Color me stupid

I am an idiot. I feel like such a schmuck. Here's the update....

At lunch time I heard the crying again. Again it was heart wrenching. I hesitated but the officer had told me to call if I heard it again. So I called, "there's an officer on the way..." Meanwhile I'm pacing. The crying stops. Molli comes running into the house. "MOM, I FOUND THE CRYING BABY!!!" My heart surged. "Where Molls?" We went outside and she pointed down the street, she pointed at a house where a couple from our church live, with their two small girls. Now I'm panicing...what if something happened to her and the baby is alone?????? So I grabbed my girls and ran down the street. As I knock on the door, I'm praying that everything is ok. She answered the door and the girls are at the kitchen tabel, eating lunch. While being relieved that she was ok, I was still thinking about that baby. So I spill the story of the baby monitor to her. "It was probably her", pointing to her baby. "We found out she has a hernia this morning and she has been so upset." So now I feel so stupid, not to mention mortified that I had called the police about this. There was a very simple explanation to the baby crying. She laughed and promised to tease me about it in the future, me calling the police on her! I was relieved that it was her baby and not someone else's who was really being neglected! Meanwhile, I still had to talk to the officer when he arrived. For many reasons, I didn't want to tell him what I had found out for fear that they would go down there and question her. So I simply told him that they crying had stopped and that I was going to butt out. This was his response, "Well at least if the baby was crying, it's not dead." ?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!? Oh yeah, that makes it feel so much better.

So I have learned to NOT jump the gun and to butt out! No more being Nancy Drew......case closed.

The mystery

This is how is happened....

We came home from dropping Jonah off at school. As we are walking up to the house I hear a crying baby. "Odd," I think to myself while quickly counting my children to make sure I hadn't forgotten anyone. I dismissed it as the girls baby doll who cries. As we entered the house, I saw the doll and it was off. Now the crying was louder. I walked into my bedroom and there was no baby, but my baby monitor. And there was a screaming baby on the other end. I dashed up the stairs into the girl's room where the other end of the baby monitor is. No baby. I ran back downstairs. We were obviously picking up a signal from someone else's baby monitor. This baby was hysterical. I listened for over 20 minutes as this baby cried and cried. I went outside and walked around, hoping to hear something. My monitor isn't that great so I knew that it had to be a house close by. I didn't hear anything. I went back inside and listened to the baby cry for another 10 minutes. Then I called 911. "Um, hi. I'm not sure if this is an emergency or not......." I explained to the operator what was happening. He sent an officer. As the policeman entered, he heard the crying and then all of sudden the monitor went dead. He patroled the area and told me to leave the monitor on in case I heard it again. My heart is so heavy for this little one. Now, you must know that I really do not jump the gun on stuff. I do NOT get involved in things where I don't belong. There have been times when we have had to let our children cry themselves to sleep. But there was something in this baby's cry...my gut just told me that something was very wrong. So if you think about it, will you pray about this today? Pray that this little one is ok, that there was a perfectly good explanation. I'll update if anything changes.

My birthday

Well today is my birthday. All I can say is how I wish birthdays could always be the same as when you were little. They were so much more of a thing. Ah well. It was a good day. Our friends from Nebraska were here for dinner which was really great. And my girlfriend Mindy made me a manatee cake!!!! My first one ever! She rocks.

I really tried to not get all worked about it and it worked. I passed through the day without really worrying about whether or not it was all about me. So thank you Lord for helping me not to be so selfish. I got to have a wonderful steak and I didn't have to do dishes. That in itself makes it a good birthday!

So here's to me, 26 years old. Only four more years till 30.....

7 things

I stole this from Christina's blog, I'm a sucker for these things!


7 things to do before I die
1.watch my kids get married
2.Go to Hawaii with Matt
3. Swim with a manatee
4. Send my parents to Europe
5.Go to Europe myself
6. Go to Saddleback Church
7.lose 40 pounds

7 things I can do
1.Sing
2.Make people laugh
3. Watch lots of kids and not lose my mind (well not till later anyway!)
4.Bake really good desserts
5.Make sure my kids clothes match
6. Do four things at once
7. Be a good friend

7 things i can not do
1.kill bugs, or spiders or mice
2.diet
3. Survive without my husband
4.Go without talking to my friend Mindy for more than a day :)
5.Keep track of everything in my house
6.dance
7.cut hair

7 things that make me love my husband
1.he loves me!
2.he always knows when something is bothering me
3.he knows how to fix it
4.he defends me
5.he lets me sleep in
6.he watches the kids
7.he volunteers to help me with my cleaning job even if he has worked all day

7 things i say most
1. because I said so
2.Where's Sydney?
3.What did you say to me?
4.no
5. knock it off
6.holy catfish
7.who is your mother

7 celebrtiy crushes
1. Sean connery
2.Mel Gibson
3.Richard Gere
4.Hugh Grant
5.Colin Firth
6.hugh jackman
7. Howard Keel

7 people i want to take this quiz
1.whoever
2 i dont care
3.if u want to do it
4.you
5.whats your name agian
6.yeah..you
7.you there...

Days 3&4

Still here. Guess that's a good thing, right? Matt's day home was awesome. It helped break up the week. It was hard to let him go again, but not quite as hard knowing it would only be a few more days.

We had our kick off for AllStars which is our Wednesday program at church. It went really well. Lots of new kids!

Yesterday was all about laundry as I have been in denial about it all week. Then I got to go to a Pampered Chef party. I LOVE those. Thank you Tori for stepping in at the last moment to do child care!!!!

MATT COMES HOME TOMORROW AND THEN IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!

Days 2 & 3

Well yesterday was Jonah's first day of school. He was really non-committal about it. He wasn't terribly excited or anything. Maybe as kids get older, they just realize that school is just one of those things they have to do. I also think he's cautious because his best friend isn't in his class so he's kind of starting over in making friends in his class. Anyway, he survived. He went back this morning for his first full day. He was excited about taking his lunch...Last year he got hot lunch every day! I got some cleaning done while he was gone. It was SOO quiet!

Last night I had worship team practice. After it was over I came home and called Matt. He was crying. He was so bummed about being away, missing us, missing Jonah's first day and having to spend his birthday there alone. So of course now I'm crying. My girlfriend happened to call in the midst of this conversation. She immediately knew something was wrong. So I told her about Matt and how bummed we were. Anyway, back to Matt. We hung up and I was feeling really low. Then a little message box pops up on the computer.....It says, "my husband wants to go get Matt...." WHAT?!?!?!?!?! Then the phone rings. It's my girlfriend's husband (he and Matt are really close too) He says, I'm leaving. I'm going to get Matt, bring him home and I'll take him back tomorrow night." Well I spent about 10 minutes trying to tell him how silly that was, etc. He was not to be dissuaded. So Tim drove all the way to Fort Wayne last night, got Matt and brought him home. At about midnight my husband crawled into bed with me! So praise the Lord for awesome friends and for Matt being home for his birthday. And even though he has to go back tonight, it has totally broken up the week. YEE-HAW!

Jonah's first day as a first grader! 

Day 1

WEll I survived the first day. I didn't sleep very much last night and getting up this morning was tough. It was my last day sleeping till seven as school starts tomorrow.

I was determined to stay busy today. My girlfriend and I took our kids plus my brother Noah in his power chair and we walked all over the neighborhood distributing flyers for our Wednesday night program at church. Then we loaded everybody up and headed to the new boundless playground that they just finished here. It was so awesome!!! Noah could do so much in his wheelchair. It was all ramped so he could go all the way to the very highest point with the kids. So cool. We played there for a few hours and then went out to lunch. We got back and I cleaned while the kids played. A quick dinner and then the kids were off to play again while I worked out with the ladies. Then we flew home, did showers and everyone is in bed. WHEW! But busy is good because now I know there's one less day till Matt gets back. Thanks so much for the thoughts and comments guys. It helps to know that you are all sympathetic....makes me feel somewhat validated for feeling this way!!!! Hugs to you all!

There was morning and evening......the first day.

Tired from crying

Well Matt just left and I can't stop crying. It was SOOO hard watching him drive away, holding Sydney who was crying and saying, "daddy!!!!!" This just sucks. I don't know why this is so hard for me. Part of it is knowing that he'll miss Jonah's first days of school. Knowing that he'll spend his birthday there, alone. Not working but having to stay there because we can't afford the gas for him to come home for the day. I'm pretty ticked at Frito-Lay right now. They have been a good company so far, but not telling your employees they are going out of town until Friday night and just assuming that you have an extra $150 to front for gas and food is obnoxious. Cuz we don't. So Matt is living on ramen noodles and Mountain Dew for the next 6 days. And I feel awful about it. I'm dreading going to sleep tonight, I never sleep well when he isn't there. I apologize for the woe is me blog....Just needed to type it out. I'll update tomorrow, hopefully when the emotions are a little less high.

Tired and not happy

Well yesterday......was quite the day. It started at 7:30 when my phone rang. It was my girlfriend saying she was on her way to drop off her kids. I had totally forgotten. I was still in bed!!! So I run to the door in time to meet her. MY house is trashed. Total kid count: 7. "It's ok," I think to myself. "No biggie." Well a half an hour later I get another phone call. My other girlfriend is on her way with her kids. (We ahve a church garage sale going on, they were both working at it) I had thought that one was working in the morning and one in the afternoon which is why I agreed to do kid care. My house is trashed. Total kid count: 9. "Ok, I'm crazy." Well the day went fairly well besides the screaming 10 month old who refused to let me do anything to help her. So her I had to give back. But the rest of the kids did well. However, I can NEVER have that many children. And it never ceases to amaze me at what I cannot do. Sometimes I think I'm superwoman and I am just not. guess I'll have to return the tights. Darn.

So Matt comes home from work and I am wasted. He then informs me that he has to return to Fort Wayne next week for work. For the whole week. He'll miss Jonah's first day of school, his birthday......grrrrr. Now I know some of you live with this all the time, a traveling husband, so I really have no room to complain. But we are not used to it. It was a really crappy ending to my already full day. Note to self, count number of children before volunteering myself for babysitting duties! Nothing to do I suppose but take a deep breath andn brace myself for a long week. Good news though, only 8 days till my birthday!

because I can

Well Kelli started it so I'm game......here goes...



1. What is your occupation? stay-at-home mom
2. What color is your underwear? red
3. What are you listening to right now? Cartoon network and Sting
4. What was the last thing you ate? Taco Bell, totally not on my diet!
5. Do you wish on stars? no
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I have never understood this question!
7. How is the weather right now? Warm, but cooling off quickly
8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Mindy, of course!
9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? oh yes, Kelli is sweet
10. Favorite drink? Pepsi. which I can't have anymore!
11. Favorite sport to watch? Football
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Oh yeah, bright red...yikes
13. Do you wear contacts or glasses? Nope
14. Pets? A rat, Mr. Whiskers
15. Favorite month? December
16. Favorite food? Steak!
17. What was the last movie you watched? Theater: Robots DVD: Hostage
18. Favorite day of the year? Christmas Day
19. What do you do to vent anger? Scream, cry
20. What was your favorite toy as a child? Rainbow Brite
21. Fall or Spring? Fall.....and Spring...oh I can't decide
22. Hugs or kisses? hugs
23. Cherry or Blueberry? neither
24. Do you want your friends to email you back? If you mean, copy this and complete it...yes!
25. Who is most likely to respond? Misty
26. Who is least likely to respond? Mindy
27. Living arrangements? single family, happy house, messy yard.
28. When was the last time you cried? Yesterday
29. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes, a box
30. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Jocelyn
31. What did you do last night? Cleaned at church and went to worship team practice
32. Favorite smell? my kids when they get out of the tub, matt when he wakes up, roses, lilacs
33. What inspires you? People who give and never expect to get back
34. What are you afraid of? Being alone, someone hurting my family
35. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Cheese
36. Favorite car? Honda odyssey
37. Favorite dog breed?Golden retriever
38. Number of keys on your key ring? 12
39. How many years at your current job? Well Jonah is almost 7.....
40. Favorite day of the week? Sunday
41. How many states have you lived in? 2, Michigan and Nebraska
42. How many cities have you lived in? 5

Ok, I tag Angie and Amy.....

School time

Well I've had to change my blog and make it so that only registered users can comment....I'm tired of getting random comments about the stock market!

Yesterday, I took Jonah to his school to see his new classroom and meet his teacher. He was pretty excited. We got there and there was a little girl ahead of us. The teacher greeted us and told us to look around and to pick where he would like to sit. So we did. Then she said she would be doing a quick testing with the kids. My heart sank. We've been working with Jonah over the summer, but I wasn't sure how much he would be able to do. The little girl went first. She not only named every letter correctly but knew what sound each made and a word that started with that sound. My eyes welled up with tears as I continued building houses with Jonah. "Dear Lord, please just help him not to feel stupid.."I silently prayed. I turned to him and said, "Jonah, if your teacher thinks it's a good idea, you might have to go back to Mrs. Yeck's class again." He looked up at me and said, "No, Mom. I don't want to go back to kindergarten. I want to be a first grader." Now my eyes are full of tears. I quickly sniffed them back and hugged him. Now it was his turn. He knew 10 letters and 5 sounds. He was pretty pleased with himself. Ms. Mary dismissed him and turned to me. I am now crying. She hugs me (I feel like I'm in first grade again!). "Ok," she said. "Does he need to go back? Please tell me now.." She smiles at me. "Nope, he's a first grader." She proceeded to tell me that it is so common for kids to backslide over the summer, especially between kindergarten and first grade. She told me that all of the other kids she had seen already had a hard time. (yeah except for the girl ahead of us!) She said that we would just start from where he was. And if she felt he was still struggling after the first marking period that she would get him so extra help. I left feeling so much better and having total confidence in this woman. So thank you Lord for Ms. Mary who believes in my son and will allow him to thrive and be a first grader. (She's also a great hugger!)

ouch

I am so sore......whoever thought that exercising was a good idea????? My chest muscles hurt so bad. But pain is gain I suppose. I have lost three pounds this week and I can see my biceps. I guess that's a step in the right direction :)

I got up at 6 this morning for devotions. I sat on my newly decorated front porch, had coffee, and spent time with the Lord. It was awesome. How excellent to spend time just being quiet with the Lord.

We go to meet Jonah's teacher today. I'm praying she's a nice woman.

Off to start the day....

tagged

Alright I've been tagged....this is hard.

Top ten songs I'm listening to right now:

1. When I look into your eyes....Firehouse ( an oldie, I found it on Rhapsody)

2. Much of you.......Steven curtis Chapman (my life song)

3. If you could see what I see.....Geoff Moore (it was our anniversary this week, Matt sang this to me at our reception)

4. Prince of peace.....Michael W. Smith

5. All for Love.......Bryan adams, Sting, Rod Stewart ( I love this song!)

6. All the way......Celine Dion with Frank Sinatra (Sorry anniversary thing again!)

7. Everything....Chris Tomlin (He is such an amazing song writer!)

8. U2......my husband is on a kick of them right now

9. I could sing of your love forever kids edition......working on music for AllStars which starts soon!

10. Breathe......passion band (one of my most favorite worship songs ever)

Wow that was hard!

NO way

It started out totally normal.....

Sydney had a stinky diaper. No biggie, right??? Well as I was taking off her diaper I happened to notice something in her stool. I looked closer.....

Ok back up a few days. Molli has her ears pierced and we have been struggling (her and I) with the fact that she goes into my jewelry box and takes my earrings. She can't wear most of them anyway, they're too big. I went to put my silver hoops on the other day and one of the was missing. We argued and I grounded her for lying to me about taking it. ok fast forward.....

Yep, you guessed it. Sydney ATE my earring. It went all through her little digestive track and then out it came. I couldn't believe it. She's laying there smiling at me, like see mom. So I guess it is true that babies can and will eat ANYTHING!!!!

The earring is nice and shiny by the way. But NO I will not be wearing it :)

In other news, I am so sore from working out that I can hardly move. My thighs and shoulders just ache. but pain is gain, right?? We watched Hostage last night with Bruce Willis. Suffice to say, I was up most of the night. I know, I'm a wimp but that movie just freaked me out. It is a VERY violent movie....ick.

yuck

So looking at my wedding pictures every time I get on the internet is very helpful. I have got to lose some weight. For me, it's all about disciplne. My girlfriend and I were working out three days a week last fall. And it felt great. I was toning and losing...awesome. Then we stopped because she had the nerve to have a baby :)

I wish there was some way to lose weight and eat whatever you want. I know you can with the Weight watcher's thing...but you still have to count. The key for me is to not drink pop, or too many sweets. And I must get my fanny moving. So we're starting up the exercise group thing again, there are four of us now! They will be my accountability to make sure I keep it up. I would love to lose 20 pounds by Christmas. Just in time to gain it all back from holiday eating! I can't believe I put this on here......I never talk about my weight. I actually got up this morning and exercised. Half way through, I was certain death was coming for me. However, I survived and will continue to push myself.

Well there we are. Seven years ago today, this was us. I cannot believe that I was ever that thin.....*sigh*

So here's a tribute to the wonderful man I married....

Matt,
Seven years ago I walked down that aisle to you. Yes, we were all sweating profusely as it was 100 degrees in that tiny chapel. We stood and gazed into each other's eyes and made commitments that still exist today. We have had our share of rough times, I'm sure more will follow. But there isn't one day that goes by that I don't thank God for you. I am so proud to be your wife. I am so proud that you are the father of our four beautiful children. God has blessed me so richly with a godly man who is ever seeking our Lord. Thank you for loving the Lord, for loving me, forgiving me always, always being there when I need you, always being ready to defend me, always taking my side, and for giving me the precious gift of marriage. I love you with all my heart. Happy Anniversary.
cheers

aww 

So young, so skinny! 

I'M BACK!!

Hallelujah....when I saw my internet light go green, I almost cried! I know it may sound pathetic, but I love my DSL and without it, well life just isn't the same. I have cleaned my house from top to bottom...seriously, that's just wrong! So I sacrificed to the SBC gods and got my internet back. Ah well...just goes to show, NEVER take their word on ANYTHING!

Not much going on in the Kurtz's world. Two weeks till Jonah goes back to school, two weeks until I have to tell Molli that she doesn't start school till September 15th (yikes!), three weeks till my birthday, two days till our anniversary, and 141 days till Christmas!

Hating SBC

Ok it's official. I hate SBC. I know hate is a strong word, but that is the emotion that I am currently feeling.

Last month we went through this whole drama where I realized, upon glancing at my bill, that they were charging our bill to the credit card. Well I didn't authorize that! So I called, fully intending to let them have it. The woman on the phone explained that it should have been explained to me when I set up our service, that a credit card was required for DSL service. Ok, fine. So I asked, in a very sarcastic tone, "Well what am I supposed to do with the check that I've already mailed to you???" "put a stop payment on it", she says. So I do their bidding. We come home from vacation to discover a letter from them telling us to send in payment. "Must have crossed in the mail" I think to myself. Then yesterday, my sbc e-mail goes down and a little window pops up saying that I have requested my service to end and so it has ended. Now I'm furious. So I call SBC AGAIN.....And they tell me that they have suspended it because we didn't pay the bill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

*deep breath* Anyway, I am now using my mother's computer and trying to decide how to best punish SBC. Unfortunately, there really isn't another option for DSL around here so I will most likely bite my lip and continue on. GRRRRRRRR.....

Back to normal

Well, we're back to normal. As normal as we're gonna get I guess. My mom and dad are away for the week for their anniversary so we have my little brother, Noah with us. This is one of the things that I missed most when we lived in Nebraska, being able to help out and spend some great time with Noah. He's a great kid.

School starts three weeks from today. Unbelieveable. Guess it's time to face facts that Molli will be a school kid this year. Man, two kids in school. Crazy.

Amy has started my wheels in motion by announcing her big news. I must confess that I am thinking baby thoughts again. Shhhh...don't tell Matt yet!

Well not much else to say. I am ready for the hot weather of summer to fade into crisp fall. Anyone else?