Just a Part of Growing Up...

So, last week I had my annual "exam".  You know what I mean.  After it was over, my doctor, who has been my doctor since I was 18 years old, said, "Well, it's time for your first 'grab and smash'.  Oh, he's so hilarious.  I didn't even know what he was referring to, which prompted him to say, "You know.  A mammogram".  

My mouth fell open and all I could say was, "What?  I'm old enough to have to DO that?"

To which my doctor replied, "Yup.  35.  I can't believe it,  either".

Well, wow.  What an eye opener to the fact that I'm getting OLD!  My first instinct was to run out of there without scheduling the appointment and to put it off until  next year.  I mean, obviously, I'd never had one before, but I could just imagine all of the violating of my personal space that would go on.  

 I can't stand for my personal space to be violated, but having undetected breast cancer would be worse, so I made the appointment and went yesterday to have it done.  

I'd heard horror stories about mammograms.  Truly, horrific encounters of boobs being stretched and smashed and flattened out for days.  In reality, they aren't that terrible.  Of course, my personal space was violated, but the most awkward part of the whole day was running into a guy from church in the waiting room of The Breast Center.  Yes, it's actually called that.  The Breast Center.  I signed in and sat down and heard someone say, "Hey!  What's going on?".  It was a friend from church, making an oxygen tank delivery.  So awkward, he thought I was there for a problem, because HELLO, I couldn't be old enough for a routine mammogram.... ha!  So we had a conversation in the waiting room of The Breast Center and talked about life and church, and our families while I waited for my mammogram.  

Finally, I was called back to the waiting room. I didn't have anything else to do while I waited, so I took a selfie...

Truthfully, this selfie was for a friend of mine, since we've been sending each other "paper gown" selfies lately.  Don't judge the quirkiness of our friendship.  Just don't.  

Finally, it was time for the main event.  It was over in about 5 minutes.  No pain, and the violation of my personal space wasn't even that bad.  Just one of those things, a part of growing up.  I got dressed, and, since I was without any of my kids for a change, I went to the library and hung out there for an hour.  

All in all, it wasn't a bad day. 

Babyland, Take 2!

About a year ago, while running errands in Cleveland, I made the quick decision to take Violet for her first trip to Babyland General Hospital.  She was less than impressed and even looked at  me at one point and said, "Mom, this is pretty cweepy".  I thought she'd never be interested again, and I was so sad because, as a little girl, I loved Babyland, even though my parents never let me adopt a baby.  

So, I was thrilled when Violet, out of the blue, told me that she wanted to go back to Babyland, and that she wanted to invite her friend Natalee to go along.  A few days later, we met up with Nat and her Nana and drove to Babyland.  

This visit was so much better than the last one!  The girls loved it, and I really enjoyed watching Violet take everything in.  Babyland is a pretty magical  place, even if the new facility isn't as whimsical as the old one.  

Here are some pictures from our visit, all unedited and straight from my iPhone.  

And, for the really big news, the girls each adopted a baby.  We let them  choose a baby from the $14.99 shelf.  Ha!  Those babies can get expensive and I'm glad we were able to keep it cheap.

Here are the girls with Faith Saige and Kimber Kay.  Those names! 

And here they are, promising to love and care for Faith Saige and Kimber Kay for as long as they lived. 

Funny thing, Violet couldn't remember the name "Faith" and kept calling her baby "Feef".  Ha ha!

And here's the obligatory cabbage picture.  

It was a fun day, and Violet already wants to go back again next year.  I suppose she'll want to adopt another baby, too.  Maybe I'll let her choose a $25 dollar baby next time.  

Two Months Later...

How has it been two months since I've been here?  Not just HERE, on my blog, but I haven't  been keeping up with everyone else's, either.  We've just been so busy, so much has happened, and  now I'll probably forget about it all since I didn't write it down.  :(

The main things I wanted to get down are the boys' birthdays.  We've celebrated big ones... 10 and 16.  

Jordan turned 10 way back on January 28th.  He wanted Little Debbie snack cakes for breakfast, so that's what he had.  

I gave him the day off of school, so he spent the morning playing his new Madden game and then we met Chris for lunch at Wild Wing, the birthday boy's choice. 

Of course, there was wrestling practice that night and Jordan didn't want to miss.  Practice ended with a birthday dog pile.

Then, finally, we had cake and presents with the family.  My mom made a strawberry chocolate ice cream cake and it was delicious.

About a month later, Shaun turned 16.  Oh, my goodness, I still can't really believe it.  I did all of my crying and reminiscing the night before, so I was ready to celebrate with him on THE DAY.  

Chris was off, and I gave the boys another day off from school.  We slept late and then went out for breakfast at Longstreet.  

We came back home to relax and we let Shaun open his present from us, which was an Apple watch.  He really wanted one, and I loved watching the look on his face when he opened it.  A little bit later, we dropped Violet off with my Granny and then we (Shaun, Jordan, Chris, and myself) went to the movies.  We saw The Boy.  

It was creepy and the girl who plays Maggie in The Walking Dead was in it, which is why Shaun wanted to see it so  badly, I think.  :)  Whatever the reason, we all liked it and then we met my parents for dinner at Outback. 

Here's a picture of Shaun with  my mom during dinner. 

Ahhh, he looks so grownup!

Later on that night, we met up for cake and presents with the rest of the family.

That was on Tuesday, Shaun's actual birthday.  The following Sunday we celebrated big time with a surprise party.  I was a nervous wreck, or course.  I always forget how stressful planning an event can be, but it was worth it.  The party was a huge success and Shaun had such a good time.  So many people came, current friends and also folks who we don't see as much as we'd like anymore  but who are still an important part in our lives.  

It was a great day and I'm so happy with how it turned out.

Most of the pictures are on Chris' computer, and I'll try to post them later.  I have this one, though, of my handsome 16 year old.  I'm so proud of him and love him so!