what's with kate's tooth?!

i know people wonder. 
few ask.
kate has a weird front tooth.
she went to bed one night, late last summer, her teeth were fine.
one morning, she woke up, and it was all crammed up in her gum.
(it didn't quite happen over night, but you know what i mean!)
apparently, she fell, and bumped her tooth.
i wish i knew what happened.
i'm sure it was one of those falls, where she was crying like mad, nothing was bloody, or maybe just a lip, nothing was missing, and we were all thankful.  we didn't notice the tooth.
we have talked to a couple dentist. 
they say, no worries.
if it hasn't 'died' yet. it won't.
that's the worse that can happen, if it isn't all the way in the gum, they don't worry.
it's not brown. just shoved up in a little.
it will fall out normal, like the others.
okay then.  if they aren't worried, we aren't worried! ;)
so that is the big secret story on kate's tooth.  i so wish it were more entertaining. :)
but that's just us!
~chat soon!

let's dance.

this was from kate's first day of dance class.
the teacher deemed her 'my little old lady'.
simply because she just dances, how she wants.
*totally her father*
it has gotten better. ;)

taken through the blinds...they keep the whole thing so 'protected' i get a neck ache each week!

It's Tuesday.

I'm glad.
I slept. I'm not irrational.  My brain is clear.
All of that is good!  A busy day is ahead of us.
It's overcast-but not gray, so Anne is calm. ;)
Everything is a-okay!
Here are a couple pictures I took last week.  After I got my new lens.  Before my camera got the flu.
We were playing on the swing set. 
I love that swing set.  I don't even use it, and I love it.
They love it.
It's the best money we have spent on them, I think. 
So fun.  Just good ol' fun.

can't you just hear the giggle

hey mom, look!  i'm upside down! :)

Happy Tuesday!
~chat soon

can i ride in the back seat, PLEASE?!

do you ever have that feeling?
that you would just like to ride along, instead of being the driver all the time?
ugh.
what a monday.
storms again.  kate in our bed at 3am.  a snoring husband.  a busy brain.  not much sleep.
up at 6:30-very tired.
anne is of course 'all eyes to the sky' over the weather.
i took a deep breath and just said, we will be okay.
i decided to put the hanging baskets out in the yard so they could get a drink.
i hear blood curdling screams from the family room.
i rush inside to see anne just running. like a mad woman. running for her life.
screaming.  A BEE STUNG ME A BEE STUNG ME A BEE STuNG ME!
i yelled back HOW CAN THAT BE YOU WERE SITTING ON THE COUCH?!
well, sure enough.  not only was it a sting, but it was a WASP sting.
somehow it took residence, and decided to snooze overnight on the pillow of the couch.
so when it came time for the girls to watch their a.m. shows-it decided to let anne know she was there.
poor baby.
i of course went on mom psyco-ness, thinking she was going to have a reaction. (she didn't)
an immediate call to adam reminded me to put baking soda and water on it.
another call to my mother confirmed it.
she called back to say douse it in vinegar. (note to self, works WONDERS!)
by this time of the morning. it was 8:10am.
for real!
moving on.
adam was super busy...meeting with contractors to bid the renovations on the potential new office building.
he was in and out most of the morning.
i know when he is in work mode...i don't get much info from him.
the girls and i went to the library today and then to steak and shake to use a gift card.  then a surprise trip to old navy for 4th of july shirts. 
we got home and adam was getting ready to leave again to do some negotiating with the potential land lord.
it was 2pm.
3:00 came, he wasn't back.
3:30 came, he still wasn't home.
4pm came, i called him. no answer.
4:15 came, i texted him, no response.
4:30 came, i called again and left a message. 
i was making a list of people to call to help me, look for him, search, keep the girls.
ANYTHING.
WHERE THE HECK WAS MY HUSBAND?!
what was i going to do?
then the phone rang.
i said outloud.  THAT BETTER BE HIM.
i then realized i was doing a puzzle with anne, because she said.
'who do you want it to be, mommy?'
it was him.
he was fine. (of course)
his phone was in the car.
he had a long conversation with the landlord.
no big deal.
i still am ticked over it.  not at him.  just at me.
being irrational and stupid.
negotiations are still not over.  bids on jobs still have to be done.
its an expensive deal.  not one to joke around with.
not one to swallow and say, yeah, it's okay. i'll take it.
but on the other hand, not a place that can be lost.
a tough spot.
especially when you're the wife.  and not sure what to do or say.
once again.  i would like to ride in the back seat.
i sighed and thought, tomorrow is going to better. it always is.
it may be better.  but full.
i have totally overextended myself for tuesday.
stupid.
someone. please get me a booster seat and a sippy cup.
ha.
~chat soon.

p.s. sorry for no picture. remember, camera is still sick.  :(

play ball!

this saturday, was anne's first softball game at the YMCA.
last weekends was rained out.
the past two weeks before that were practice.
adam helped out with the pitching.
everyone had an awesome time.
truth be known, we aren't big sport fanatics.
it's okay.
i am not the most graceful, or coordinated.
adam played baseball when he was younger, and liked it. but that was about it.
anne expressed interest in basketball.
we signed her up-and had a blast socializing at the games.
ccls does not offer a little girls ball team.
so we made one ourselves through the Y.
it's great.
we have met some really fantastic people through the sports activites.
as much as i poo-pood the idea when she was talking about wanting to play....bemoaning the practices, and saturday games, i'm so pleased that we did.
it's just a so much fun. 
and i still can't believe i'm 'that mom' yelling from the stands.
makes no sense to me.
so here a few pictures.  i took 4 or 5 the whole game.
my point and shoot and i were just not getting along. (sniff.)
but you can still get an idea...

cute. sweet. innocent.  just love it!

knocked it 'over the moon' as she told papa bob! ;) (she did hit it good!)

getting a little fussy about the heat

~chat soon!

crowns

i wish i were referring to this type.

from wikipedia after searching 'crowns'

but i'm talking about the kind in your mouth.
here is a short story long about my love/hate relationship with the dentist.
first off.  up until the tuesday after mother's day...i LOATHED the dentist.
when a dental commercial came on, i thought of anything but....i would think of bubbles, kittens, babies, people with beautiful white teeth...just not my teeth or the dentist.
fast forward to the said tuesday.  i had been having an issue with a tooth.  it hurt. but not all the time.
sometimes, it would give me a headache.
othertimes, it was as if, it had healed itself.
while we were on mother's day, it starting hurting a lot.
i was having to take Tylenol a lot.
i don't like to do that.
monday, i went to work and told my friend in dental fear about my tooth.
she told me to have faith. it would go away.  she even concocted some sort of aspirin dust stuff to put onto my tooth...she promised me it would be okay and i would be healed.
tuesday came. the concoction did not work.
i was eating a pork steak in front of her.  the heat went into my tooth and literally bent me in half.
friend says-SARA LOUISE YOU NEED TO CALL.
i said. i know, but i can't.
so i swallowed hard. found the number and shakily dialed.
the nice lady said she could get me in at 1:30-it was 12:10.
i just about yelled. I CAN'T COME THEN. IT WON'T GIVE ME LONG ENOUGH TO THINK ABOUT IT.
she laughed and said.
see you then!
i went.
the drive was a whopping 2 minutes from work.
i walked in.  my eyes fell on a floor to ceiling length bird cage. ( i don't like birds, except these...)
great. two fears. at the same time.
this isn't going to work...
the lady calls me back to the room.
she says. 'oh my, you look nervous'
uh. yeah. you don't have a clue.... i said under my breath.
after a lot of looking, picture taking, heavy breathing (on my part)
it was determined i would need a root canal.
i almost pooped.
right there.
i said. (loudly)

it's 1:45-I have to pick up  my kids at 5. I can't have a root canal today.

the dentist slapped the opening of his latex glove and said.
i got my gloves on, 30 minutes you are OUTTA HERE.
okay. gulp.
and off he went.
it was a cinch.  30 minutes no lie. i was numb as could be but i was immediately pain free AND pain free the rest of the night/day/week. i even went back to work.  i looked like i had suffered some paralysis with the amount of Novocaine they gave me but it was good!  i felt GREAT!
phase two of the root canal.
not too bad.  until i got to the car.
i cried. it hurt so bad. how embarrassing.
okay, fine. i lived.
this past week, i get my temporary crown.
i had asked around to see what it was going to be like.
they all said. 'no big deal'.  maybe i should have read this before i went.
the root canal is the worst part.
cool.
that wasn't horrid.
i can live.
i have overcome my fear.
8:30 appointment wednesday morning.
bright and early.
mark it off the to-do list.
well, it wasn't 'as easy' as the root canal.
stuff was flying everywhere.
words like oozing. gauze, wedge....were being used.
sick. super sick.
it was over, they gave me a mirror to 'clean up' with.
they hygienist is telling me what to do and not to with my new addition.
i kind of half smile...and GASP.
there it is. the new tooth.
the whitest, shortest thing i have ever seen.
if you know me...you know that a)my teeth aren't LITTLE and b) unfortunately they are not white.
you could see it, you could totally see it. it looked like the biggest misfit of a tooth i have ever seen, it's fourth from the front. i have a big smile, its totally visible.  the room was getting fuzzy...
i laugh a lot.  you could see it when i laughed in the mirror.
oh my lord.
what would adam say?
i made my next appointment for the 'real crown' and bolted to the car.
i call my mother. no answer.
i call my  mother's cell phone. no answer.
i call my mother at 'the meadow'. no answer.
AHHHHHH!
i call my friend, michelle.
she answers.
i explain the situation and she assures me that it will look normal, once i get the new one.
oh lordy.
while i may have overcome my fear, out of desperation, i can tell you this past wednesday, reaffirmed my dislike for anything that has to do with my teeth, or the dentist.
ugh.
i'm sure the two people reading this are saying. WHAT IN THE WORLD?
but remember...my camera is broken.
ha.
so if you see me, please stay on my left hand side.  as i will only smile if you are there.
~chat soon!

bad news.

my camera broke.
actually, it's dead.
i took it into the shop today.
they kept it.
they will keep it for a.very.long.time.
at least a month-maybe 6-8 weeks.
my eyes got hot when the lady told me that.
*remember, i only have one emotion*.
then she said it would be at least 150 dollars to repair.
close to 180.  but, never fear, it wouldn't be more then 250-without my permission.
nice.
real nice.
how do i put this, we can afford the expense, but REALLY!?  who the heck wants to?
right?  does that make sense.
i was so sad about it, i took the girls for pizza and i couldn't eat.
i'm not kidding.  not a bite.
stupid. i know.
i'm hungry now (of course)
i love my camera.
it's only 2 years old.
i take it almost every where i go.
especially if it is anywhere close to a picture worthy experience.
ugh.
oh well.  what do you do. nothing. just wait. and hope it isn't going to be 250 dollars to fix.
especially since....

the building is looking more and more like it will say TREETOP ENTERPRISES very, very soon.

shhhhh....it's not final.  
BUT that means, if you know adam at all, that he is in FULL ON BUDGET MODE.
yuck.
sounds like i'm going to have to dig into my 'sock'. (i always laugh about the sock because when we were first married, i stashed money in a sock.  a real sock, in my underwear drawer...so strange. but that's the truth. and it's just us!)
well, enough babble.
i need to pack, we are going to the meadow this weekend. 
guess you won't be able to SEE any of it.
hopefully, i can write vividly enough. :)
ha.
~chat soon!

well...lookie here!

two weeks ago, before church, we noticed a bird fly into the fern on the front porch.  i took the fern down, and found this...

 we looked and looked, waited and waited.  everyday. every single day, i would have to tap the pot and make the bird fly out-not my favorite job.
this morning, i looked by myself and found this....

amazing.
kate was enthralled.  she was chirping at them, they would open their mouths. so sweet.
anne said, OH MY GOSH! THEY ARE UGLY!
the momma, wasn't pleased with me.
at all.
i quickly returned the pot to the hook and everyone is okay.
i'll snoop again in a couple days!
~chat soon!

honeysuckle.

do you know what that is?
that cool weed that when the flower is pulled out, makes a ever so tiny drop of honey.
you can eat it.
if you want to.
there used to be a honeysuckle bush on the back corner of our field at gradeschool.
my friend, dinah, taught me how to eat them.
forgot all about it.
then i picked anne up from school one day and she said.
UH MOM DO YOU THINK HONEYSUCKLE HAS POISON ON IT? I ATE SOME, AND NOW I"M WORRIED I MIGHT DIE!?
uh. what?
WHAT?
she proceeded to explain that sometimes daddy puts 'poison' on things and then we can't go outside. ;)
and maybe the custodian did it too.
quick education on why  not to eat berries/leaves etc off of bushes proceeded with a quick prayer and headed home.
fast forward memorial day weekend...
anne comes barreling toward me.
THERE IS A HONEYSUCKLE BUSH HERE THERE IS A HONEYSUCKLE BUSH CAN WE EAT IT CAN WE?????

sure. what the heck! (i'm sure pawpaw doesn't spray...RIGHT?!)

so away we went.
had to even teach mee-maw a few things about the proper removal and licking of a honeysuckle flower! :)
what fun.
awesome smell.
awesome memories.
just awesome.
forgot how awesome honeysuckle is!

a little get away...part 2.

so Thursday afternoon, we left for our 'trip'.
it was good weather, we were pumped.
hermann is only about a 50 minute drive from our house, so it's the best of both worlds.  (we feel far away, but aren't)
we got to our favorite location for a little lunch and veno.
had a splendid time.
headed back to check in to our bed and breakfast.
it was amazing. 
adrian (who i wanted to bring home with us...) showed us around the joint, let us into our cottage, and let us be.
adam went to the car to get our bags. he came back with an ear to ear smile on his face...
what's so funny? did adrian crack you up?
no.  still smiling.
your mom called. 
oh yeah?
yep. kate has been coughing her head off and has a 101.5 fever.
what the WHAT?  i said?!
seriously.
i called mom.
we chatted.  whatever was wrong with kate, we wouldn't worry about and mom would take her to the doc in the morning.
it was just an ear infection.
i could have bet on it.
we had a fantastic time-even though she was under the weather.
friday, we visited more wineries, vineyards, a few shops...just great.
we are old souls.  those things are fun to us.
both nights we had fantastic 4 course dinners, wine, desserts...hot tub dips.
amazing.
if you are ever in herman, mo.  check it out. 
you won't be dissapointed.
i promise!
and if you are, i'll go again, just to see what the problem was.
HA!

Oak Glenn winery...view worth a million bucks...wine, not so much!

Missouri State Bird...(adam told me, I didn't know-way to go TEACH!)

waiting for adam to taste something...killing time on a very rainy day.

who doesn't LOVE to take pictures of sausage...

note-this was NOT white zinfendel...it was vin gris-some sort of rose'. yummy lunch veno.

fun in the wine cellar

likely to be seen in our kitchen, on a canvas...just as a good memento pic. NOT because  i think its SO AWESOME!

our cottage

the alpenhorn gasthaus. go there. for real!

hanging out in the gathering room, trying to wake up after a long nap...

the entrance....

~chat soon!

a little get away.

adam and i stole away for a quick 2 night trip this past week/weekend.
it was fantastic.
we fell in love with hermann, mo a few years back.
its a quaint little (i mean teeny weeny) town.  it's filled with character and wineries.
funtimes.
i researched a place, booked it, arranged for my parents to watch the girls and away we went.
we had an amazing time.
just amazing.
i really think that is should be a written thing, that all couples, need to get away once a year.
i mean away from it all.
now, it had been 2 years for us.  but we promised, again, that we would do it soon.
i'll post somemore this week...i'm still on 'just got back from a trip brain.' it's really not a flattering condition for me.

~chat soon!

changes...

so, if you know us.  you know that Adam is self employed and has a home office.
he has been in business for 11 years, maybe 12. I lose count. (don't tell him that though)
the company is preparing to embark on HUGE changes.
he submitted a proposal for a building this week.  to lease a building.
we found out, from the realtor, that deals like this are long and sometimes emotionally painful.
they can take months.
he found the perfect building.
a building set up that no one else would want.
like it was made just for him.
i so hope it works.
not for selfish reasons (like all the people get out of the basement)
but for reasons of being so proud of what he has made.
what could come by expanding the business.
so for the two people that read this.
say a little prayer.
not that it HAPPENS, but whatever is good for us, will happen.
and maybe toss in there, if it could happen in a timely fashion, that would be great too!
but i don't want to push too many buttons here! :)
~chat soon

the wedding...

a few weeks ago, i posted this.
i wanted to share a few photos that i took.
like i said. it was hard work.
not only that day but the days after.
very time consuming.  but very worth it.
i learned a lot.
a whole lot.
i think i would do it again.
maybe.
if michelle went too! :)

it may appear that i LOVE white vignette's around ALL PICTURES.  Not so...for some reason, I just happen to choose that many with the white fuzz look! FUNNY!
~chat soon!

isn't that perfect??

the first few days/week that school is out is always tough.
i think i may be the only one that feels that way or admits it, but it is.
everyone is sniffing around, trying to figure out what to do. 
what is expected, what will happen.
it's just silly.
as i wrote earlier this week, monday was horrid.
horridly horrid.
i lost my cool. 
adam did too, which in the world of adam is UNHEARD OF.
anne clara, i thought was going to STROKE OUT with how upset she was.
adam and i were debriefing about it and groping for answers/ways to fix it.
i simply said. 
i will work this summer.
and then laughed. 
but i would, just to fix it.
then i thought again.
it's ME.
i get upset, they get upset.
i laugh and am silly...so are they.
i take a deep breath, so do they.
duh. really, sara.
this isn't rocket science.
it's life.
poop rolls down hill as someone once told me! (i love that phrase)and it's true.
so my focus for this summer is to be calm. 
laugh. 
shrug it off.
think of peaceful places...
if nothing else...SHUT MY TRAP!
i woke up yesterday morning still reeling from the sleepless night thanks to mom guilt.
i read this.  she said it perfectly, and eloquently.  but i still agree. 100%!
keep calm, and carry on!
~chat soon!

planting day

still from Memorial Day weekend.
the girls and my parents planted a garden at "the meadow".
you would have thought they were given nuggets of gold.
they had a blast.
and just a p.s....i don't usually dress anne in my grandma's clothing. 
she has been in love with this dress and the weekend we were there she REFUSED to take it off.
my mom was nice enough to let her keep it on even while-planting.

this picture needs a crop or two. ( i mean digital, not earthy...) and it would be perfect!

it was SUPER windy...mom doesn't usually wear her hair all crazy in the back! HA!

~chat soon!