excited, I could not wait to get it open!  All things Aussie!  Biscuits (cookies as we call them), chocolate, vegemite (haven't tried that on toast yet), A calendar of lovely views from down under, a note pad, a cute koola with he boomarang, and a Christmas mitten made by Ann.  (Who always does lovely work.) Almost forgot a wee fruitcake! Apparently, I was to receive it at Christmas but somehow it was better now!  I'm still smiling.

Here's Brayden eating one of the chocolate frogs!  I still have the rest but not because he didn't try to eat it all!
Normally, the chocolates would be long gone but it's been really crazy around here, but that's for another post!

Thoughts, part two

I am not much of a TV watcher, a bit in the evenings but almost never during the day.  My family all knows this so each time there is a news event they let me know-The Murrow building bombing in Oklahoma City, I get a phone call "Turn on the TV,"  The Challenger explodes, I get a phone call "Turn on the TV."  On September 11, 2001 I was madly cleaning house before I left for my history grad classes and I got THREE phone calls "Turn on the TV, you need to see this."  So last night, after I'd gone to bed it shouldn't come as a surprise that there was tapping on my door.  "Mom, did you know bin Laden has been killed?"  I got out of bed.  Caught the last of President Obama's speech, then couldn't go to sleep.  Unlike many of my countrymen I was not elated.  Instead, I wondered.  What will happen now?  Will he become a martyr, used to forward terror on a global basis?  Will their funding dry up?  Is this good or bad?  He was a religious fanatic, who hated the US and possibly the entire western world.  I don't understand why, although I'm sure one of my children will enlighten me.  Just because of the accident of birth, he hated me.  (Personally, I've always considered that accident of birth to be a great thing even if I don't always agree with those who run this country.) I am glad that those who lost loved ones on 9/11 have some closure (even though it will not heal their pain).  I am glad that one less religious fanatic lives to torment the rest of us.   The war is not over.  I do not like having our men and women in harms way, I want them home, I want the world to live in peace.  That being said, I remember Vietnam and the devastation that not completing the task set for the military created in our servicemen.  I do not want our soldiers to feel that grief, and I do not want the people of Afghanistan to be returned to life under the Taliban.  So, I will not join those who want them all home yesterday.  Progress towards peace is being made.  If nothing else, this war should teach us that religious fanaticism in ALL forms, ALL religions is a very dangerous thing, a very dangerous thing.  For ALL of us.

Thoughts, part one

There has been some comments on Facebook lately that have made me think.  So here are my thoughts.  Several folks have mentioned that while the US sends aid (both personal and governmental) to many countries after a natural disaster no one sends any to us.  While there have been some exceptions, traditionally, our government refuses aid from other countries saying that "We take care of our own."  I think that may be because aid always comes with strings-even if we can't see them.  The truth is, we don't take very good care of our own either.  Very shortly after the horrid fires took lives in Australia last year and again after this year's flooding there, Aussies quilters sent out a request for quilts and sewing packets for the ravaged areas.  People all over the world, including the US, began sending supplies, quilt blocks, and money to help.  (Quilters are very generous!)  I have never seen such an appeal for those hit by tornados, hurricanes, etc here.  Maybe it's out there and I just haven't seen it, but there don't seem to be any requests for aid to the people affected.  Why is this?  Do we expect the Government or Insurers to take care of everything?  Or maybe the Red Cross? I'm just wondering.