OK, I guess the biggest news is....

Thing1 and Crispani are getting married in exactly thirty-two days. December 1st!

I'm about to lose my mind, well, what was left of it to lose anyway.

Details are set: Small evening wedding (6:30) at Bethany, officiated by Crispani's oldest brother, just family and a few (of their) close friends,  winter wonderland theme (navy & silver), pasta buffet & dessert bar for reception in BCC fellowship hall. Ying and CLW are the flower girls; Yang is the ring "bear" (roar); three attendants including Mayzie (T1's older sister), Dandy (Crispani's sister), and Stepman is the MoH; three groomsmen incl Thing2 and two of Crispani's buds.

The invitations are ready to send out (going out tomorrow, I believe). The photographer and the baker have been hired. We're still looking into flowers...Flowerman maybe? I am so not ready for this...

So, yeah, that's the big news.

What else has happened since I last posted?

Oh yeah, T2 had an emergency appendectomy. He woke up at 4am one morning and asked if he could stay home from school. He never takes advantage (you know, he doesn't fake being sick just to stay home from school like I did when I was his age) so I told him sure and went back to sleep. The next thing I know Cat is waking me up to say he's taking our son to the hospital! I'm like which son? Why? What's going on? So, I go in to check on T2 and I've never seen him in such pain, so Cat & I decided to call 911. By the time the ambulance arrived, the pain had dissipated somewhat and the paramedics asked us what we wanted to do! I'm like, "Hello! That's why we called you!" But they were discreetly letting us know that he would be ok for us to take him in and not have to pay for the cost of the ambulance ride. They just couldn't come right out and say that. Anyhoo, Cat took him to ER and the triage nurse knew right away that it was his appendix. They scheduled him in the first open OR slot. I took the littles to Grandma's and made it to the hopcycle (think Rugrats on Nickelodeon)  just in time to give him a hug and a kiss before they wheeled him in. He was so funny when they gave him the shot to "relax" him. Boy, was he relaxed! He got this humongous smile on his face, and said, "I would be such a great stoner!" The surgery came off w/o a hitch, and they showed us pictures of the nasty thing! As soon as we get our scanner fixed, T2's gonna put it up on his myspace. He can't wait! He stayed overnight in the hopcycle and went to the homecoming dance the next night. He said he couldn't let AmericanGirl down. He's almost back to normal now. On Nov 5th he can return to his PE class and should be as good as new by then.

Trunk or Treat was tonight at church. I wish I had taken some pictures, but I always forget I have the camera phone. Ying was a cheetah (I was very proud of the face paint I did for her) Yang was a buff ninja (you know, the costumes that have the muscles built in? Yeah, buff!) and CLW was Minnie Mouse. She wouldn't let me paint her face though. She threw a fit. But she let me put some pink circles on her cheeks.

Ying is going through an "everything has to be cool" stage. Here's how I found out:

Ying: Mom, is this outfit cute or cool?
Me (not knowing there was a wrong answer): It's really cute, honey, but I think it's cool too.
Ying: OK.
Me (a few minutes later after noticing she's wearing a different outfit): What happened to that other outfit?
Ying (nonchalantly): You told me it was cute, so I changed into this one.

So now I know to say it's cool if she asks. Otherwise, she'll never wear half her clothes! And, btw, since when do SEVEN YEAR OLDS behave like this? See, you can see the 7yo brain working in that she asked her mother what was cool (still trusts authority figure) but refusing to wear anything that doesn't meet the "coolness" standard? That is totally a 13 and up thing, isn't it? I am so not ready for this...

Yang is going through a whiney stage. I'm tired of whining. I hate whining. I tell him I can't hear him unless he's talking like a gentleman (not whining). It worked at first, but now, it's almost as if he can't tell he's whining. AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!

He is so funny when he first told us about his role in T1's wedding. He said, and I quote, "I'm gonna be the ring bear GGGGRRRRAAAAHHHHHRRRR!!!!!! This wedding is going to be a trip. Have I mentioned I'm not ready for this?

CLW is kind of "hit and miss" w/ the potty training thing. Literally. We haven't really pushed it, until today when we ran out of diapers and, being down to one car (again) I had to wait for Cat to get home to bring diapers. So I sat her on the big potty (little one's nowhere to be found) and she didn't go, but as soon as I picked her up, she peed on my leg. Nice. So I cleaned us both up and put her down for her nappy. She woke up dry (!) so I sat her on the potty and she peed, but not w/o voicing her distaste w/ the whole concept. She screamed the whole time (I think the big potty scares her even though I was holding her). I made a big deal out of it, and we called Cat so she could tell him all about it, and she's cool w/ it for the moment. Cat brought home diapers, but I think the time has come to push the potty thing a little harder. She takes off her diaper after she goes and is dry waking from naps, so I think she's ready. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cat's still smoking. He's having a very hard time w/ the idea of quitting. Prayers are coveted.

By the time you read this, I will be 43 years young. Interestingly enough, about that many people asked me today if we were having any more kids? What's up w/ that? Why would people assume we'd have any more kids!!?? We already have five! Sheesh, what do they want from us, anyway? j/k For the last six or so years, my answer has been, "We're leaving it up to God." But honestly? I hope God is done blessing us w/ children. Is that bad? I hope not. I'm just tired. My mom went through menopause early, so I think I might too. The hot flashes have already started. So maybe I'll be able to say "nope, we're done" here pretty soon...maybe?

I think that's all for now. Please keep Sara's Brian in your prayers. Pray for the unspoken for my dear girlfriend. Pray that I don't murder anyone in the next 32 days (I am so not ready for this.)

Much love & blessings!



Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18