This morning Emily picked up Cammie to go to the Renaissance Festival with her and Meaghan and Rick and I'm assuming Edd and Jenn also. They are also having a sleepover at Emily and Jenn's! Should be lots of fun and hopefully someone won't be too grumpy at bedtime! Joe and I went to the HoCo Fairgrounds to what was supposed to be a Hot Tub, Pool and Patio blowout extravaganza/palooza type deal but was a HUGE disappointment. There was only one hot tub dealer (and it was NOT hotsprings) and there were about 10 hot tubs in the building and no extras or anything to indicate even the smallest palooza type event. We were looking for hot tub filters and just wanted to check it out. Short story even shorter- totally not worth it. We thought our visit would be redeemed by the Kid Sale also at the fairgrounds, that turned out to be little more than a yard sale and was over by the time we got there. The two or three sellers that were left didn't have anything interesting out. After that we headed for the Hot Tub store in Ellicott City and that was successful. The excitement continued as we headed to Columbia to go to Lowes, Toys R Us (we only went in there because they were having a going out of business sale I swear) and Petsmart. Oh and how could I forget!! Our living room and dining room furniture was delivered this morning, with the exception of the chaise chair (they sent the wrong color), one dining room chair (scratched) and a lamp (broken). Very exciting and the living room no longer looks like a toy store although I'm sure as soon as Cammie gets home and moves her stuff back out there it will. Can't wait for her bed to finally come!! Going to go hit the hot tub and enjoy the aromatherapy salts we got and then to quote our Chunkapotamus... It's bedtime!

9-11-01 Never forget the efforts of those who sacrificed their lives on that day or those who were there and survived and their loved ones. There were heroes at the WTC, the Pentagon and the crash site in Pennsylvania and there are heroes still fighting for us at home and in the Middle East. I will never forget where I was and what I was doing, and I was never more thankful to be an American in the aftermath. 9 years hasn't changed the impact of that day when our world changed forever.

I will never forget 9-11-01

Rockin' the boots and the bag

Again the week just flew right by, last Sunday my Mom and Dad picked up Cammie in the morning to take her to the Clark Farm where the Enchanted Forest stuff is, they have a petting farm and a maze and pony rides etc. They all had lots of fun!! After they brought her home we went to Donna and Bill's for a cookout and Cammie got to hang out with Paul. And Kristen and Daniel and Joe and Melissa of course. It was fun also. Monday we went to Meaghan and Rick's for a cookout and had lots of fun there too. Tuesday and Wednesday Fons was here painting and he finished on Wednesday and the room looks fabulous!! We love it! Our furniture comes tomorrow which we are very excited about!! Now just comes the decorating part. Yikes! Wednesday we took Joe's truck in to get the recalls done on it and we went over to the Columbia Mall for a little bit and checked out the Disney store. Cammie was in heaven. I picked up a couple of things to put away for Christmas for her, so my Christmas shopping has officially started. I want to be done by the time we go to Disney although I am sure I will find a thing or two down there that I want to get. Thursday we had the Fireworks woodstove guy come out and give us a price on a pellet stove, then Weber stopped by to see the house and then Cammie's favorite part of the day was when Leslie and her BF Ben stopped by the house on their mules and Cammie was so excited. She got to sit on them and walk around a little. It was great. Of course now she thinks that the animals are coming to her. We finished off the day with dinner at Bob Evans with Poppop Fish and Granny Franny. Today was Cammie's first Kidactive class through Parks and Rec and she really seemed to enjoy it. There was about ten kids in it and they had them do all kinds of activities. It was cute. Then Donna came over and we went to Mt Airy to go to the Library and to CVS (I saved 45 bucks with sales and coupons and got 15 extra bucks for next time!) Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Well Hello

I know, I've been a bad blogger again!! But I think I can catch everyone up on our busy exciting life. Monday the 30th we took a field trip to Chestertown to visit Andy and Tammi Kim. Cammie made a new friend of their daughter Syd and we met another Chunkasauras, their baby Dylan. We had a yummy lunch and a great visit! We're going to have them over as soon as we get our furniture! Tuesday we went to the dentist again, Joe had to get an additional cleaning and I had a consult with the dentist. He thinks I need to get braces on the upper teeth and then redo my bridge on the bottom and he wants to yank one of my lower teeth that I injured in the car accident so many years ago. Apparently there is an abscess in it now. Bleahhh. I'm not opposed to the braces I just need to find out how much our insurance covers. The cost for the replacement bridge is not horrible so I may just go for that if the braces are too much. September 1st brought me a lovely spa morning. Kristen G watched Cammie for me so I could go get a massage and facial in Westminster and then when I got home I was so relaxed I took a great cuddly nap with Cammie. Thursday Joe took Clyde to the vet for a follow up and he is doing great! Thank goodness. All the work I have been doing with him is paying off! Then I went for a mammogram. I guess it's a good thing we didn't get those appointments mixed up, don't think Clyde would have been too happy trying to flatten his boobies into the mammo machine. Friday we spent getting the living/dining/kitchen area ready for Fonso to come and paint for us which he did all day today. It looks great so far! I love the colors! I also had a visit from the Great Uncles and they took Cammie and I to Bob Evans for late lunch/early dinner and it was YUMMY. We had a great visit with them as always! It was a gorgeous day today and we spent lots of time outside!! I also want to note that Hurricane Earl did not stress me out in any way shape or form as he would have if we still lived on Kent Island. And just to update on the Cammie bed situation, we have finally ordered a bed. Finding a bed that we wanted and not settling was a lot harder that I expected it to be and ultimately more expensive but our girl is worth it! And if she doesn't sleep in this bed, we are going to give her ours and Joe and I will split the bunk beds, cause someone is sleeping in the new bed!!! Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!!!

A visit from Tink makes everything better

Busy busy busy again! Saturday Alice and I took the diva to Frederick to do some shopping. We hit a big sale in Sears and walked around the mall a bit. Then we went to this Promenade area that we had passed before but there were really no shops in it that interested us. We did eat lunch at McDonalds so Cammie could have some fwies. Then we stopped at Lowes to pick out some paint colors for the living room and look at a few other things. Sunday we hung out and Joe cut the grass, which is making up for the beginning of the summer when it didn't grow for over a month. Now from all the rain it is growing like crazy! Then Donna, Bill and Paul came over for dinner and we had a yummy meatloaf and mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. Monday Cammie and I went to Missi's house so Cammie and Morgan could have a playdate there. They played in the kiddie pool and with the outside stuff, then they wanted to go inside and play. Cammie was a little rough at times, then she would try to hug Morgan but it would turn into looking like a wrestling move. For the most part the girls played well together! Tuesday I had to go see Dr. Sprouse to get my meds refilled (ugh) after the appointment I ran a couple of errands and then met Lowanda at Cracker Barrel for lunch and then we stopped in to see Sharon and Becca and Ken. Cammie had fun playing with Becca (who she kept calling BackUp) and Becca gave her some more silly bands so Cammie was in heaven! She also didn't sleep on the way home like I thought she would. I was so tired I had to stop at ChikFilA for a milkshake and an iced tea (well I really didn't need the milkshake but I had convinced myself I did). Wednesday we went to Westminster with Donna to look for furniture. We went to Roomstore and found a similar bed to the one we want to get for Cammie but it didn't' come in white so the search continues. We did find a nice kitchen table and a living room set, all on sale and no interest for four years so we ordered those! Today Cammie and I are just hanging out at home and I am trying to get some stuff done and organized and cleaned. Joe has been working a lot of OT but today is his regular shift. Clyde is doing better. He is up to two ten minute walks a day and has been putting weight on his back leg. We are still doing the stretching and strengthening exercises. Oh and I got Nickelback tickets for Hershey in September!! Can't wait!! Alice is going to come and stay with Cammie and the beasts! We are also trying to plan a trip for our anniversary/Joe's birthday. So all is well in our little corner of the world!!

Yummy Corn!!!

Busy week again, it seems. Monday we had a play date with Missi and Morgan again. During which we saw a little girl fall off the bars and if not break her arm, she dislocated her shoulder and sprained her wrist. Ugh.... Did some stuff around the house and did errands, went out to lunch. Lots of things! Lots of hanging out. We've also been enjoying the hot tub, especially on those nice evenings! Today I went to get my hair cut and colored and Ms Sue's and Kristen G came over and watched Cammie for me. She didn't take a nap so I'm waiting for her to crash! Clyde is doing pretty well. He is only on the one pain medicine now and we are still doing his stretches but have added some strengthening things to it which are harder to do with him. He can also do two five minute walks a day and we have been letting him stay loose in the house more when we are there. He did go down the basement steps the other day which he should not have done but it was really our fault for leaving the door open. He also jumped out of the car before Joe could catch him at the doctors. UGH!! And somehow according to Cammie, while he was at his doctor's appointment he managed to poo in her diaper. I was quite impressed with him at that. Hope everyone has fun plans for this weekend!!

Ride 'em Cowgirl!

Cammie is riding Friendly who is twenty years old. This was at the fair. Wednesday was Joe's kelly day and he got 12 hours OT so he got off at 1900 which was nice, he got to come home and hang out with us. Thursday Donna and Andrew came over to stay with Cammie and Clyde while Joe and I went to Frederick to take advantage of some tax free shopping. Joe found a bunch of stuff at Kohls and we both found tennis shoes at this other store. I got those Reebok toning shoes. Then we hit JC Penney's and walked around the mall and got a few books at Barnes and Noble. We did get books on raising chickens because Yes, we are thinking about getting some chickens. Just a couple or a few rather. I know Joe is afraid when he comes from work that I will sneak a new animal into the yard and try to pass it off as though it's always been there. "Oh yeah honey, we've had an alpaca since we moved in! I can't believe you don't remember..." I also LOVE those little pygmy goats!! It could get out of hand easily. Friday we did some stuff around the house, it's been cloudy and rainy for several days including this one. Plus some random storms which Bailey absolutely HATES now. She hides in the bathroom. Saturday Joe went to work and Cammie wasn't feeling well so we missed a BBQ at the Kim's today and Watermelon night at the Uncle's. We did get some things done around the house and we have just finished a nice soak in the tub!! And for the first night, Cammie is sleeping in her own room, for now. We have given up on the Gardiners bed and are going to start the search over again so I figured in the meantime I'd just set her room up. It looks ok but not as I want it to. Clyde is doing pretty well. We have been doing his passive rom exercises and he is tolerating them and even seeming to like them as he usually falls asleep during them. He's also spent some time out of the crate in the house which he enjoys and sitting on the deck. He goes back to the doctor on Thursday so hopefully we'll get a good report. On Wednesday he can start five minute walks twice a day and also some more intensive exercises. So far so good!!! Hope everyone had a nice weekend!!!!

Playing with the cows

Today we braved the heat and went to the fair! We met Gary and Michael and Alice, Meaghan and Matt there. We had lots of fun looking at the animals with Cammie. She got to pet a bunch of them and she got to hang out with Bruce Bennett's cows and also one of Rhonda's cows (in pic).
She also did a pony ride on a 20 year old pony and we found lots of animals that we wanted to bring home. Apparently a little over an acre is not enough for us. Clyde is doing better, he's putting some weight on his leg now but he gets tired easily and is pretty happy in the crate still.

The Wild Woman

Clyde is doing ok, he is crated unless he goes outside for a potty break and is tolerating that very well. Seems to get worn out easily but he is more awake the past couple of days. He is also starting to put some weight on his leg. We haven't used the cone of shame on him since they gave us one that is really heavy plastic. He has to go back in a little over a week to have the stitches out and his leg checked.

Saturday Joe and Cammie went with Bill and Donna to Susan's house for the get together for Alex. Joe wanted me to stay home with Clyde so he got lots of TLC. Poor Emily was leaving Susan's with her boyfriend and some kid rear ended them and totaled her car. She is ok but her bf is sore! Luckily they didn't get hurt badly. Like everyone always says after an incident.... it could have been worse. Sunday my Mom and Dad came and got Cammie to take her to the Ho Co Fair. Joe was working and he was already at the Fair so she got to see him also. Then The Eichelbergers arrived from Charlotte!!! Chris, John and Sophie surprised Ann with a trip to see us! So we all headed for the Fair and had a good time! Then they all stayed the night and Joe came home this morning and fixed us all breakfast! YUM. It was so great to hang out with them. I love you guys!!! Then this afternoon I took Cammie to meet Missi and Morgan at the playground and they had lots of fun. Joe fixed a steak dinner with fresh eastern shore corn on the cob! Cammie is asleep and we are headed for the hot tub!! Good night!!!!

Talking to Aunt Alice

Joe took Clyde in for his surgery yesterday and then picked him up today. There is a lot more to his rehab than we knew about. There is stuff we can do at home but then they want him to come back for therapy and water treadmill stuff and regular xrays. YIKES!! Clyde is doing well though, he has been sleeping in his crate most of the time since he has been home, we have to use a leash and a sling when he goes outside. Or gets up, or walks across the kitchen floor. He only is allowed to be free for potty breaks and then it is back into the crate. So I may very well lose my mind over the next month or so.

Clyde is having surgery today

Yesterday turned into a really great day. Joe gave me a scare as he wasn't feeling well at work on Monday night so I was trying to give him some time to just chill out and relax. I took Cammie with me to my Pain Management appointment and then we rushed home so I could drop her off and get to the grocery store and get home in time for Gary to come visit. Once he got there we fed him lunch and then kidnapped him to go to Target with Cammie and I. So he got to see the wild woman in action. He was especially thrilled when she found a pair of ruby slippers (seriously) and put them on and walked around, the best she could considering they were tied together. After he left we had dinner and then Cammie was tired from skipping her nap so she crashed and Joe and I got to enjoy another nice evening soaking in the hot tub! This morning Joe took Clyde to his appointment at VOSM for his ACL surgery, so he will stay there tonight and Joe will pick him up tomorrow at 11. All three of us have a dentist appointment at 1030 so I'm going to start getting ready for that. Or mentally ready I guess. UGH!!

Do you think my tractor's sexy?

Today really got away from me. Whew! We have a nice few days weather wise and my poison ivy is just about gone which is awesome! Saturday we did some errands and stopped in at the Beadenkopf's. Daniel let Cammie take his old tractor and Donna gave her a little chair to use on the front porch. I'm going to paint it white to match the ones that Donna and Bill gave Joe and I. Sunday we went to the Carroll County Fair to look at pellet stoves since the place we tried to go to on Saturday was closed and they had a big exhibition at the fair. We were also planning on getting lunch there. We ended up having so much fun. We walked around and looked at all the booths and then checked out all the animals. Cammie loved the chicken barn. She is so funny when the roosters crow. We also saw goats, sheep, cows, pigs and bunnies. The funniest thing I think though was the pig race. Cammie kept saying piggies running!! She was so tired she fell asleep as soon as we got in the truck. She also went to bed quite early for her and Joe and I got to enjoy a nice soak in the hot tub on a beautiful evening!! Today I've gotten some things done around the house but I really need to go to Target and I didn't manage to do that. Oh well. There is always tomorrow!

Cammie and the Pig Bank

Sadly the Pig Bank was broken and I have to get her a replacement. I was afraid something would happen to it since she was carrying it everywhere! Let's see, what have we been up to... We had a visit from Mommom and Poppop, got crabs with Poppop Fish and Granny Franny (YUM!!!), went to the playground and made some new friends, went to the Mt Airy Carnival with Dorsey/Stark and family (pics on facebook), and a bunch of other stuff too. Cammie is at Cunningham Falls with Alice, Meaghan, Rick and Matthew right now. Oh it's also rained two more times since Cammie's party! So the grass is now greener this month. I have got the worst case of poison ivy I've ever had, which is why I'm not at Cunningham Falls right now. I think everyone would run in fear if they saw it. Plus it itches really really bad. I started on the medrol dose pack this morning so I am waiting for that to kick in. The hungries and the jitters have already started. Stay tuned!!

Cammie and Tanner

Well even with all the weather related things going on around us including earthquakes, tornadoes, thunderstorms etc, it still has not rained on us. All around us yes but not on us. Sigh.... Joe finally got the tractor out and cut down some weeds that were getting unruly in the yard but as far as the grass goes, it is burnt to a crisp and it is still HOT! I know it's July but still!! Monday we had a quiet day at home and Joe took Bailey and Clyde to the vet. Bailey is doing well and losing weight and it seems that Clyde is finding it. Poor thing! Since he is on restricted activity he is miserable. His surgery is scheduled for August 4th and he has to spend the night at the animal hospital. I'm not looking forward to that! At least it's only one night. Yesterday I had a doctors appointment in Annapolis so we dropped Cammie off with Emily and Jenn and then Joe dropped me off at the doctors and after my appointment we went to PF Changs for lunch. The food was good but the service was terrible. At one point after we had been sitting there for like ten minutes the waiter came over and said he was sorry and didn't want to make us wait and then he walked away and never even took our drink order. Then it took a while for us to get the check. After that we walked around the Town Center and checked out some of the shops. It was nice. We picked up Cammie on the way home and she had a great time since they took her to the pool.

Today Debbie and Nicole came over and they brought Blake and Kayden with them. Blake was so sweet and Kayden is such a cutie!! Cammie liked playing with them and showing off all of her things with them. I'm glad I finally got to see all of them, it's been way too long!! Joe is working today so Cammie and I are home hanging out with the beasts. No one wants to go outside because it is so hot.

Cutie Pie

Joe got overtime today so it's just been me, the wild child and the beasts hanging out trying to beat the heat. Cammie boycotted her nap today so we went to Mt Airy to go to the CVS and I was going to do some more nosing around but it was too hot. On our way home we stopped to get eggs from the farmhouse and the egg lady gave us a tour and then took Cammie out back to meet the chickens which was cool. You could also see the cows from her yard and smell the pigs so Cammie was happy. That was about the highlight of the day. It didn't start out very well, there was a lot of crying, yelling, eating and too much poo for my liking. Luckily that has slowed down and now Miss Thing is asleep. I am going to relax and watch some TV. Hope everyone had a nice weekend!!