R.I.P Tom Cat

This morning Ryan and Madelyn discovered that our fish, Tom, had died. Tom wasn't just any kind of fish, he was a mad tomcat fish that was rescued or, more like kidnapped, from a creek on Easter two years ago. I never thought he would make it a month, let alone two years. As silly as it may sound I got rather attached to Tom (my sister and brother-in-law have witnessed me being a complete wreck over a dying pet fish before). Tom spent most of his life hiding under rocks and would only come out to check things out when he was hungry. I was usually the one to feed Tom, if I remembered, when I would see him happily swimming around his bowl. I would chat with him for a bit, throw in a few blood worms and watch him eat. Then when he was done he would make his way under the rocks again. This became our evening routine. He was a low maintenace fish that only required chlorine free water and some rocks. I cleaned his bowl only when it was too dirty to look through. He survived three trips down the drain thanks to Ryan being able to take the drain pipe apart and "fish" him out. I think what I liked most about him is that he wasn't the average fish, he was a tadbit unique. R.I.P Tom Cat.

Lincoln Elementary Fun Night

Madelyn & Kenzie with their new hats

 Jump! Jump!

 She spent some time in the "emergency room."

The tough chics

Yesterday evening the three of us got to meet our friends' new son, Cannon Steele. He was born via c-section on Wednesday afternoon weighing in at 10lbs 6oz and 20 inches long. He is a BIG boy!! Madelyn was so excited to hold him and didn't want to give any one else a turn. I asked her if it made her want a baby brother or sister and she said, "no, I don't want you giving all your attention to the baby." Smart girl! Good thing, because she wasn't going to get a sibling regardless of her answer. We all enjoyed loving on baby Cannon and I'm looking forward to the next time we see him so I can love on him some more.

 He was so alert for a newborn.

 AWWWWWWW

I could have held him all day long. I love, love, love babies!

ABCs of Me

A-AGE: 35....but 36 in a few short weeks :(

B - BED SIZE: queen, but would sure love a king

C-CHORE YOU HATE: folding clothes

D-DOGS: 2 black labs - Chance & Belle

E-ESSENTIAL START YOUR DAY ITEM: A shower, well Mon- Fri anyway

F-FAVORITE COLOR: Red

G-GOLD or SILVER: Gold wedding ring, all other silver please

H-HEIGHT: 5'4"

I-INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: could play saxophone many years ago

J-JOB TITLE: Admissions Coordinator/Case Management Supervisor

K-KIDS: 1 sassy, amazing little girl

L-LIVE: in a crackerjack box in Augusta

M-MOM'S NAME: Rilla, dad's name is Elden...:)

N-NICKNAMES: Jen - original isn't it?

O-OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAYS: 2 after I had Madelyn

P-PET PEEVE: Poor grammar, uncontrollable coughing, sniffling, people that drive slow in the fast lane,
closet doors not closed when I got to bed, any noise besides the fan when I'm sleeping, etc, etc...

Q-QUOTE FROM MOVIE: "I feel the need, the need for speed"- okay that was a lame one but I couldn't think of anything else.

R-RIGHT OR LEFT HANDED: Right

S-SIBLINGS: An older sister that happens to turn 40 this summer! Love ya, DeAnn!!

T-TIME YOU WAKE UP: weekdays anywhere between 5:15am-6:30am, depends if I'm running in the mornings, or if I'm taking Madelyn to school, weekends hopefully sleeping in on Sat, and up at 8:00am on Sunday for Church.

U-UNDERWEAR: Yes please
V-VEGETABLE YOU DISLIKE: Can't think of one I will not try

W-WHAT MAKES YOU RUN LATE: Primping in front of the mirror, thinking of one last thing I need to do before I leave.

X-X-RAYS YOU'VE HAD DONE: dental, hand when a former cat bit me, hence the former.

Y-YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: All the food I make is yummy and if you disagree I won't ever make it for you again.

Z-ZOO, FAVORITE ANIMAL: ring-tailed lemurs at Tanganyka Wildlife Park or the prairie dogs at the Emporia zoo

They've Lost that Loving Feeling

Friday night was GNO (girls' night out), at a local dive in Augusta. As advertised the Chippendales were the entertainment. I would venture to say that they were likely the original Chippendales. As long as the lights were dim all was good. The above picture is their lame attempt of Top Gun, let's just say they were no Val Kilmer or Tom Cruise...just saying.  The local dive was jam packed with Augusta's finest, including myself and several of my friends. However, not one of us in our group spent a dollar on those fellows, but there were some ladies that likely spent their monthly earnings on lap dances. And the elderly ladies of the group were their biggest fans!!  It was a night full of laughs and by the end of the night my side was aching from laughing so much. It was the best place for some fine people watching. Fun times.

Second Grade

Madelyn chose her outfit for school pictures, without any of my assistance. Although not my first pick I figure one day she will look back and be amused by her taste in fashion. I actually dig the shirt because Ryan and I graduated from high school in 1993. When she tried it on at the store I was shouting the 93 cheer. She was less than impressed. 

Madelyn is standing in between her best friend of her class, Journey, and the boy she is sweet on, Ryan. She adores her teacher Mrs. White and wishes she could be her teacher forever. Madelyn's reading has really soared this year with the help of Mrs. White. She is reading at a fourth grade level. She also does extremely well in spelling, getting 100% on every weekly test this year. We are thankful that she is much smarter than her parents.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Reading Summer of the Monkeys