Great Minds Think Alike

So, I decided I was going to fill you all in about our weekend. Decided I was going to catch up on my blog reading before I got started. Read Bonnie's and started to laugh out loud because lets face it misery loves company and at this point I think her and I should meet at whatever bar is open if we can detach Brady long enough and drown ourselves in our sorrows. Bonnie can have 1 maybe 2 because she is a respectable human being and I will have 12...he he! Anyways this is our weekend:

1. So we start out scrambling for plugs, flashlights, batteries, and whatever else is recommended because even though we have a very slim chance of flooding people are getting evacuated that thought they were also safe.
2. My two boys are so stir crazy it is insane. Not to mention we are too. Erik has been great being on call for all those that needed him to move furniture, find plugs, and sandbag. My in-laws live in Oakport Township so my mother-in-law is also with us. My father-in-law is refusing to leave their home or horses. They raised their house in 1997 so thought they were safe to 44 ft, now unsure due to the prediction of the crest which may be changing, who knows?
3. Friday night Anthony and Eileen both get the flu. Or I may have food poisoned the entire family with my shrimp scampi, we are all on the fence about this. I feel great, well at least I did the night before because going to down it was good. Alex has had diarrhea since Wed-is it teeth or not? No fever, happy for the most part until a rash develops. He has never had diaper rash-not like this anyway. Put him in cloth diapers, feel guilty because our water is being rationed. My body is also rejecting the shrimp, not sure if I will ever be able to look at shrimp the same way again.
4. Last night Alex is screaming bloody murder until 12:30 or so. I finally get him comfortable and settled. Anthony crawls in with us at 2:30, is throwing up like a champion by 3 am. I have never been witness to such a small child losing I swear a 1/3 of his weight. "Mom, why do I have to feel this way?"No answer that will comfort, just arms to hold him and Kleenex to wipe his tears. Make him a bed on the couch with all the essentials, watch Disney together and he is asleep my 4 am. I fall asleep in the recliner next to him.
5. Alex is awake by 6am. Erik is "exhausted" and couldn't hear him across the hallway. Wonders why I am short with him? I cannot function on two hours of sleep, can he?
6. Start our day all over again, not sure when the water is actually going to crest, and have now bleached, Lysoled, and sanitized any corner I can think of. All the while with my mother-in-law cleaning alongside me.

So there you have it. Bonnie, when and where are we meeting?

39.43" feet and climbing

The Red River is currently almost surpassing the record flood levels of 1997. It is going to crest between 42 and 43 feet. I was not here to witness that flood, it was my first year of college in Minneapolis and had no idea nor really cared because I was a selfish 18 year old at the time. This time it is a completely different story. To be first hand witness to this is amazingly horrific. You feel scared, hopeful, and appreciative within seconds of each other. It makes me anxious to even write about it. Meritcare is evacuating, the southside of Moorhead is evacuating-Erik had to go and help my aunt and uncle move everything up before they were unexpectedly evacuated, and all the high schools are being opened up for shelter. My father-in-law is refusing to leave his home and horses. There really is no place to go that is safe at this point. The officials keep saying that we are not giving up but you can see in their eyes that they are feeling helpless. They are shutting down many roads due to water, it took my mother-in-law 3 1/2 hours to get home from work to here which is from 45th St to us. Everywhere you look there is national guardsmen, dirty sand baggers, and the town is essentially shut down except for grocery and hardware stores. Please pray for the Red River Valley, we truly need it.

3 weeks, 2 blizzards, 1 flood, and 0 school equals crazy mom!!!

Really, what the hell is going on? This is the third week in a row I have been couped up with my family in the house and I swear to you I am about to go postal. The good mom in me would say she is thrilled to have extra time with her family, bake cupcakes, and an art project or two. Yeah right, today all I want to do is have a normal work day. Wake up, get us all ready for school and work, work a long day at the office, and finish it off with some dinner, two baths, and bedtime. Not to mention my body is extremely sore from sandbagging fighting the flood before the SNOW came (again)!! Really? Yes, this is my life right now. I am grateful that we are fortunate to not be one of the families homes that are threatened by the flood, my heart truly goes out to them. We have been trying to help our friends that are affected anyway we can. Most of our friends that live in the area are currently in Mexico-so not to rub salt in a gaping wound already...Ugghhhh!!!

yay!! I can post from my Blackberry!

I just figured out how to post from my phone and I am stoked. There are times I will think about a topic I want to post on when I am on the run.

Today has been two years

Today has been two years since my Grandma June past. It is one of those days that sticks in your head that you can remember every detail. The weather, what people were wearing, what you ate, etc. The night before she died I had a gut feeling that I needed to get up to the hospital. She was being transferred home the next day. When I got up there my dad and the siblings that were up there decided they would take a break and go grab a bite to eat. It was just her and I. Considering she had twelve kids with spouses, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren not to mention many other people that loved here it was a miracle that I had her all to myself. Since I was little I had played out in my head when my grandma was going to pass because it was one of my biggest fears. I played out in my head how I would tell her how much I loved her, that she was by far one of the people that I admired the most in this world, and what a great job she had done. When I was there she kept asking me for her shoes and where her mom went. I told her that her shoes were in the closet and she was the mom. She kept coming in and out of sleep or maybe consciousness looking back. I as stroking her hair and I realized it was my moment. The moment that I had played over and over to tell her exactly how I felt. Now for those that know me you I understand that this type of emotional stuff is hard for me. But I swallowed my pride and said it all. I said it all out loud and she listened. Not for the sake of listening but because it was as if I was reconfirming to her that she did a good job and we were all proud of her. After I told her everything I can still hear her saying,"I hope I did. I hope that everyone knows I did my best." Shortly after our conversation she quit asking for her shoes and fell into a slumber. That night I left. The next day she died. They were getting her ready to go back to her apartment, she sat up, looked at her children and died. My aunts say her eyes turned this crystal blue color. My Aunt Sandy who is a "healer" by trade claims she say my grandma turn to the light with her shoes on and danced all the way to heaven. There was a crowd waiting for her and as she danced closer she became younger and more vibrant with each step. I believe it and some day plan to dance all the way to her...I love you grandma.

Perception

Makes the world go round. Opinions, conversations, and arguments are all based on perception of other people lives or circumstances. So how do you perceive your life, your friends, co-workers? Do you think you have a honest look at who they are or do you sometimes cloud it with your own perception? I know I am guilty of basing my opinion on a person or circumstance because of my personal definition of the situation. So when is it actual reality and when is it perception?

Sex and the City

So...I am watching a little TV kicked back in the recliner. Alex is snoozing and Anthony is coloring away at the kitchen table. He brings me a picture with the proudest smile on his face.
"Look Mom I drew your favorite movie." I look at it. Start racing through my brain what movie he is talking about? Wondering if Erik has a stack of porn I don't know about because I read the artwork he has done and in yellow and pink highlighter I read City + Sex. Not joking! Anthony then asks,"Mom, what does it read?" He walks away and hands me the Sex and the City DVD. I am trying to contain my laughter best as I can because he is really proud of this picture. I just respond by saying how much I love it. Anthony goes to the table and starts working on a new picture. He walks it over to me and it is a cross, all segments are a different highlighter color. Clearly a sign that I am going to hell. By the way if you have Facebook I posted the picture with the City + Sex, it is too dang cute.

Today Anthony also informed me that,"Alex is ruining his life because he keeps messing with his toys." I asked him if we should sell Alex? He responded,"Nope, he loves him enough to keep him." That is a relief. Do you think I could get a two for one deal?