Hugs and Kisses

The Rev is still in Atlanta getting the house ready to sell and finishing up his job. It could be a short time, it could be a long time. We don't know.

In order to make it through somewhat sanely, we call Daddy every night before JMonster goes to bed. It's usually very short and goes something like this, "I love you Daddy. Goodnight. I'm finished..." and he hands the phone back to me.

Not last night.

Last night JMonster kept kissing the phone and telling The Rev that he was sending him LOTS and LOTS of kisses and hugs. It went on for minutes! When he was done he handed the phone to me and sat there while I was finishing the conversation. Just as I was about to hang up, JMonster started whispering something. The Rev was also trying to talk so he asked me if I was paying attention. I told The Rev that JMonster was trying to whisper something to me and to hold on for just a sec.

"What is it buddy?"

(In a whisper)"Did all of my hugs and kisses make it there? Did Daddy get all of them?"

(LONG sniff) "JMonster wants to know if all of his hugs and kisses made it to you."

(Another long sniff, this one from The Rev) "Tell him YES they did. And give him a bunch from me. Tell him I gave them to you for you to give to him."

So after I hung up I kissed and hugged JMonster for what felt like forever. He laughed and giggled and then asked for a story.

Part way through the story he asked for one more kiss...a late arriving one from Daddy.

Congrats to my Big Brother!

According to a list found at ABC.com, my brother's blog Patterico's Pontifications, is 46th out of the top 100 political blogs in the nation.

One of the intriguing aspects of this list is that it puts everyone in the same pot. The list has mainstream media blogs -- from ABC News, CNN, The New York Times, and others -- alongside well-known partisan bloggers -- Michelle Malkin, FireDogLake -- and even government-run bloggers, like WhiteHouse.gov’s.

Here’s the Top 100:

1 The Huffington Post
2 Think Progress
3 The Corner
4 Political Ticker - CNN
5 The Daily Dish
6 Political Punch
7 Michelle Malkin
8 Instapundit.com
9 Talking Points Memo
10 Political Animal
11 Firedoglake
12 Daily Kos
13 Crooks and Liars
14 fivethirtyeight
15 NewsBusters
16 The Caucus - New York Times blog
17 Gateway Pundit
18 Power Line
19 White House.gov Blog Feed
20 Michael Goldfarb - The Blog - The Weekly Standard
21 The Plank
22 AMERICAblog
23 Reason Magazine - Hit & Run
24 The Volokh Conspiracy
25 Balloon Juice
26 Washington Wire - WSJ.com
27 Marginal Revolution
28 Swampland
29 Glenn Greenwald
30 The Note
31 Atlas Shrugs
32 Hullabaloo
33 Wonkette
34 Eschaton
35 Political Wire
36 Jihad Watch
37 Lynn Sweet
38 The Jawa Report
39 George's Bottom Line
40 Political Radar - ABC Blog
41 The Next Right
42 forward movement
43 Don Surber
44 MyDD
45 JammieWearingFool
46 Patterico's Pontifications
47 iowahawk
48 The Blog
49 Stop the ACLU
50 Redstate - Conservative News and Community
51 Townhall.com
52 FP Passport
53 The Washington Note
54 TalkLeft
55 JustOneMinute
56 Ross Douthat
57 Outside the Beltway
58 Sweetness & Light
59 The Nation Blogs
60 Riehl World View
61 DownWithTyranny!
62 Flopping Aces
63 Oliver Willis
64 Gay Patriot
65 The Buzz Florida Politics
66 Global Voices Online
67 Michael J. Totten
68 jillstanek.com
69 Roger L. Simon
70 Moonbattery
71 American Power
72 PollingReport.com
73 Capitol confidential
74 GamePolitics.com
75 The Brad Blog
76 YID With LID
77 Debbie Schlussel
78 Confederate Yankee
79 The Club for Growth
80 The Belmont Club
81 Newshoggers
82 Soccer Dad
83 Say Anything
84 News Hounds
85 Founding Bloggers
86 the albany project
87 The Liberty Papers
88 The Anonymous Liberal
89 Mother, May I Sleep with Treacher?
90 Jack and Jill Politics
91 Burnt Orange Report
92 PoliGazette
93 The Radio Equalizer: Brian Maloney
94 Obama HQ
95 The LRC Blog
96 ScrappleFace
97 Sister Toldjah
98 The Strata-Sphere
99 The Sideshow
100 Naked Politics

Ranking by Wikio.

Way to go Patterico!

I'm clueless, and all is right with the world...

I've moved in and am getting settled. The house is BEAUTIFUL and the kids are all getting along smoothly. Swimming lessons are coming along nicely; I've unpacked and am mostly organized.

But I am COMPLETELY unaware of what is going on in the world! I thought I didn't get news before, now it is like living on a deserted island and burying my head in the sand. It's not complete isolation. Just close.

Hopefully I will get myself back to a state of semi-knowledge of world happenings. Just enough to be dangerous.

In the meantime, check my sidebar for my fun Prisoner of Summer button. Maybe THAT is the real explanation here!

#@$%!& Dog!

I spent the better part of my morning at the Verizon store getting a new cell phone. It took a little longer since I was previously a Sprint customer. The reason I had to get a new cell?



My sister's dog, Skittles. I won't post his picture since it'll be like putting a bullseye on him.

If you hear about a missing Skittles, don't look at me...

Swimming Lessons

I'm starting a new/old job today. For approximately 20 years I've taught swimming lessons off and on. More off the past few years, but I've kept up with trends and techniques and am excited to get back into the swing of teaching.

With The Rev starting his own business, we've decided I need to help out with income for the next little bit. This will help us take the pressure off of him while he is out making contacts and networking for new clients.

And after the drowning a couple of weeks ago, I'm on a mission to teach as many kiddos survival swimming as I can!

Wish me luck! I promise to wear my sunscreen. ;0)

All Moved In!

Sorry for the delay in posting. Our 13 1/2 hour drive turned into almost 18 hours and an overnight stay at the country's most disgusting Motel 6 (Monroe, LA). Weather, traffic, construction, a loaded Penske truck that couldn't accelerate on hills, and a 3 year old's teensy toonsy bladder were all contributing factors in our extended trip. It was long and exhausting, but WE ARE HERE!



We got the truck unloaded a few hours after we arrived...The Rev is AMAZING! I've managed to unpack most of the boxes and get stuff away; I only have a few things left to do before we can declare ourselves "done".

And my twin sister, who seems to run our new neighborhood, has lined up over 5 families that are looking for swimming lessons for their kiddos. Each family has multiple kids, so I'm looking at being booked up before I even start teaching! That's great!

JMonster is getting settled in with his 3 cousins (E & A who are 6 year old twins and S who is 5 months older than JMonster). He keeps telling us that he LOVES his new home, and even cried twice the first day we were here because he thought we were having to leave. "I don't want to leave my new home, Momma!" Between sobs I tried to explain that he wasn't leaving his new home and he was going to live here for awhile. It'll take awhile, but I really think this is going to be a positive experience for him. Keep your fingers crossed!


"A"
"E & S"

Thanks to all who have supported us through thoughts, prayers, and kind words as we've gone through this transition. It has been tough, but we are excited about this new chapter in our lives!

Remind me to tell you about the fun neighborhood party we went to last night. Fun peeps! Until next time...CIAO!

Missional Monday & Hurting Hearts...

Missional Monday with a purpose:

Around 5:30pm yesterday I got a phone call from my next door neighbor. She was hysterical and screaming that I needed to get to the pool because a little boy had drowned. "You know CPR!"

I grabbed the car keys, yelled at The Rev where I was going, and raced to the car. I didn't even grab shoes. I pulled out of the driveway and saw my neighbor's husband working in the yard...I yelled for him to get in and we raced to the pool.

By the time we got there 2 people were performing CPR on the child. They were doing good compressions, so mostly I coached them on not stopping and helped when he was sick.

EMS arrived a few minutes later and we put him on a stretcher and they ran. I was a nervous wreck all evening, and couldn't sleep until the wee hours from the adrenaline.

I just got an email confirming that the little boy, Trey, did not make it. He looked to be about 3 or 4. No one knew how long he had been in the water...he was at a birthday party for his cousin and we believe he had taken off his flotation device.

I beg of you parents, PLEASE, PLEASE watch your kiddos at the pool. Even if they can swim, know where they are at all times. And if they CANNOT swim...get them lessons! Even a 6 month old can be taught to come up to the surface and float on their back if they end up in a body of water. It may be expensive, but it will be some of the best money you can spend. (Google survival swimming in your area to find qualified instructors.)

And finally, learn CPR. It took a minute or two before people stepped in to do CPR, and there wasn't a consensus as to compressions and breaths. Contact your local Red Cross or your local hospital's education department.

Red Cross Preparedness programs in first aid, CPR and AED are available for any age and can be tailored to the needs of specific groups and individuals. Whether you work with children, want training for employees, are a professional rescuer, or simply want to know how to help someone in an emergency, the American Red Cross has a program for you.

I pray no parent ever has to go through what Trey's family is going through today.