And then there were none...

The tonsils are gone and Lili was a trooper!! She didn't cry a bit...until we got home! Her surgery was at 7:30 and they kept us at the hospital until about 5:30 or 6pm. She did really good...played, talked, ate lots of jello and popsicles and refused to sleep until we came home! It was a long day at the hospital, but we made it and today she is just about normal! (The above pics are before and after...not all that different!) We were really surprised at how well she did! And now we are a totally tonsil-free household. How nice that sounds...but the makers of Amoxicillin may notice a steep drop-off in sales now... Hope they can recover! LOL

Also a bit of other news...

I have accepted a new job as the church secretary! I will be taking over for Trudy--who has been in the position for 10+ years. I'll start training on Monday and then take over officially within a couple of weeks. It was a big surprise when Bryan came and asked if I would be interested...I didn't even know Trudy was retiring! I took it as a big compliment to even be considered...and even bigger when the elders actually offered the position. Amy will be keeping the girls while I work...I think it will work well for all of us...

That's the scoop from here!

Happy day...4th of July pics and blog coming soon to a blogsite near you! Watch for it!

Big news!

How shocking is this...two posts in the same week?!

Just wanted to share our exciting news...

No...we're not pregnant...why is that always your first thought? Just because we have 4 kids...lol

Okay, seriously, we are having the last set of Watson tonsils removed on Wednesday, July 5. Lili has had trouble with so many things in her life of less than 3 years, and this year it's her tonsils. So, after 3 infections in two months, we convinced our ENT that she needed to have them out. Okay, actually, I finally took her to the ENT instead of the regular Dr. (because they wouldn't fit her in on Monday this week even though Sydney already had an appt. and Lili was running 104 temp.). The nurse practitioner at the ENT's office asked as she walked in the door, "Is it time to get rid of her tonsils too?" I said that we thought so, and after examining her and reading her chart, she agreed and scheduled her for next week! HOORAY!!

Assuming she does as well as her sisters did, we will be illness free until school starts and then only catch the "croak" bugs... it's progress!

That's all our new news...and all of our tonsils...

Watsons out.

forgetting is fun

Well--it's just plain pitiful when you go to sign in and post a new blog and have forgotten your account name and password.

Don't worry...I obviously was able to retrieve both...from somewhere! Not my mind, but that's okay. I guess I should start now--writing down important information--so that I don't forget anything really serious. Well, it's a nice thought. But I think I'd probably forget where I wrote the stuff down! *sigh*

So...I'd update on our lives, but I have forgotten everything, obviously! LOL!

Okay--I remember this: the girls and I had a BLAST at camp...who knew that we would make it an entire week in the woods, in a tent (that had electrical tape on it before we even put it up!), in Arkansas--without Scott!! But we did it! The girls are apparently naturally good at camping...they actually managed to come home with a collective bug-bite count of less than five and no sunburns!!! And we didn't even use Off! (I kept forgetting...) They had a few elbow and knee scrapes, but what do you expect from learning to ride without training wheels on asphalt and gravel!? I managed to keep up with all four girls without begging help from Mom & Dad--except when I had to go to Wal-Mart to get food for Monday's breakfast (French Toast for 80+...no big deal!!) and even work in naps for all (almost every day) and a few games of cards for myself in the process!!

While there, Savannah "forgot" that she couldn't ride without training wheels--and just did it, Sydney "forgot" to fuss at her sisters for whatever and had fun anyway (she also got rid of her training wheels--not as much of a surprise as Savannah--she's not afraid of anything...except heights, apparently, as we found out on the way to the top of the "Top O' the Ozarks Tower", but anyway...), Peyton "forgot" that she's the odd-man-out and found new friends and fun all around, and Lili--ah, Lili--she "forgot" lots! She "forgot" to be afraid of people (especially Uncle Mark and big men with loud voices and white hair!!) and loved all her uncles (and aunts and cousins) by day 2...she "forgot" that bugs are the enemy and gained great skills at catching anything that wasn't fast enough to get away...and she "forgot" that Mama's leg is the best place to hang out and cry and actually ventured away from the nest and found that she can do lots on her own!! (She didn't forget that she's scared of dogs and cats, but hey...bugs are a good start!) Yay!! Maybe they'll keep "forgetting"...

We had such fun with all the cousins/aunts & uncles--and the river and the tower and the lake and the Carnival and the kickball and the volleyball and the bikes and the dirt pile and the singing and the food and the playground and the snowcones and the... well, you get the idea. It was fun. Lots of fun!

I got my hair cut before camp. Twice. In case any of you were wondering if it's still growing. It's still growing...it just started over! I decided my head isn't designed for hair. It just doesn't fit right. Too big. I love when I have to go back for a smaller size. Even if it is just on my head...

Life is good and the laundry is caught up--dishes too. But I sure loved living in a tent in the woods--with no tv, phones, computers or calendars. This week has been a bit of an adjustment...I've forgotten two appointments and two tee ball games. But ya' know what? It didn't matter and no one really noticed! We just shrugged it off, stayed outside and played in the water longer!

Sometimes it's fun to forget!

~JK~

It was PERFECT...

Finally!! We are finished with the Anniversary planning and the party went just as we had hoped! According to Mom and Dad, it really was "perfect". They had a wonderful day filled with lots of fun, family and friends, exceeded expectations and several surprises! We were thrilled to see so many come to celebrate with Mom and Dad. We said all along that whatever happened, it would be perfect...and it really was! In general, it was fun to plan and get ready, but I think we're all glad that it will never happen again!!!! I have to say that we have an awesome family and that we all worked on something different to make this whole thing what it came out to be...

And now for the Anniversary "Oscars"...

Mom and Dad of course were the biggest of all the stars--none of this would have meant anything without them...the rest of us were just the supporting stars!

Mark and Kris get the star of the day for the fabulous movie of Mom & Dad over the past 50+ years--it couldn't have been any better...it made us smile, laugh and cry...what more can you ask for!? Aunt Areva even said she wants "THIS VIDEO" at her 50th...just cut Faye's head out and replace it with hers! And several people from church who were not able to be at the reception have already heard about it and have asked for a private showing! So we'll be anxiously awaiting our copies so we can laugh and cry even more--with a fresh audience!

Amy was the star decorator--and self-appointed "person in charge", although none of us knew she was "in charge" until she told us!...the room looked so pretty--minimal and classic...just like Amy. She had wonderful ideas and nearly all of them worked and were used...we just had to keep her in check a couple of times on fancy foods! We decided to let the church enjoy it a little longer and have left the deco. up for now. I say it can stay until Christmas...but I'll need my lights back then!

Cindy and Joe were our stars at keeping everything in perspective and getting the invitations done and out on time! Amy and I could've gone wild on deco, invites, food...whatever, but Cindy was our voice of reason! She agreed with some things and told us that other ideas were just too much! We couldn't have done it without them!

I must also mention Eric, our star poet...he wrote a poem for Mom and Dad and read it to them after dinner Friday night...after the movie and scrapbook had been done. More tears--from everyone...it was very special--and a surprise to more than just Mom & Dad, I think.

Scott was the star chef--he cooked just about all day Saturday so that we could have ribs and chicken for dinner after the reception was over. After some early trouble getting the smoker to the right temperature, he got it going and we had a TON of ribs and everyone ate until they couldn't swallow another bite! Scott outdid himself this time--not a bad review from anyone--and there were at least 75 people to please! (Granted, many were Warchestins, but still...)

We had some star servers in the kitchen--we really couldn't have done anything that day without them and we owe them WAY more than a thank you note and little pot of flowers!

Of course the day wouldn't have been a success without all the people who came to show their love and respect for Mom and Dad. We are all so appreciative of those who came from near and far just because we invited them to share in the day with our parents!

I guess I was the star scrapbooker...and really had fun doing it. I was overwhelmed by all the kind, loving words that were written to Mom and Dad from so many friends and family that they have touched throughout the years. Amy laughed at me the whole time we were getting responses to go in the scrapbook: she loves to be read to and would ask me to read them to her anytime something arrived in the mail. I tried, but I think I cried in the middle of reading almost every single one! Although I know everybody loves Mom & Dad and that they respect them and think the world of them, it is just so much more meaningful and touching to see it written in their words and know that it's about my parents. Now I'm going to cry again! *sigh*

This event was a huge success and will be remembered for years. Even though we had our small bickerings and disagreements on how things should be done, they were small and are now forgotten.

We were all exactly right--and it was perfect.

More hair...

...than ever before--or at least a really long time! Due to popular demand, I am posting a couple of pics of my growing hair. It's not LONG yet--nor will it be! I'm just going for a little longer short hair! This is still pretty much an in-between stage, but generally I like it okay. By the way, the sides are tucked behind my ears--they are really grown out to the bottom of my ear lobes, but I hate looking like Elvis, so they will be tucked until I can talk Dawn into getting rid of them for me! I'm not sure that today is a good hair day--or maybe photos taken by 4 and 5 year old munchkins just don't capture it well! (The back is all flippy and spikey and fluffy--all at the same time!!) Anyway--it's a glimpse of my current noggin dressing!

Happy Saturday--

We're off to Wal-Mart! Need a can of soda for Apple Dumplins...

More later!

~JK~

Hair--more or less

So I finally remembered to call and make a haircut appointment for the kids...it only took about 3 weeks of reminders from Scott! Sydney had been asking for short hair for a while...Savannah and Peyton were bound and determined that they were going to grow their hair out...long. Lili just decided after Scott came home with a haircut that she wanted hers to be like his. We really wanted Savannah and Peyton to have shorter hair, but were going to let them keep it longer if that's what they wanted. So...a plan was hatched (by Scott--and I must say it was a GREAT idea!). He suggested that when I take them in, Sydney should go first and hopefully the others would really like hers and want theirs short too...IT WORKED! Sydney climbed right up and let Ms. Dawn cut at least 4 inches off her hair and when she got done, Savannah and Peyton couldn't get in the chair fast enough to have the same thing done to theirs! I let Savannah get the same cut...but Peyton's hair is just too big and fuzzy to be that short, so she got a longer cut, but still short compared to before! Lili kept saying she wanted hair like Daddy's...don't worry--it doesn't! It's more like Peyton's...but all are happy and I get to sleep an extra 20-30 minutes on Sunday since all I have to do is run a brush through each one! WOO HOO! (The pics are from top left: Peyton, Lili, Sydney and Savannah--in case you think they all look alike--like lots of people at Country Mart, and church, and Wal-Mart, and the library and ....)

My hair is still growing...and I'm not even freaking out about it yet! I don't have a pic of mine, but it's getting longer by the minute, I think and the plan is to cut the fringe off the bottom at my next appt. We'll see...I just discovered a new 'do and kinda like it, so I may keep the fringe! Who knew!?!

Scott and I are heading to St. Louis next week to see INXS in concert--it's a Christmas/Anniversary getaway...he got the tickets for me for Xmas and we will get to spend the night (if I ever remember to ask Mom if she'll stay overnight with the kiddos!) so that's our Anniv. fun! An actual date--alone--with each other. It will be weird...but FUN! I am SO excited about the concert--and now that I've figured out a hairdo that I like, I can even have INXS hair!! :o)

I am really enjoying my new job as a personal assistant for my Creative Memories upline, Tammy. I work on Tuesdays and Fridays and Amy comes and stays with Peyton and Lili...I think she is happy doing it too... I really have fun creating border ideas for classes and I get to do a lot of things like that for Tammy. I also have to do stuff like get mailings ready to go and keep track of inventory and keep her cropping area ready for classes, but that stuff is all pretty easy and mostly fun too. It has been a good situation so far...

I need to feed the girls...Peyton says lunch time has passed...and she's starving. I'm sure she could waste away any minute! Lili just woke up from an impromtu nap on the couch so I'm sure she will be happy to eat too!

I'll be busy on 50th Anniversary plans for Mom & Dad for the next month or so, so I'm not going to guarantee much blogging between now and the beginning of March...

5 minutes and I'm out...

Howdy all!! I would love to really write a big update, but my To Do List is longer than my left arm...but not my right...hmmm...

Anyway--we are all well and snot free...at least for today! We have had a bunch of goo going around the last few weeks since the holidays, but nothing serious...no one missed school or church or anything...just some general Southeast Missouri, winter goo.

We have generally recovered from all the holiday madness...we had a fantastic Christmas and a Blow Out New Year! (There may or may not be pictures attached...we'll see how that goes!) We really enjoyed the 5 minutes that we got to see our Independence Stinnetts and we had a nice visit with our Quad City Watsons! The girls were so ready to get back to school and back on a normal schedule...okay, maybe that was me, but anyway--it has been good to be back to some form of normal!

Savannah just started getting homework 2-3 times a week this quarter. So far, so good. She thinks it's cool and fun and wants to do it the second she walks in the door! She will also finally be starting in Girl Scouts (Brownies) this month--and couldn't be happier since Sydney got to start at the beginning of the school year! Sydney has always had homework on Thursdays...still does and she is still happy to do it! Peyton couldn't have been happier to get back to speech and Ms. Amy. And Lili--well, she's just Lili, but she has just about gotten over throwing a fit everytime she wants something. She went through some bad weeks right after the holidays--don't know if it was the holidays and its craziness or if it had more to do with her being a bit under the weather or if she was just testing the waters and seeing how much she could whine and cry before "getting it". I apparently lost my mind for a week or two and actually let her get away with it, but then realized it was getting worse and she was just working me over, so she had a couple of long days of trouble with Mom and now she's back to being cute, sweet Lili! *Whew!*

I think my 5 minutes are just about up, but I will say before I go that we are very busy with all the plans for Mom & Dad's 50th Anniversary Bash. We will be expecting to see many of you in March for the big day! Please keep the date in mind and come if you can! We are so excited and I think Mom & Dad are getting excited too...Mom wants to go shop for a new outfit, so that's got to tell you something if you know anything about how much she likes to shop!

I have to go reboot the laundry and clear off some Hot Spots before something ignites! Maybe I'll get enough done that I can pretend to be caught up for a day...that would be very weird...no laundry or dishes for a whole day...

Sorry--I must have drifted off...that last little bit is just nonsense! :o)

Happy Friday!

JK