What Makes a Great Friend?

What makes a great friend?

Well she has to have a great sense of humor.

She loves you and your family warts and all.

She drives 12-15 hours (depending on the number of stops)

to visit.  Once here, she is takes time out for your kids.

Cause, afterall, when you are a mom, you have to share

your friends with the kids.

She is willing to stand outside in 100+ degree temperatures and receive

golf lessons from Dad's Bud.

Please note ** our temperatures are 20 degrees warmer than her home town.



Temperatures so uncomfortable,

I only stayed outside long enough to take the pictures.

I definitely don't fall into the same awesome-ness category as her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And THEN when we are shopping, she is more than willing to try on

the shoes that your sons find for her to try on. 

Not only does she try them on, she MODELS them.

 

 

She is so awesome, I can't wait to see her again.  The

next visit requires me to climb into my vehicle and make that

super long drive!

 

For You Dara ~ He doesn't look like Big Bird

Hockey Player circled this shirt on our most recent shopping spree in Wisconsin.  I kinda missed what was going on with Hockey Player and the shirt.  Fun Girl was keeping me a bit preoccupied with her collection of things to try on.  But Ms. Dara did not miss a beat.  She pulled me off to the side and said I had to buy it.  Hockey Player had been circling the rack and had picked it up to look at a couple of times.  Okay!
Hockey Player rarely speaks up.  So I was really glad Dara said something, 'cause Hockey Player is really picky about clothes.  He has definite likes and dislikes.  I know he likes compression shirts.  But I would never have guessed he would have gravitated to one this color. 

You know what?  I think it looks pretty good on him. 
Ms. Dara has asked for pictures several times.  In her words, "Only Hockey Player could wear this shirt and not look like Big Bird!" 
She's right. 

Are you a Knucklehead? or A Yellow Belly Chicken Liver?

We promised the kids some fun if they let Fun Girl and the Moms have some fun shopping.
Shopping wasn't all bad.  We did take the boys to the Nike store.  That is always a big hit for my boys.

After the Moms had their fun we headed on over to Knuckleheads!
Fortunately for us, we shopped so long we arrived at Knuckleheads for the discounted evening rate.  We had the place almost to ourselves.  Lots of fun to be had.
It all started well.

They were jumping for joy!

Then we saw this ride. All but one was excited.  Miss Brylee was unconvinced in the fun to be had.
She skipped all the rides...

That is until I asked her if she was a Yellow Belly Chicken Liver?  The gantlet was thrown down and she was out to prove me wrong. Not once, not twice...but somewhere in the double digits I heard again and again for this ride.  Since I had the chaperone bracelet, I was her chaperone.  And ride I did.  I am all for getting my money's worth and by the end of the evening I did.

I really did have fun on the above ride.  Giggled and giggled all the way through it.  Again and again.

When we were done here, she was out to prove she was not a Yellow Belly Chicken Liver and she rode this one.

It was great and fun, until I closed my eyes as the ride was slowing down.  The Pepsi I just finished was not settling too well.
No time to stop cause she was ready to ride the roller coaster.  Did I mention I was the chaperone?

So I rode this one as well.  Again and Again until I cried Bumper Cars and 4D Ride.  No Chaperones allowed.  Beautiful... Time to let my stomache rest.

But my break didn't last long.  Cause she was fired up and making up for lost time.

Off to ride this one again.

This time Fun Girl wasn't there.  It was just Brylee, Me and Little Princess.  

The bigger kids were all off riding the Go-Karts.  The Man was riding the 4D theatre through the Haunted Mine.  Dara was standing nearby for him.  Afterall,

I had the Chaperone bracelet.  So nice of her to share in my fun.

Unfortunately, my stomach hadn't settled much.  2 times around and I couldn't spin the girls anymore.

Barely made it off the ride.  The Operator asked if I was okay as I quickly walked across the building to the bathroom.  Little Princess was asking if I was okay.
She followed me all the way in the bathroom and I sent her back to Brylee.

Fortunately, there were only dry heaves.

But I was done.

Little Princess asked me what was wrong later.

She hadn't even put it together when Brylee went running across to the room yelling to her mom, Dara,
Ms. Heather is throwing up, Ms. Heather is throwing up.
I sense some triumph in her declaration.
Since, I cried, "UNCLE! and NO more rides"
I became a Yellow Belly Chicken Liver by the newest Knucklehead.

Pizza Doctor

Our first night in Wisconsin we went to Pizza Doctor.  Not your typical pizza place.  It has been featured on the food network.  Nothing could of prepared me for this place.   Dara tried.  She told me they had Skittle Pizza.  They had Peanut Butter and Jelly Pizza.  Still did not prepare me for our trip.   

I did call ahead and check on the food allergy issue.  They told me there was no way we should let The Man eat there.  I asked and got permission to bring in a small pizza from elsewhere for him.  They provided him a clean plate to eat off and even warmed his pizza up for him in a clean microwave.  All of that was enough to get them a thumbs ups.  I love places that will work around food allergies and make dining a fun family affair.  We did get some looks, but hey that is okay.  We had fun and my boy didn't feel left out. 

Here's his dinner. Well at least half of what is left when I thought to take a picture. 

While he was munching happily on his cheese pizza., the rest of us were being fed more than we could imagine.  This isn't your normal buffet.  As pizza comes out of the oven, the wait staff plays host/hostess like you have never seen.  Each person in the restaurant is invited to sample the new pizza as it comes out of the oven.  Which means before you can finish one slice, they are back with more.  There is a system to survive their hospitality.  I definitely did not catch on to this too quick.  You take a bite or two, if it isn't a favorite, eat no more.  I got the giggles and was sooo full by the time the "dessert" pizzas came around.  I could fathom eating any more and they just kept coming around.  We were trying to pack up and leave and they kept offering us more.  The kids caught on real quick.  One or two bites of the "good for you" pizza.  They had lots of room for finishing off the dessert pizza slices.....

Some kind of chocolaty pizza with sprinkles

 Skittles + marshmallows

1/2 skittle ~ 1/2 Oreo

Reese's Peanut Butter pieces + Peanut Butter + Choc Chips
M and M's + Peanut Butter

This is what was left when we finally were able to slip out.

 The Man ate almost his whole pizza! 

 I don't think he has ever eaten that much pizza before in one sitting.

 Check out the salad in the upper right had corner.
Fun Girl discovered the dessert pizzas and forgot all about her salad.

Once home, I showed Big O Daddy O our trip pictures.  I had only showed him 2 from Pizza Doctor and he started to go into shock.  Carbs, Sugar, Blood Sugar Nightmares were all he could think of while looking at the pictures.  I was laughing over all the choices.  

Spaghetti, Macaroni and Cheese
Cheeseburger
Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo
Seafood
When we got to the dessert pizzas he thought I had really lost my mind.  Couldn't believe I actually let the children eat all of it.  

Guess I am cooler than him as a parent.  

Ha Ha 

When I got to this picture of The Man later in the night,

he wasn't surprised. 

"Drop in blood sugar," he said.

I think it was just a really fun day!

Dara

Dara wrote this amazing post that summed up our visit.  She humbles me with her excitement about a friend who will pack up on a moments notice to visit.  You see, it blows my mind how blessed I am with a husband who will send me off on whatever adventure that awaits me with his blessing.  It blows my mind how my Heavenly Father has blessed me with this amazing friend Dara. She exudes joy.  She bubbles all over everything and everyone she meets.  She is like a washing machine filled with way too much detergent and she bubbles.  Except you don't want to clean up these bubbles.
In this friendship we all have a buddy or two.  Hockey Player matches up with her oldest.  Dad's Bud and The Man match up with her second.  All 5 boys will play together really well.  Little Princess and Brylee are best buddies and have a blast.  The Man is engaged to Brylee on the condition he buys her a purple house but they are a year apart in age and have fun playing together.  Fun Girl is loved as the best babysitter ever and influences Brylee's fashion choices and mostly hangs out with Dara and me these days.  It is a great family friendship.  Husbands aren't mentioned cause our husbands work a lot of evening hours.  Most husbands are home with their families in the evening.  Not us.  Perfect set up when we are looking for something to do in the evening...when we lived closer.
So back to all of those bubbles flowing over.
I have tears running down my face as I type this.  You see, she accepts me and my kids as we are.  Warts and all.  To me, that is just so humbling and brings me to my knees.  My life is nutty.  My life is messy.  I can't imagine anyone wanting to get involved and be around it.
You see I have a kiddo with bi-polar.  Every day is unpredictable.  Every moment is unpredictable.  Life is like walking on egg shells.  Life centers around how this child will adjust and will go with the flow.  Lots of counseling, some medication and things are much better than they were.  We have a hope for this child's future.  A hope I lean on sometimes hourly, cause I have a brother I only hear from in the oddest of situations.  Diagnosed too late.  He is a statistic.  He is my brother. I love him.  I miss the boy I once knew.  I grieve the unfilled potential.  I have amazing childhood memories.  I have other kinds of memories.  Memories that make me an advocate to try and make things different for my child.  I want a hope and future for this child, just as I know God has a hope, a future and plan for each one of his.  Still each day has its challenges.  Some are normal developmental challenges, others are unique to the situation.  But the elephant is always in the room. People try to understand, but it is hard to understand.  I have hesitated to travel alone for a long time.
I did it.
It was good.
We struggled. We persevered.  We were loved through it and it was okay.
Dara even saw what I try to hide from the outside world.  I don't want my child labeled.  I don't want my child rejected because of these struggles.  I don't want to be mis-understood.  If only all could be summed up by my bad parenting, I would gladly take that label and free my child from this challenge. But that is not the case.  Even though Dara saw my child disappear when bi-polar took over, she saw my child return through the windows of a person's soul...his/her eyes.  She got it.  She understood what we go through.  She asked some questions.  She asked about the future.  But most of all, her love didn't change. She still sees the heart.  She sees the child without the label.  She sees the blessing.  She shared her love and bubbles and joy.  She didn't miss a beat.
My heart is full.  I am humbled.  I am blessed to have a friend who accepts me and loves me and my children warts and all.  I humbled by seeing the joy on her children's faces when they saw me.  You see we stopped in at school the first afternoon. Just the two of us moms.  We popped in to see Brett and Jacob.  I felt so loved by their smiles.   I blessed to have a friend who would write such an awesome post about my family!

Gotta love my kids and all their injuries...

Got a call from a dear friend tonight. Her sweet little princess fell and wacked her head really good, napped and woke throwing up. Off to the doctor.
On the way, she asked herself who she could call, who has experience with head injuries!
Viola! She thought of me.
So, does not suprise me.
Her sweet princess will be okay.
I was able to reassure the dear mom of sweet princess she was not over-reacting by taking her to the doctor.
Thank you Lord for answering the prayers of my young men and myself. We prayed for His healing hands to be on her, that she would arrive at the doctor's office better than she left home.
A couple of years ago, we experienced God's healing hands on N. He had fallen out of the fort and was momentarily unconscious. By the time we were seen in the ER, I got this long lecture on what to look for in a head injury and my dear sweet N did not have any of those symptoms (by the time the doctor saw him). To this day, I believe God healed him during the time we left home and the time the doctor saw him.

The Grocery Challenge!!

So dear sweet Dara over at Dara's Deals has asked me join her in her challenge.
Why she couldn't wait a month I don't know... Here are my reasons why this is going to be soo hard.

*Cause my a/c went out and who wants to cook (Please don't remind me the temps dipped and it has been fabulously cool~ These are my excuses...oops I mean reasons..)

*Dear husband had a birthday and well he should get to eat what he wants

*We are going on a trip

*And drumroll here.....I have already spent money!

So we haggled on this deal. At first I was to spend no more than $200. Well, that might be a stretch for my hungry brood. Though I am stocked. We have agreed anything less than the $600-700 we spend is Fabulous. So I will shoot for $200 but be happy with any success. We comprised and also included a food budget of $100 for our trip. A short little sanity breath of fresh air kind of trip. Blink and you won't know we were gone.

So here's for accountability. Dear husband is humoring me, he hasn't said he is on board yet he hasn't said he isn't.

Since it was delightfully cool today. I baked 2 pumpkin pies, 1 birthday cake, 1 batch of happy tummy cupcakes, half a batch of cookies (there's more to cook tomorrow). I skipped the cranberry bread. Maybe tomorrow. Cupcakes are in freezer for when D needs some cake. He ate 2 1/2 without asking. He got another 1 plus the other 1/2 when we cut the birthday cake. So there's for eating out of the cupboards!

I went running ! ? ! ?

Because it was May last week, and because it is June now, Breathing is considered highly over~rated by me. Meaning my allergies have attacked my life and my family's coordinator of all things. However, last Wednesday morning it was raining. I do get a light reprieve when it rains. I took 2 kiddos and my neice garage sale-ing and "ran" into dear friend Dara. She was on the way to the gym and felt she must follow me garage sale-ing. Well we got to having such a good time, she missed her work out. She hurried on her way and called me a bit later and told me she was running and I out to drive by if I could. Well I did.

And because breathing is highly over~rated I joined her on her run!

It was amazing how well I did, I coughed and choked a bit. But I managed to not need my inhaler! I hope she will let me join her again!

Thanks to Dara !!

For the new and improved look on my blog. She owns all copyrights, so she says. She is willing to sell her knowledge and copyrights for the right price. She also, unfortunately, knows my password and will edit anytime she feels I have comprised her "coolness" by putting something dorky on my blog! Thanks Dara! ! !!