Found in Fishers

Life's Little Midlife Surprise - TWINS!

Some of you may have already found out the big surprise from my Facebook page.  Actually Juan could not keep a secret! We are having twins and are quite excited. This news comes just one day before our baby's 18th birthday. And to think we were close to being empty nesters. One never can plan these little unexpected events.

You can only imagine how surprised I was when I found out. Actually a little shocked to tell you the truth. You know me, I like when things are planned. THIS WAS NOT PLANNED. What a nice way to bring in spring...I guess. Thought I would share this moment with you and my first-photo as a new "mommy". It's far too early to tell if we are having boys or girls, or one of each. I can't wait to start looking for matching outfits. Click on the photo to enlarge it!

What are you thinking!

Tomorrow is the big day! Our baby is turning 18 years old. Juan and I will officially have 2 adults in the house. Well, sort of. Liz isn't home very often and is actively looking for an apartment to be on her own. We are coming up with a wacky plan to make Mark's birthday a memorable one! The planning started last night and is quickly evolving. Very last minute but it might work. It will be quite an adventure. Keep checking in as I don't expect to announce what we want to do until we can finalize the timing of it all.

Piece de Resistance

Happy Sunday! I spent most of the day cleaning house. I had lots of Shepard slobber on my kitchen floor that needed to be cleaned up. I think I might have vacuumed up a 6th dog off my lower level carpets. And the weather stinks. I can't go outside to work in the garden. Rain, rain and more rain. I'm hoping that it will be dry enough for me to get my walk in today. Back to walking with Buddy. My new walking friend Deagan went home today...after I really got him trained to be a great walker. He improved 100% over the past week. So much so he would follow the rhythm of my step. And, he's a friend magnet. So many of the people in my subdivision said hi and asked about the dog. People wanted to pet him, including three little girls who asked permission to pet him. Nobody asks to pet Buddy.

The O'Briens out did themselves this time with my souvenir.  They have set the bar high on gifts for dog-watching! Last night after missing their connection in Atlanta, Pat, Sarah, and Liam arrived in Fishers later than expected for dinner at 9:30. While we were waiting for the rolls to bake, Sarah presented me with a gift. Pat warned me that I would be surprised. I sure was. It was the piece de resistance. A Dooney and Burke purse!

Not even 3 hours

Sarah had a great secret but wasn't able to keep it longer than 3 hours. The O'Brien's have a new dog: Deagan. He's a German Shepard puppy.  Eight weeks old. His name is Irish for black-haired. I don't know what he looks like yet but she says he's a cutie. Now I have 3 dogs to watch over the holidays in addition to my own two.

Sarah and Pat name their pets by the letters of the alphabet. Charlie was the last name so it was time for a "d" name. The ferrets had names that began with the letters X, Y, and Z. I know, weird. I will post a picture as soon as I get one.

Deagan's picture is on Sarah's website www.lostinlansing.com.

Today is the big day!

Today is the day for me to...give another clue of course. It's too soon to give up the secret. But I do have something new to tell you: John started a new blog for his business that you can view at relivethemoment.wordpress.com. Check it out and put it in your favorites. That would have been a let down if that was the secret, huh?

I'm really enjoying this whole secret thing. It's created lots of funny comments and record numbers of people checking the blog numerous times a day. Shoot, I should keep this going until the new year. I know this is driving Sarah crazy because it would me. And Kelli, shame on you for getting the secret out of loose-lips Juan. Now for today's clues:

• John found out about this secret about the decision was already made. You should have seen his face! I wish I had thought of bringing my camera along when I told him.
• John did know that this would happen one day. He just didn't know when or how.
• The secret wasn't as painful as one would have thought.

That's it, keep the guessing going.

Wednesday's Clues

I don't know what's more fun: Creating clues or hearing Sarah suffer. She's beside herself trying to figure out the big change. She is begging my parents to tell her the secret. Let me give you an example of how this is eating at her. First, my brothers will say, "Tell-a-Sarah, Tell-a-gram!" And until Liam was born, she and Pat exchanged Christmas gifts long before Christmas day. Therefore, the fact that I have a secret, she knows I have a secret, she is just dying to know the secret. So, here are today's clues:

• This little secret affects one member of our family much more than the others.
• In order for this secret to "occur" we needed the assistance of a licensed professional.
• The impact of the secret is just not as good if we told you over the phone or in an e-mail. You need to see it to believe it.

Okay, start your guessing again. And sorry, but there will be no clues about how close people have guessed or if people actually did guess. Too bad. I made the game so I get to make the rules.

Today's clue

Wow, Katie. what a great clue! If you didn't already see it check the previous post for her comment. That clue about the bus works well with this little secret. But then again, just in case here are two more clues:

• There was a lot of conversation before this change was made, but I was surprised that I didn't have to give up anything or negotiate for it. That of course makes me happy.
• The people we know from the high school and marching band were stunned when they found out about the secret. So, I guess a few more people do know about the secret, sorry.

The real test will be if my mom can keep the secret and if Sarah can refrain from begging my mother to give up the secret. I have heard a couple of really good guesses.

On another note, I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving. I worked late last night and was surprised to find a bit of snow on my car. I guess I'm still shocked since we had unseasonably warm weather earlier this month. I am looking forward to some time off and of course eating all of the delicious food that comes with Thanksgiving.

Meet Maxine! Maxine, meet Mark.

It was that time of year again, the annual Halloween Band practice. The kids dress up and then at the end of practice the parents come dressed with candy.

Mark or should I say Maxine was quite the doll tonight. He or she won again this year! Last year Mark dressed like a girl and wore a skirt. As a matter of fact the whole section of trumpets wore skirts. This year, he went for comfort and dressed like Granny Maxine. All decked out in a new nighty from Goodwill, some snappy new glasses and of course curlers. It was a hoot.

Later that night I showed up with my candy. I was dressed like Mark. I teased my hair until it was fluffy, put on Mark's senior sweatshirt and carried his coronet along with a thermos for water. Many of the parents got a kick out of it, Mark not so much. He just called me a dork. The  director implied that I was dressed like Mark so he must be dressed like me. I don't think so. I don't wear nighties!

Halloween is tomorrow, we will surely get a ton of kids.

Fluffy goes to school

This morning we took the requisite photo for the first day of school: Mark standing on the porch with his backpack. We've been doing this since kindergarten; today is the last time. Mark's a senior. But we also took a second photo which made the blog and seems more appropriate now that he's driving. (Senior...driving...Mark...doesn't seem possible that this much time has passed by.)

Not only is today the first day of school, it's the first day for Mark to work a real job. And what a deal! He was accepted into a program that gives seniors real-world experience and pays them accordingly. Mark will work 3+ hours each school day in the attendance office. Not a bad deal: Go to school and get paid in the process. The wake-up call begins: No more "First Bank of Mom" when he wants to buy something or rent a video. He does have to be at school an hour before class begins, and during marching band season his afternoons will make the day seem even longer. For example, today he was out the door at 6:45 a.m., was home for about 75 minutes in the afternoon, and then had to return for marching band rehearsal until 8:30 p.m. Our little Fluffy is little no more!

A New Set of Wheels in Fishers

You might remember in the winter how Mark was going to take driver's ed. He wasn't particularly interested because he didn't want to have to pay for his own gas and he figured we could chauffeur him from place to place. Then came May and I announced that I signed him up for the class because his parents were not driving him to college classes one day. One day behind the wheel and he was sold' it's cool to be able to drive. I honestly must say he's a very good driver, too! I love having someone else to run errands and will look forward to sending him grocery shopping.

With school around the corner and the start of a new job, we decided to do some car shopping. Checking the newspaper was our daily course of action. Mark would find the cars in his price range, I would call and get details about the car and make appointments to see them. Mark really wanted an '80 Chevy Chevette that was for sale but unfortunately it sold before we got to see it. We came upon this Mercury Sable in Beech Grove. I was especially attracted to the fact that it was being sold by the original owner and is very clean. After some negotiating I ended up paying the asking price (so much for my negotiating skills). I couldn't get the seller to go down after multiple attempts. With 100K miles it's in great shape: New tires, battery, and brakes. We are now the proud owners of FOUR cars at our house. And this is the third Sable in our immediate family; Mark joins his grandparents and uncle. Mark will need to keep the car cleaner than his sister's. That shouldn't take much effort, you should see the pit.