Mixed reviews . . .

Saturday morning, Hubby and I took Granny Sylv to the nursing home. She's been there before on short stays, and all the workers fuss over her, so she was happy.

From there, we took Daughter to her first beauty pageant. She looked gorgeous, had a ball, won Prettiest Smile and a sparkly crown she rarely removes!! Daughter's happy.

Sunday, we rearranged furniture and deep-cleaned Granny Sylv's room, as Daughter's moving in there. The eeeuuw-factor was off the charts. We found lots of very odd things I won't get into, and while I painted, poor Hubby scrubbed.

Okay, so Monday morning comes, and after doing carpool, I arrive back home where I should've gotten a ton of writing done. I should've been happy. I had no breakfast to prepare, no bath to run, etc., yet I felt frozen. After staring at the computer, waiting for the words to come, I finally gave up and cleaned the kitchen. Hubby and I did lunch, but ended up bickering.

We went to the nursing home around six to drop off papers and have a quick visit, and we found Granny Sylv glowing with happiness. She kept saying over and over how this was the best place she'd ever been in her whole life. Patsy--her main caregiver--is a sweetie, and dotes on all of the folks in her charge.

I thought I'd wake this morning feeling great and ready to write, but I have to drive Son #2's Christmas kitten about thirty minutes North to get spayed and declawed. We adopted her from a shelter up there, so the vet services were included in the adoption fee. How cute is this pic of Foxy napping on my desk?!

I'm hoping at some point during the drive, I'll figure out what's bugging me!! If there are any armchair psychiatrists out there--or real ones--who have ideas as to what's wrong, please feel free to chime in!!

Spring Break in Altomville

It's spring break here in Altomville, and seeing how we're not going anywhere fabulous, that means a messy house and whiny teens!! LOL!! Seriously, the house is a disaster, but I'm trying to keep boredom at bay by providing plenty of activities. Sunday, we did the zoo (this pic is of me & Hubby on a popcorn break), yesterday we did errands and the orthodontist, and today, we're lunching with Margaret at Olive Garden. I think we're going to a movie, too, but will have to check with Margaret's schedule. Being a teacher, she's on spring break, too, but she has an action-packed schedule even on vacations!!

Tomorrow, we're headed to a miniatures museum, and then on to the Philbrook, which is a fancy schmancy art museum here in Tulsa. The kids will probably slip into a coma midway through our tour, but all three of them could use a massive dose of culture!! Hubby thinks I'm nuts for this, and in fact has said he's thrilled to not be on vacation so I won't be torturing him with force-fed culture!!! Nice, huh?? LOL!!!

Ignoring hubby, Thursday, we're trekking to Bartlesville (about an hour north of here) to learn about Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Phillips. We were recently at the airport, picking up Hubby, when the kids were checking out a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit and asked who he was. Having majored in Interior Design in college, during which, I spent a year studying Architecture, I freaked!! By the end of Thursday, at least two of my apple dumplings will know about Mr. Wright!! Son #1 is narrowly avoiding our family study day by going to a friend's lakehouse!! Hubby finds this most amusing!!

Happy news for Granny Sylv . . . She'll be staying in a private home that houses six other elderly men and women. They have round-the-clock nursing, eat in a family setting, etc. She's stayed there before on a temporary basis and the caregivers are great!!! We're relieved to have found her such a perfect home, and will move her in Saturday morning.

Sad Granny Sylv News

Boy, have I done great on my wish to become a regular blogger again, or what?? In the words of Borat--NOT!! LOL!! In my defense, things have been a tad crazed around here. But then that's the usual, so I should be getting used to it!!

One sad thing that's happened is that Hubby and I have made the tough call to put Granny Sylv in a nursing home. She's as sweet as ever to me and spooky mean to him. She's constantly taking things from the kids and staring at them in the middle of the night. She's spitting, etc., etc.. It's too much. With Hubby traveling a lot with his new job, I can't care for her on my own and still stay sane--like I ever was!! And the kids are all pretty freaked out. My job for the next few days is to scope out some homes that have Alzheimer units. In talking with her lawyer, he said that he has a client who runs a nursing home, and that 95% of her workman comp claims come from the Alzheimer unit. He went on to tell us that she's seen Alzheimer patients become Jekyll/Hyde and snap someone's arm in half!!! Anyway, two years after bringing Granny Sylv to live with us, we're thinking it's not only best for us that she go, but her.

On a lighter note, I'm lunching today with Heidi the cheer coach, so in between looking at nursing homes, that'll be fun!! She's such a hoot, and always full of good stories!!

Hubby and the boys are doing great, but Daughter's been grounded for grades. To be ungrounded, she had to get three raised, and so far, she's fixed two of the three. Next week is spring break, so I'm really hoping she pulls it together by Friday!! I remember my parents feeding me the old "this hurts us more than you line" as a kid, and rolling my eyes, but it's sooo true!! She's one of my favorite "toys"!! When she's not allowed to play, seeing how she's usually my playmate, that means I'm crazy-bored, too!! LOL!!

Oh--before I forget, if anyone's out there . . . Drum roll, please, I redesigned my website!!! It's not fancy, but totally updated, and since I'm now handling it myself, I'm hoping to get updates done more often. Also, I added a mailing list, so get signed up!! (lauramariealtom.com)

All right, I'm off to yell as three out of three kids ignored my first "get up!" rant!! Time to get ugly!! LOL!!! ;-)