Nicole's Daybook

Outside my window... it is rainy following the severe weather our area had last night.

I am thinking... about how I am a woman who needs uninterrupted sleep at night. Being awakened every half hour by something or someone starting at 4:30 a.m. just doesn't work for me.

I am thankful ... to be married to my best friend.

I am wearing... my jammies and robe. No workout clothes this morning .. it was raining.

I am remembering... what a fun weekend we had at the carnival, going on a date night and Mother's Day.

I am creating... my garage sale items.

I am going... to go to my sister-in-law's graduation from Pharmacy school tonight. I am very proud of her! She's been in school for about as long as Rick and I have been married, all the while working, being a wife and taking care of her two teenage kids who are now in college. It's been a long road, and I know she's glad it's finally over!

I am reading... Winter Garden, by Kristin Hannah. (Actually, I haven't read a thing in a month, but after this weekend I am hoping to get back into my book.)

I am hoping... that it does not rain on Saturday when I am having my garage sale.

On my mind... is how I need to get up right now and get busy so I don't feel behind all day.

From the learning rooms... only 2 1/2 more weeks of school until summer break! I can't believe it! There are lots of activities between now and then.

Noticing that ... without my daily schedule, I am a mess.

From the kitchen... things are chaotic because I don't have a plan for meals this week. That makes me crazy!

Around the house... are very organized piles of things I have marked for our garage sale. I spent all day yesterday doing it and have at least another day or two of work to do.

One of my favorite things... is my bed. I had never slept on a good mattress until we moved into our house 2 1/2 years ago. We bought new bedroom furniture and a Eurotop mattress. It is pure heaven! I still groan with happiness every night when I climb into bed.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Things aren't quite as crazy as they were last week, although there is still a lot going on. Today I am marking garage sale items and working in a quick trip to the grocery store. Tonight we are going to Julie's graduation. The rest of the week I am preparing for my garage sale. I'm doing copies on Thursday afternoon and attending the school's volunteer appreciation luncheon. On Friday Eli has his Track and Field Day at school. I am having my garage sale on Saturday, and then Brynne has a birthday party to go to in the afternoon while Rick goes to his sister's graduation get-together. Hopefully on Sunday I'll be able to clean house after a busy week.

From my picture journal.


My garage sale find from this past weekend. This is a double hose garage, and they cost over $40 new. I got it for $5. We really needed one in our backyard by my garden. I was really excited to find it! Dawson said, "I just don't get it." I told him that someday he would.

** Be sure and hug your husband and kids today.

Get to know other special women at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Menu Plan Monday

I'm afraid I don't have much of a plan. I know I'm going to do breakfast one night and cheesy meatball skillet one night and fried chicken strips with party potatoes on Thursday (because Kyndal's boyfriend is coming over for dinner and that's what she requested). But, other than that I don't really know. I am preparing for my garage sale this next weekend which has left me uninspired on the meal-planning front. Maybe I'll get something pulled together for the weekend.

I will leave you with these two photos though, because they have to do with food ...

The progress of my garden. Everything has sprouted and is doing so well! (I have since deweeded it). As a reminder I have sunflowers (not edible, but super cool), three tomato bushes and a cherry tomato bush with marigolds interspersed around them, three green pepper plants, squash (three have sprouted), lots of peas and green beans, two blueberry bushes and more sunflowers.

And look at this unexpected little burst .. it's a blueberry! I wasn't expecting any on this bush until next year. I hope it actually ripens because I'm going to pluck it right off the branch and eat it when/if it does.

How about you .. do you plant a garden?

A Happy Mother's Day

What a great Mother's Day!

My day didn't start until 10:00 this morning! Rick let me sleep in, and got up and took care of the puppies and the kids. He served me coffee in bed and my own special Bavarian cream donut! (Diet be darned!)

While I was eating my donut and drinking my coffee, I watched out the door to our back porch and I could see the kids and the puppies and I just couldn't lay there in bed any longer. I could never be the pampered princess type. Don't get me wrong, I have a wonderful life. But I am one who just needs to be doing something.

Knowing that my house was a dirty mess and that I had laundry to do and a garage sale coming up this weekend, I got up and got to work. I wanted to get my house completely cleaned so I could concentrate this week on getting ready for my garage sale. You'll be able to tell by the pictures that we stayed in our comfies all day. It was great!

And it felt so good to get so much accomplished!

And these were the wonderful things I got for Mother's Day ....

It started last night with a date with Rick (number 17 of 52). We went to Olive Garden and then our favorite place to go on a date .. Lowe's. We always seem to end up there. We had things to get, though ..

For Mother's Day Rick bought me a Purple Marten birdhouse (I've wanted one forever) and a hummingbird feeder.



Kyndal wanted to get me a coffee cup from Hallmark that says "Mommy Needs Her Coffee", but since she is a broke teenager she had to settle for the $2.46 coffee mug I picked out at Walmart last night. She owes Rick.


Eli made me a flower pot with flowers that have things listed on the stems that he will do for me. I already used the one that said "Give You a Hug."


Brynne made me a flower pot and with the prettiest flower around .. a picture of her.


And Dawson bought me a foot massager at a garage sale on Saturday. (He's my garage sale buddy).


We ordered pizza for dinner and watched USA movies. We were all tired after our hard day of work.

But to me, it was the best Mother's Day I could ask for!

~ And I'd like to send a special Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Aleta. She hardly even seems like my mom, but more like my good friend or my sister. I know she spent a day much like I did .. working hard .. because that's just how she is. I hope she took a little time for herself, though. ~

Sticky Note Sunday

Notes I've found stuck around my house to myself for today:






My friend Tamara had this widget on her blog and I thought it was too cute! To make your own stickies, go here.

He said he thought it was a 4-way stop ...

and thought she would stop.


I think maybe this should have clued him in that it wasn't.

This was the stop sign at his intersection.

The light was flashing ever so brightly.

Mommy's Spa Day

To read all about my relaxing Spa Day at Brynne's school, pampered by these two cuties, click here.

Exhausted

I am exhausted!

I have finally hit that level of exhaustion that I can't seem to get myself up to do anything but the basics today. I am currently sitting in the chair in the living room, which I never do during the day.

I get this way, that if I don't just STOP I will collapse or get sick or something.

Rick's worried about why I am so tired, but I know it's just because of all of the activity.

For the past two weeks I haven't been home for any afternoon with nothing to do. I need those days.

We drove to Missouri two weekends, one for prom {which took lots of preparation} and one for the Mother Daughter Banquet {which took even more preparation, both physically and emotionally}. We've done May Baskets and Teacher Appreciation activities. Kyndal had her wreck. It's been nice outside so we have been out a lot in the evenings, and I've pitched in on yard work. We've had dentist appointments, orthodontist appointments, volunteering at school. We're doing preparations for our vacation, getting ready for a garage sale and making appointments to get our puppies spade and neutered which will make for even more running around and care. This afternoon is Brynne's "Spa Day" at preschool, so I'll be doing that. Add spring cleaning, teenager spring activities, end-of-school activities, Trail Days this weekend and constant puppy care.

I. am. exhausted.

So today I'm planning to do just the bare minimum to get me by.

The girls cleaned the playroom this morning. I am going to make a list for Kyndal and Dawson of cleaning I want them to do upstairs this afternoon. And I'll take care of what needs to be done downstairs.

I'm going to go get my hair "done" and my toenails "painted" and a "massage" by Brynne this afternoon. I am certain I will feel very "relaxed" after that.

Other than fixing dinner tonight .. I am done.

And then I'll get up tomorrow for another full day of activity.

Rick Rocks ~ Because He's MY Rock

Rick is always here for me, during the good times and bad.

A Rock is solid, unmoveable (when it's big enough), tough.

On Monday when Kyndal called, I was able to call him at work and he was home immediately. I had Brynne and my neighbor and was needing to go to Kyndal. He could have stayed home with them, but he offered to take them and meet me at the hospital. I didn't think I needed him. But, I did ... I do.

It meant so much to walk into the waiting room to see him talking with the school officials, acting on my behalf.

Then he took the girls home and fed them lunch and took them to school.

Most importantly he was just there to support me when I needed him. Knowing that he was there helped to keep me strong. I knew I would have a place to fall if I needed to.

Life is hard when you are alone. It's so much easier when you have someone strong there with you.

Rick Rocks ~ Because he's MY Rock!

Mother Daughter Banquet

I grew up in a small town in Missouri. My parents still live there, as does my sister, niece, maternal grandmother, aunt and uncle. That's where we go for our visits. We love to visit!

My childhood church has a Mother Daughter Banquet every May. I wish I knew how many years they have been doing it. My hometown is a really old town. Their 4th of July Celebration has been an annual event for over 100 years. So, I know the Mother Daughter Banquet has been around for a long time.

I always loved going as a girl. It's a potluck dinner so the best of the best food is presented {oh how I always looked forward to LM's homemade breadsticks!}. There was always so much anticipation about which table would get to line up first to eat. Another highlight for me was the place setting we brought. I don't know why I always loved bringing our divided plates, or wicker paper plate holders, or whatever we brought. And I even enjoyed looking at what the other mothers and daughters brought for their dinnerware. At the end of the banquet they would give away prizes (usually potted plants) to the oldest mother, youngest mother, mother who traveled the furthest, newest mother, mother with most children present ... you get the point. Then they would dismiss to the sanctuary for a little program.

After we moved away out of state, we stopped attending because it's always on Sunday evening and that would get us home too late. I do think we went back right after I had Kyndal. That was 15 years ago.

This year my mom's church group was in charge of hosting the banquet. A few months ago my mom asked me if I had any ideas for it. Actually, I did. It was based off a table I decorated at one of my daughter's mission fashion shows. We came up with decorating ideas and door prizes.

The theme for the banquet was "Time" based on Esther 4:14 and Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. We asked the ladies of the church to bring a clock with special meaning to place in the center of their table. We made wooden plaques with the scriptures from Esther and Ecclesiastes. And we made napkin rings to look like watches. The centerpieces were the clocks and potted herbs that we gave away as door prizes. (Keep in mind this is a tiny church, so we were so excited with how our tablescapes turned out. This picture does not do it justice!)




After we ate dinner, the guest speaker took the podium.


Recognize her?

Talk about being nervous! I spoke to some ladies who taught me as a little girl in Vacation Bible School or Sunday School, one of my elementary school teachers, my favorite high school teacher (she was my English and Drama teacher, so I hope I did her proud!). Then there was a group of women I did not know, so that made me nervous. Then on top of that I was speaking in front of my mother, my sister and my daughters.

I just hope that whoever God was wanting me to talk to heard what He had to say to her.

That someone might have been me.

My program was about the seasons of our lives as mothers and daughters ... the good seasons and the bad. I talked about how God prepares us for each thing He allows us to go through, although ultimately leaving enough weakness in us so that His strength can be shown. I told them what a pastor of mine had often said .. that you are either coming out of or going into a hardship. But, it is just for a season, whatever it is.

Little did I know that Kyndal would be in a serious car accident the very next day.

I was honored to be involved in the banquet.

I was honored to be there with my daughters.


I was honored to be there with my mother.


I was honored to have an opportunity to serve God.

Wreck Update

First of all, THANK YOU to all of you who commented or e-mailed me about Kyndal. I truly appreciate your concern, well wishes and prayers.

Kyndal is doing well and went back to school today. She still has a bump on her head and stiffness, her left shoulder is very sore and her right leg is hurting. The best we can tell, from piecing things together, is that her instructor reached over and grabbed the steering wheel when they were hit and he either took the blow from her airbag and hit her head with a part of his body or she turned her head far to the left and the airbag hit the side of her head.

Her instructor had 30 stitches in his right arm and both shoulders are extremely sore. But, he is going to be okay. In my opinion, he was a hero to these kids, sacrificing his own well-being for the benefit of the kids. We are grateful to him.

Kyndal still does not remember much from the entire day Monday. She only remembers borrowing my makeup Monday morning, and then the next thing she remembers is hearing her teacher moan as they were being hit. She remembers the boy in the back talking once the wreck was over, then remembers a girl with a side pony tail hugging her and telling her it was going to be okay. The next memory is of me being with her in the hospital. That's about it.

Here is a picture of their car, and the truck that hit them. We are grateful that they were not hurt worse than they were, or even killed. (Unfortunately the pictures are thumbnail size. When I tried to resize them they were blurry. But, you get the idea ... smashed little car... huge truck.)

Again, thank you for all your prayers and concerns.