I don't even know where to begin. Life has just been out of control......

Last Friday, I received the call no child no matter how old you are, doesn't want to receive about a parent. I was at my desk, eating my breakfast and starting up with computer when I received a call.... I have caller id and noticed it was my dad's cell number. I knew right then and there that something was wrong. My dad never calls me at work. When I answered he was calling to let me know that my mom had been taken to the hospital and they thought she had had a stroke...... I left work immediately. Thanks to my friends at work who shut all my stuff up and off and gave me the kleenex for the drive to Huntington! I knew that we would end up in Ft. Wayne at the hospital but I was headed to Huntington first. By time I arrived they were loading her up to go to Ft. Wayne. I took my dad with me - to which we passed my brother on the way to Ft. Wayne and he was on his way to Huntington... We spent most of the day in the er and then by about 3ish she was moved to her room. To make a long story short..... she had what they call a TIA - it is a mini-stroke - a warning sign for a possiblity to a massive stroke. They kept her in the hospital until Monday and did several tests. They thought she had a hole or tear in her heart but with the test performed on Monday - she did not. So they just have her on some meds for blood pressure, etc. now and she is suppose to get with the family physician.

Last Friday pretty much sucked as Steve was sick also and he came to the hospital too. I left my mom to get sit with my husband while he had his chest x-rayed - to which we found out on Saturday - he has pneumonia. So, it was quite a weekend for me between kids, traveling back and forth to the hospital and having a sick husband.

But happy to report - both of the sickies seem to be getting much better!!

There has been so much stuff going on that I can't even begin to remember. We now have the big kids for our half of summer. Things are going ok with them being home. Some memorable moments of the week are...... them not doing their chores and thinking that we wouldn't figure it out, Riley yesterday cooking a chicken patty in the microwave and doing it "exactly like the package said to" - 1 - 1 1/2 minutes and cooking it for 11 minutes to the effect that it was burnt and smoking and our house still smells today!

This week there was a first for Piper. We took her Wednesday night to story time at the library. She loved it but wasn't sure what she was suppose to do. At several points, she just got up and started walking (or running) around. Now, we didn't let that happen - we got her and made her sit down. The story time was cool. They read 3 stories, ran songs, and even had a person in a frog costume come in. I was surprised Piper wasn't scared of the frog. She didn't get real close but closer than she did to Chuck E Cheese!!!

Another exciting thing in our house within the last week - Piper is no longer sleeping in a baby crib! YEAH! She is loving the toddler bed. We have only really had 2 nights so far of problems with her getting out of her bed when she was suppose to be falling asleep. The first night she wasn't smart enough to play with quiet toys.... and by the 3rd time putting her back in bed she stayed in and went to sleep. Last night as another story..... we heard her making noise up in her room - but it sounded like just hitting the side of her bed. When I went up to check on her (I thought she had fallen asleep) she was in her bed then but had for sure been out playing... she had books in her bed, toys all over and for some reason she pulled out several pairs of her socks everywhere! She got a talking to - and then I rocked her for a bit and laid her down to which I never heard another word from her. I think some nights it's just hard to fall asleep with all the daylight still outside!

We have been using the crap out of our pool and if the big kids could get someone to supervise them during the day - they would be using it all day long! It has been so nice to go out in the evening and take a swim - you would not believe how much it cools you off! It's great. It's also great that we are using it so much. Steve was pretty bent about last year - we apparently didn't use it enough to his satisfaction.. but this year Piper is easier to take swiming and the big kids are back on track of wanting to swim.

We have lots of things planned for the next several weeks the big kids are here. I will try to post the fun that is going on. They have already hit me up about the library and several other things. It will be over with before I know it..... and then it's time for school.

And before I know it - my baby girl will be turning 2! I have already started with the birthday preparations..... Strawberry Shortcake is the party theme this year. We don't have big parties but they are fun parties!!