FINALLY A Nice Day!

This family has so few nice days that I couldn't help but want to post about it today. :)

Early this morning Vin and Sis left to go to his mother's in Texas for a few days. She works for the airlines so flying them out there didn't cost us anything. Sis was so excited for several reasons- she's never been on an airplane, she's never gotten to spend time with/bond with Vin, and she gets to spend time with Nancy. I was so happy for her that Vin asked her to go along. I talked to her several times today and she's having a great time even though they're mostly just fixing things around the house. She DOES have a black eye though. Yep, she's her mother's child alright. Ran right smack into the passenger mirror on Nancy's Bronco while helping out in the garage. LOL. Nancy bought her some sandals though, they are having pizza for dinner, and she gets to see Batman Begins at the IMAX theatre tomorrow so I think she'll get over it okay. ;)

Meanwhile here at home- Lil Man, Big B, and myself had planned a day of errands and not much else. As I was arranging my To Do List this morning Vin's boss' wife called (she had come over to help me out for a few days after my surgery) and asked if Big B would like to go swimming and fishing with them (her 13yo grandson is visiting for the summer). Big B hasn't really had a chance to do anything yet this summer so I told her of course. We arranged for them to pick Big B up at 1pm and we went ahead and left to have my bloodwork done, drop off my CT scan films, pick up my prescriptions, hit the bank, and grab some cheapo lunch. We made it back in plenty of time and they picked Big B up and off he went. He just called and said they caught a really big fish and it sounds like he had alot of fun and is on his way home now. So I'm sure he had a good day too.

After Big B left I decided that Lil Man and I needed some fun too. The poor baby is always stuck in this house with me so off to Walmart we went to pick up the rest of the stuff on my list (groceries etc) and while we were there I decided to spoil him by spending $15 on a little pool and 6 plastic zoo animals since he is into Madagascar right now (kid hasn't even seen the movie and he's obsessed. THANKS commercials! OY!). The minute we had the pool home he was trying to tear into it and expecting me to open it and lay it out in the living room. LOL. I finally got tired of telling him that it had to go outside and to give me a minute and just took it outside to set up. Can I just say those collapsable pools SUCK?! Oh my goodness I couldn't get the darn thing to stay up!! Finally got water in it, changed myself and little man into swimming attire, threw the new plastic animals in the water, slathered on the sunscreen, and off we went! He had a blast and we were in there for well over an hour. Of course, I cheated to get him out of the pool and told him he could have a popsicle. In my defense they are sugar free though. :) So he came inside, ate his popsicle, we played some, and he fell asleep in my arms which is MY favorite thing.

All my kids had a good day today and that means I had a good day as well. It's not often I get to end the day with a smile so you can bet that I'm enjoying it for all it's worth.

Happy Father's Day!

Well today is Father's Day and I did pretty darn good if I do say so myself. The kids and I got and did things for Vin that I KNEW he would like. We paid for him to get an hour long massage yesterday which was something he'd never had before. I figured he could use the relaxation considering the fact that he has been on this rollercoaster ride with me the last 9 months. He said he really liked it and would love to do it again sometime so that is info I will save for maybe Yule or his birthday next year. :)

After his massage I sent him and the oldest two kids to see "Batman Begins" at the movie theatre. To us this was a big deal because we NEVER go to the full price theatre and even only hit the Dollar theatre maybe once or twice a year. We just feel it's too expensive to go and much cheaper to watch stuff at home. Boy were we right!! It cost OVER $30 for the MATINEE for Vin, Big B, and Sis plus two candies, a popcorn, and two drinks!! That is just unreal!! I mean, the cost didn't matter yesterday because it was a treat and special but still...geez that is just stupid that it costs so much! Anyway- Vin had been saying he wanted to see the movie and I figured that in 5 years him and the oldest two have never been to the movies together (sad I know) so this would be good for ALL of them. I was right- they ALL enjoyed the movie immensely and Vin actually came home with a smile on his face. Well worth the money in my opinion.

Last night I made a special dinner (figured it was better to have it last night so we could just relax today) for everyone that turned out REALLY REALLY good. Everyone loved it (except me unfortunately- my taste buds were dead so everything tasted like cardboard AND I got VERY sick about an hour after I ate. :( ) and we had a nice dinner together which I love. I marinated some steak, chicken, and shrimp for two days in a marinade that I bought plus added some stuff to. Last night we grilled them and then I added a feta cheese topping to the steak and sauteed some mushrooms and onions as well. I also made baked potatoes and broiled parmesan zucchini to go along with it. Everything was done at the same time, turned out great, AND the kids even liked the zucchini. PERFECT meal which never happens but made me so happy!

Today the kids gave him a card with coupons in it for little things like a "car wash", "time alone", and so on. Then I had each one pull a gift out from behind their backs. Lil Man gave him a bag of his fave Lindt candy, Sis gave him another bag of it (mixed flavors), and Big B gave him a Tony Stewart dvd he had found a few months ago when we were out. I gave him a card and a stick of pepperoni that I know he likes. He said it was a great weekend and he was very happy.

It feels good to know that we were actually able to give him things he liked because he is so hard to buy for and do things for. I made sure it was a perfect weekend and I'm so proud of myself. Of course, I keep telling him "Wow, look Vin I did things I KNEW you would like. I LISTENED and PAID ATTENTION to KNOW what to get". LOL. This was said because I will make him lists even of ideas for what I would like for my birthday, Mother's Day, etc and he never listens and ends up getting me stuff that I just could never use or have no clue what to do with. The books he got me for Mother's Day we ended up giving to his mother because they just weren't something I would read/use. I wasn't being picky, he had even said as much after actually looking at the books. LOL. He tried though and that meant alot. I just wish he would put more effort into knowing me and knowing what little things make me tick.

Hopefully this weekend has shown him how it feels to know someone loves you enough to pay attention to what you say and who you are. If not... oh well, HE had a great weekend and that is all that honestly matters. Seeing him happy makes me happy and it makes the kids feel good knowing they did well. Definately an everybody wins situation wouldn't you say? :)