Mellissa's Madness

Well we did it! We had ourselves a great family trip to Treasure Island. A good time was had by all. Well most of the time anyway! Of course we still had our family drama, we rolled our eyes at some rude comments and dealt with very different/odd personalities…..we got through it and really did have a great time! While on the beach watching everyone scramble everywhere….I realized that we had four generations there all together in one place! How amazing is that! And my dad even got down and played with the grandchildren which made me really happy inside. That was why I wanted this family get together, because we just don't have enough quality time spent like that anymore. My girls and I stayed at the same hotel, while my parents, sister and two Aunts stayed at a more “upper class” hotel. They also wanted to eat out the entire weekend and we poor folk all pitched in on our food and agreed to splurge on one eat out night.

But the time I spent with my girls and the grandchildren was so much fun. We all went to Publix and shopped for all the food, then came back and the guys started up the grill, while the kids played in the pool. We walked the beach after  dinner and then stayed up all night having drinks together. <Insert family drama>The next morning we made a big breakfast and I must say I was really proud of myself! That was a lot of mouths to feed first thing in the morning but, seriously…..wouldn't have traded it for the world. The kids were so cute all running back and forth from the rooms in their jammies, well heck if I’m being honest….I liked running around in my jammies! LOL It was the BEST! Then after getting everyone together and ready for the beach….a HUGE storm hits as we are walking in the parking lot to the beach! Yep, so off to do some shopping at the Village. We wandered around <Insert rude comments, followed by rolling of the eyes> until the rain stopped and before you know it, the sun came out and off to the beach we went!

The kids had such a blast! We played and played! I just love my grandbabies! Afterward we all went out to eat at GATORS and boy did it take some arranging to seat all of us! The kids loved it because they got to eat at their own table. And can  you believe, we didn't have to get on them at all! They were all such angels! I think we got lucky because they were all worn out and exhausted from the beach. Leilyn’s birthday is today, but we sang her the Happy Birthday Song REALLY LOUD that night while Don held his lighter over the pie slice! (He is such a funny guy!) We parted ways with Great Grandma, Grandpa, Cinderella and my Aunts from there and headed back to our hotel for a night cap >w/o family drama<.

The weekend went by REALLY fast and before we knew it we were packing up for checkout. We decided to splurge and all  go out for breakfast before Don and I headed back to our neglected little animals who had to stay the weekend at home by themselves! Rhiane & Leilyn’s groups all stayed on the Island and went to Tommy’s Family Beach Resort and hung out at the pool and played some more on the beach before calling it a day. That gave me time to get home and unpacked , then get dinner ready. We had some left over chicken and steak from the weekend that had to get cooked up, so BARBEQUE at our place! So in drives Rhiane’s crew. They came, they ate, they left ….to go home and unpack! Whew! Yep! VERY busy weekend!

We soooo have to do that again! I LOVED spending time with the family!

I am so excited! We just noticed that our female sugar glider has a little "peanut" bump in her belly! Of course not knowing anything about breeding sugar gliders, I had to go online and spend hours researching and gathering as much info as possible on how to take care of them. I found one site in particular that had step by step progression and all the pro's and con's to be aware of. Let me just say, that I am becoming VERY knowledgeable in the care and needs of these little rainforest dwellers! To say that they are an exotic pet is only the half of it. But what a joy they are to care for. So today I had to order some special formula online for the prego and then we went to Wallie World and purchased a small jr pop up tent for playtime. Up until now, we have been taking them into the bathroom (after sugar proofing it of course) and always had playtime in there. It is then easier for me to wipe and clean up after them (as they are not potty trained...they go when they go....I know...I know....eeeeewwwwe!) But now that little Saki is with joey(ies) the Hubby is afraid she will jump and glide onto the counter top and hurt the little ones inside the pouch....(aint he so sweet and sensitive to their needs) I'm like......she'll be fine, they have babies all the time! He's like NO! I dont want her to fall off the counter and SPLAT them! Such a good glider daddy he is. So we read where lots of people do tent time, where you throw a blanket in a little pop up tent in an area inside ur house and crawl in and have play time. Take a book, or turn the tent window towards your TV and let them have a ball. I bought a little fisher price toy and some mesh and rope and am gonna make all kinds of hangie toys and things for them to have for activities. I'm thinking clean up time will be cut in half, throw the blanket in the laundry each night and once a week hose down the tent outside, when I hose down their cage. Sounds like a winner to me! I will try to get a bumpy pouch shot soon when she starts really showing. I am so excited I already have two names for each sex picked out!

I cant believe it. 15 years. Wow. I honestly had to pull out our marriage certificate to verify just exactly how many years we were going on. What a mile stone! Funny to think that we actually met on a blind date! True story! Not only that, but it was the worst date I had ever been on! I swore I would never go out with him again! LOL (Yep, I stick to my guns!) LOL He was the shyest person I had ever met, our first date was double date w/ the person who set us up and we decided to go bowling. Don spent the whole night talking to his buddy and basically spoke to me only when “I” asked him a question. And you know those kinda people who answer with one word? Well, he was one of THEM! It was a REALLY LONG date…. not to mention he didn't at all look interested in me one bit! And to top it off, I cant bowl worth a hoot! Boring! So, of course I couldn't wait for it to be over! We ended up going to the friends house afterward to watch a movie and after more conversation that didn't include ME, I ended up saying goodnight and leaving them to each other!!!!! I swore I would never date that loser again! Hmpf! But, somehow he kept showing up and just hanging out, kinda wouldn't go away….you know, like stalking me…(lol….jk)…until he finally grew on me and I realized he wasn't so bad, just shy.

Anyways, after 3 years of his stalking me I finally realized he was ruining any chances of me dating anyone else, so what the heck….lets get married! LOL I know, I know you were expecting a love story…LOL It is what it is! To this day I am still the outgoing one and he is still the shy one! It MUST be true that opposites attract!

And beer helps too!

These are not mine, but some pics I took off the internet just to show what they look like, for those that do not know what they are…..(Deb!)

Isn't it pretty? I cant believe how quickly the pond has come back! And to have a bloom already is such a nice surprise! Honestly, the pads are just emerging and I did not expected to this little guy to say hello. But it sure does make it look like spring now! So, of course in order to get the full benefit of enjoying the beauty of its display, I decided to dabble a bit in the garden. Got a few clean up things done, ran a few drip lines to some needed areas, planted some morning glories and then sat back and planned out my next endeavor with what I want to do this year to the garden. My dad had recently given me some concrete stepping stone molds, so I am thinking that I am gonna buy a few bags of concrete at a time and create a little patio area in the location where my grass wont grow in, and I’ll have to do it in phases of course, since that is all my budget will allow. I also got my brother over and had him measure and purchase wood to replace my three rotting wood benches in the yard. So once he gets them all cut up for me, I will have a staining/painting job ahead of me! So…..there ya go…..leave me alone in the garden for 5 minutes and next thing ya know I have my whole summer planned out! LOL And all because of this single lily bloom!

Lately my life has evolved around my grandkids. And it has kept me pretty busy I must say! Of course while Rhiane was on maternity leave with Jadeyn you would have thought I would have had a little vacation while she was home, but then calls Leilyn asking me to take Kirian for a little while, so she could pull some double shifts during the Strawberry Festival in Plant City. I was so excited to have my little angel come stay w/grandma! During her stay, I would have Kaileb come over for play dates and such. Of course they got each other sick….and so on….poor things. I babysit on Thurs & Fri’s for two very adorable girls and had a nice house full on those days. The girls just adore Kaileb and they attached to Kirian immediately!

Kirian, Zoey, Kaileb & Kera                       Kirian & Kera

Playing house                                             Hailey reading to everyone

Then suddenly six weeks had past and Rhiane was due back to work. Maternity leave OVER! Rhiane wanted to get away on her last weekend before going back and so grandma got to babysit all the kids for the weekend! Which meant Jadeyn’s first overnight! I was kinda nervous…not to take care of the baby…but I wasn't sure how I was gonna deal with getting up so often during the night. Kirian had returned for another stay and I ended up getting up with her twice and the baby twice. Four times….and I DID it! Was up at 7:00am getting everyone breakfast, dressed and teeth brushed all before 8:00am! Yeah, you can say it….it’s true……I ROCKED it!!!!LOL And didn't even have lag during the day! But my real blessing came when Leilyn arrived to p/u Kirian and she ended up taking all the kids to her house for the remainder of the weekend, so that left me w/just baby Jadeyn! Yippee! A weekend full of chaos then turned into a peaceful time with my newest little darling. I waved goodbye to Leilyn and Tommy with the van loaded down with kids and told them I would pray for them! And good luck! Bye Bye Now!!!

When she returned them, she wasn't very quick to respond to if she could do it again soon. She told of finger paint on the carpets, a broken drum set hidden under the bed and such. Rhiane and I just looked at her and rolled our eyes….yep, sounds like the norm with them!

Now Rhiane is back to work and I am back to having Kaileb and Jadeyn during the day and the older kids after school each day, and the two other girls at the end of each week. So my time has been spent most days, coloring, reading children's books, playing LOTS of board games, play-doh, and outside pulling wagons and pushing cars! I get me-time during nap time and usually work out on my treadmill and catch up on my taped General Hospital while exercising. While I love the fact that I am able to watch the kids since being laid off, I find myself still looking forward to the weekends just like I did when I was working out of the house! LOL

Doesn't she just look so peaceful? Everyone has been so sick lately that we have all had to avoid getting too close. Grandma has had to adore from afar. But today I finally got to hold her and she is such a petite little thing. So limp and not a care in the world. I didn't want to give her back. It amazes me at how alert she is. We took her outside so the kids could play and that's when I noticed that with the sun in her hair, you can see a hint of red highlight color to it. Wouldn't that be cool, two little redheaded girls?! Rhiane says that she is just now getting to the stage where she is beginning to cry when she wants something. I told her she should be grateful that she had a whole month before the crying started!

Well, just thought I would give a  little update. Let ya know I’m still here!

( I have been on Face book a lot lately and  I miss blogging and my online friends. To be honest I feel more connected when I can blog, and quiet frankly it feels more personal. A place where those who know me, know me on the inside).

Things have been pretty busy around here lately! Baby and Mommy are getting into a routine and doing well. We went on a shopping trip the other day looking for nursing bras and found that they are extinct in our area. We tried everywhere! Either we would have to travel or order online, so we finally gave up. But it was still a chance to get out and give Rhiane some exercise. Plus, grandma was lovin’ the fact that Jadeyn’s first outing was SHOPPING! We had lunch at the mall and both Rhiane and I couldn't get over the fact at how long it had been since we had been to there.

Later, after shopping with Rhiane I headed to the Ocala Mall (45 min’s away) for another shopping trip w/a friend of mine looking for a Mardi Gras Ball dress. While shopping the racks, I looked up and there is the maternity section right next to the dresses and a rack full of…….you guessed it….nursing bras! Yeah! So I was able to bring home Rhiane a surprise! Yippee! (It’s the little things in life!!!) Plus I did find a dress. Everyone else is wearing an evening gown, but mine is going to be a cocktail dress one shoulder strap and of course it is as cold as Florida can get on the night I am only partially covered! And no time left to hunt for a wrap, since I am babysitting till this evening. So looks like I am going to freeze to death! But I’ll look cute! LOL

Tomorrow is the 12 hours of Mardi Gras Madness in Downtown and so I am thinking this weekend is gonna be extremely full of things to do, not to mention we have a wedding to go to first thing tomorrow prior to heading out to the Float Pre-Party! Whew! Lots of celebration!

Thank God after that MG is over! I am a tired Granny!

Our little Jadeyn arrived on Valentine’s Day and both mom and baby are healthy and doing well! Jadeyn has such a cute little button face, with Rhiane’s nose and cheeks, and Bobby’s eyes, mouth and chin. She is so tiny and beautiful. Of course!

The birth was very quick and smooth, with Jadeyn coming out with the cord wrapped around her neck, but the doctor quickly corrected that and she took one huge breath and started screaming! She was having a little trouble with amniotic fluid in her stomach,spitting up a lot, which the nurse said is making Jadeyn think she is full and so she was not nursing well yesterday. But that appears to be taken care of because today Jadeyn is a hungry little baby with no spitting up so far!

Rhiane’s blood pressure was monitored and it did go up and down during the labor, but no complications arose due to them monitoring her. I just spoke to her and they have released her and are just waiting on some more signatures, then she and little Jadeyn are heading home! Bobby went home last night and spent all last night and this morning cleaning the house for her, which I thought was very thoughtful. So when she comes home she doesn't have to worry about anything and can get settled in.

I have had the grandchildren since Friday when she went into the hospital, so she will call us when she is rested and ready to have all the chilin's come tearing in! We discussed me keeping them for another week, so she can recover from the tubal surgery and so she can focus just on Jadeyn in the beginning, so we shall see how she feels after their visit today. Yesterday when I took them for the visit at the hospital they were all over her, excited and misbehaving, so the visit was short. But, they miss their mommy and are so excited about the baby.

Thank you so much to everyone for all your prayers and well wishes! Of course I will probably dominate my album with gorgeous baby shots for months to come…..you know….”proud grandma syndrome”! I get it every time! Weird……

Jadeyn Riley~2/14/09~11:48am~7lbs 2oz.