Happy Mother's Day!

Mothers...where would we be without them? Of course we all think of our own Moms on this day...and Grandma's too. It's funny the things you remember most about your Mom when you get older. For example, Mom was a full-time working Mom but if she had the morning off when I had swimming lessons she was up on the observation deck watching...those days I wanted to swim perfectly. One vivid memory is when I had had the flu and was finally starting to feel better Mom asked me if anything (food) sounded good, and for some reason taco salad sounded good (keep in mind we grew up on a mini farm in Pennsylvania...we ate red meat and potatoes). Somehow Mom came back in with a bowl of taco salad...I think...I can't tell you what was in it now, only that it tasted awesome and I even had a second bowl. Even though Mom worked a lot she always made sure I was ok...I called when I got home from school...she called if plans changed from what they were supposed to be...and we left each other notes all the time so we knew where the other one was(that was back in the day when you could walk to the corner store and not get abducted)...we didn't have cell phones then.

I am very blessed to have my Grandmother with me as well. She's 79 and can still run circles around me. I think that my yearning to be like "Mrs. Walton" comes from Gram. Gram canned when I was growing up, breakfast was real breakfast, her house was always (and still is) clean and ready for company, and if "it" needed done Gram would do it. Grandma taught me what elbow grease was, let me build tents in her living room with blankets and chairs, and taught me there's always time for friends and family...as long as they don't mind sitting on the kitchen chair while your cooking or standing alongside the garden while you weed.

One last shout out to all the Mom's out there! From friends of mine who draw no lines between step-kids and their own children even children from other countries and most of all the Mothers of our soldiers who are in harms way and protecting our freedoms. As the Mother of a son and the wife of a former Marine, I dread the possibility of him someday being in the military and going into unsafe territory. I would like to thank all military Moms and I will say a special prayer for your children's safety this morning.

Happy Mother's Day to each and every amazing Mom out there! And a special Happy Day to my own amazing wonderful Mama...I Love You!!!

Crazy weekend....

Too bad we can't find the glory in "being bored" when we are young. This weekend was sooo busy. Today I cut grass and actually enjoyed the time to reflect and enjoy the sun on my face. It was an absolutely beautiful day.

I spent my day off on Friday baking cookies for the band banquet on Sunday. Made about 18 dozen snickerdoodles and lemon drops. Morgan was still home from school recovering from pneumonia, and she was my official taste tester. They must not have tasted quite right, since she had to "test" several cookies to make sure they were okay.

Saturday was a points day at the drag strip. Morgan lost first round unfortunately, she ran under her dial-in by .04. Jonathan won first round then lost second round, he ran under his dial-in by .26. We are still trying to figure out how to "dial these cars in" according to what the weather conditions are like.

Frank got to combine two of his passions this weekend, drag racing and playing guitar. Driving Force is the official band of the Nostalgia Wars at QCR. That said, Saturday was the first of six gigs this summer. We had a blast! We had lots of room to set up, which is always nice. The band also has a new member. A new singer who definately brings alot to the table.

Tonight was the Leetonia Band banquet. It's a time to fellowship, commend the kids on their great work and say good-bye to the senior members of the band. Hard to believe Mo will be sitting at that senior table next year. Mo's classmates were happy to see that she hadn't died from swine flu...since that was what the rumor was she had!

Kitty is doing well. Currently she is asleep in the shoes in the hallway. Haven't had much luck training her on the litter box, but she has done good "going" when I take her outside in the grass. She's getting very playful and Jon is enjoying her alot. Hope he handles it ok when she has to start staying outside.

Nothing special...

Aaargh!!! I lost my phone at the racetrack yesterday. Before it was turned in someone ran it over. I was still able to make phone calls, but the phone kept shutting off and the screen was broken. I couldn't see who was calling or see who I was calling. After we got home I headed to Alltel to buy a new one. Well...that turned into purchasing a blackberry. The salesman said how wonderful it was...I could do everything I was doing plus check e-mail or weather from my phone...kinda like having a mini-laptop. Unfortunately, I can't even figure out how (or if I can) change my ringtone...or if I have one :) A friend called and he said he has several friends who struggled with their blackberry at first but now they love them. I sure hope that holds true for me. Right now I feel completely technologically challenged!

The little kitty is doing much better. She's just over three weeks old now. We're still trying to get her to drink out of a saucer and use a litter box. She's eating much more now and awake more. When she is awake she likes to cruise around checking out everything.

Prom night...

Well tonight is my daughters prom. She is going with a good friend from the track, Seth. He's a great kid! Volunteer firefighter, into drag racing, very personable and fun to talk with. Nice change from other young men his age. First we went to the Columbiana park for pictures in the gazebo. Then to the school for promanade. The prom committee, of which Morgan was a part, worked very hard making the gymnasium looking like an "enchanted sea". After their prom at the Firestone Links they will head to Masedonia to Fun and Stuff for a night of games, food and lots of fun. Morgan has to race the first race of the season in the morning...I'm sure her reaction times will be off a little with no sleep...but I'm sure tonight will be worth it.

The last picture in the lineup shows the many sides of Morgan. All dressed up, hair and nails done talking on her cell phone next to her SUV. My country girl princess!!!

Blog candy...

Here is a link for an amazing opportunity to win some great paper crafting goodies. Her blog is amazing as well...enjoy looking around.

http://passionforcrafts.blogspot.com/2009/04/blogoversary-candy.html

Tiny survivor...

About a day or two after we first found the kitties, Mama moved them to a "safer" place. We kept our eyes open but didn't see any of them but occasionally thought we heard a little "mew". Tonight when I went to feed the horses I was sooo sad to find a little one had apparently been stepped on by one of the horses and was dead. Then as I reached to feed Meg (my haflinger) I realized there was a sweet little grey and white kitty laying in the stall. When I picked her up she didn't look good. Her eyes are matted and she has discharge from her nose. When I picked her up she/he let me know she was frightened, cold and hungry. I tucked her in close to warm her up and headed to the house. After a few phone calls we washed her eyes with a warm cloth, wrapped her in a towel and headed to Wal-mart to get some mama milk replacement.

Currently she's laying on a heating pad but isn't doing great. She/he apparently has a pretty bad cold and is very congested. We're hoping she makes it until Monday when we can take her to the vet. She hasn't eaten much, a couple drops. But I'm hoping she's exhausted from being sick and left on her own and when she gets rested will eat more. If anyone has any suggestions of how to care for this sweet little baby I would welcome any thougths. Little prayers would be good too...I hope she doesn't die.

Tiny visitors...

Friday morning I trudged to the barn, umbrella in hand because it was raining buckets...yuck! I took the lid off of the feed tub and when I laid it to the side I heard a faint little "mew". I stopped and listened harder and looked around....nothing. As I went back to feeding I heard several little "mews". Thankfully I had my cell with me...normally I don't during the morning feed. I phoned Jon and asked him to grab a flashlight and come to the barn, quickly. By the time I was done feeding, Jon was there. We did some investigating (aka following the mews) and found this bundle of baby kittens. We estimated their age at about 4 days. By Saturday morning we were worried they had been abandoned because we hadn't seen the Mama Cat anywhere. Fortunately, after laying on our bellies and looking under the floor where the babies were we found Mama hiding in the back watching us very intently. We aren't sure if the 7th baby (the little white & black one next to her) is alive or dead. Mama has eaten the moist food we put out for here and we've been "peeking" in on them daily. The babies should start opening their eyes in the next week. More pictures will follow showing their progress.