May 26, 2009: First "Official" Day of Summer Vacation!

So here we are just off the long Memorial Day weekend and school is officially OUT!! We aren't faring too badly on this first full day of no school...I am determined to have a different attitude for this summer and make it a better summer for all of us.

So...the kitchen is finished and it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! The renovation is completely documented on shutterfly. Everything came together and it's honestly my dream kitchen, especially for this house. The brand new white cabinets, the granite countertop, the tile backplash, the beautiful new appliances, the paint color...it's just exactly what I wanted. And I can't believe the difference in the new OPEN flow between the family room and kitchen...I really think that's my favorite part. In addition to the renovated family room...no more brown trim, brown mantel, brown bookshelves, brown doors....everything is now white and along with the new opening, it really makes the room a lot brighter. We also splurged on new faux wood blinds throughout the whole house so now the windows are updated too. SUCH a big difference and worth every penny! We are so happy.

Now for the not-so-good news. And it involves family. There has been a HUGE fallout between Mom & Dad and Bruce & Denise. Mom & Dad were using David as their real estate agent. They used him for the purchase of their new home but after his 90-day contract on the listing of their Snellville home ran out, they decided to switch to another agent. There were many reasons, including David's saying that he was "so emotionally involved" several times, and the need for my parents to rent the house if it would not sell, the "lowball" offer that fell through (buyers backed out), etc. Well, that was apparently the worst thing in the world Mom & Dad could have done. They all ended up at Granny & Pa's the day before Mother's Day and all hell broke loose. David gave Mom a mean look, Denise asked what was wrong, Mom told her, and then all the Duttons left the house in a huff. They all just happened to end up at the same pizza place and Mom & Dad got REAMED in the parking lot, in front of Granny & Pa and Zac & Heather, to the point that Bruce had to step in front of Denise and Zac had to step in front of Dad, so that David would not HIT Dad!! And it hasn't gotten any better in the 2+ weeks since then. Dad and Denise managed to sit down to talk last week but never came to a resolution. Denise just kept saying, "You don't do this to FAMILY" and they agreed to act cordial at family gatherings especially for the sake of Granny & Pa but as for anything else, it's all over. Mom & Dad are just torn up over all of it, to the point of being physically ill and crying constantly and apparently Denise is doing the same. Zac called Bruce the other day since both of them were there to witness and apparently it's worse than any of us thought. Bruce can't seem to see the day when he'll be able to even talk to Mom & Dad about it and he just kept telling Zac that he "doesn't understand and doesn't want to." I'm just baffled over the whole thing b/c while I understand David and the rest being hurt and even angry, I just don't see why they are THIS upset. It just doesn't make any sense to me and I guess it never will. I just hope and pray that time will heal since it looks like that's all we've got at this point. The first family gathering will be interesting to say the least...

I've seen Bruce a couple of times since the incident and I saw all of them at Avery's b'day party last weekend. They were certainly very cordial to us and we were in kind, but it was very hard to look them in the eye knowing the HATE they hold in their hearts for my parents!! And I just hate it for Mom because she now has all THREE sisters-in-law (Linda, Tara, Denise) who do not have full love and respect for her, for various family fall-outs. I guess it happens in every family but it's just so sad and unnecessary. In the midst of all this, I've heard of a 30-something father of two (friend of Balinda's) who died on Mother's Day of liver cancer and a 2-year-old who is fighting for her life after two organ transplants, a baby girl at the preschool who is fighting for her life every day because of being born with a hole in her heart....I just wish I could make everyone in this situation understand how precious and short life is and that as hurt as people may be, it could be much, much worse. We are SO BLESSED as an extended family with our health and our blessings...I just hope that the glory of God will shine through and help these broken hearts to heal as time passes. I am so sad over the whole thing.

Now on to better musings. The kids had their last day of school last Friday! Elizabeth's was definitely bittersweet since it was her last day of preschool EVER and her last day at YCS. But Michele was already on the beach and Kathleen does not evoke the most sentimental moments so I actually didn't get teary-eyed! Her class had a fun party with "diplomas," snack, a reading of "Oh, The Places You Will Go" and even a pinata. A fun time was had by all and I'm just so thankful for a wonderful preschool experience for her.

In the last few weeks, we've also had Elizabeth's church choir concert and her ballet recital! Both were fun and captured on video and with photos, of course. I think she will stick with choir for next year, especially since Daniel will finally be old enough, but she'll probably trade in her dance shoes for either piano lessons or tennis. She said she had fun but she didn't want to take dance anymore! The recital was really cute, though, and I was glad to see what she had been doing every Thursday afternoon for the last school year! Now we are on to summer and some swimming lessons! We'll only be able to participate in a couple of weeks of lessons in June so we'll see where that gets us. Elizabeth still seems to have a lot of interest in swimming so hopefully we can refresh her memory on all the progress she made with last year's lessons. Daniel on the other hand seems content with the baby pool for now and I'm just not anxious enough to press the matter with him just yet. He is, after all, still only 3!!

We had a good Memorial Day weekend. We stayed home and had lots of time to relax with just the four of us and with friends. We went to Bambinelli's for dinner on Fri night with the McMillens and Balinda & girls. On Saturday, we went to BJ's to do some summer shopping and to Trader Joe's. In the afternoon, we went to Clara's b'day party which had been postponed from the previous Sat. The weather held up for the most part and the kids enjoyed the bouncy house outside. We ended up inviting ourselves along with the Bowlings for a pizza dinner. I'm really going to miss Clint and Balinda when they relocate to DC but I'm trying not to think about it!! Then on Sunday, we went to Sunday School and church. In the afternoon, we hosted the Pinabells and my parents for a steak cookout! We hadn't had steak on the grill for a while so it was good! And on Memorial Day, we had a lazy day for the most part until we all set out for a BBQ at the pool at 4:30...only to have Elizabeth throw up as soon as she got out of the car. So she and I returned home while Ed and Daniel went back to the pool. And it was the only decent stretch of sunshine we had all weekend! Apparently Elizabeth picked up a stomach bug somewhere and she continued to vomit on and off until 9:15 Monday night. Thankfully she was able to sleep pretty well and she's been fine all day today. We missed the swimming lesson this morning along with a trip to Chuck E Cheese with Jack and Colin but luckily that has been rescheduled for Thurs!!

We will be pretty busy for the month of June. Tomorrow we are hanging out with Mom, Thursday is the rescheduled Chuck E Cheese date with the Trevinos, and Friday we'll attend her swimming lesson/mini meet and hopefully stay at the pool for a while since it's the lowest chance of rain in a while!! Then Mom and I are headed to St. Pete with the kids to visit Auntie Pat next week. Then the week of June 8th is Vacation Bible School at church. The week of the 15th is free then the kids are in camp at YCS the week of the 22nd. So the month of June will be fine for weekdays, and the month of July is full for weekends! Hopefully I can talk Ed into a quick trip to the beach the weekend of the 4th, then we're at the lake with the Steeds and Fun Friday crew the weekend of the 11th, Ashley's wedding is the weekend of the 18th and we leave for the Disney Cruise the weekend of the 25th!! But July is a lot lighter on weekday plans...we only have a YCS camp the week of July 20th. So I'm hoping to use Erin Cavalli for some babysitting hours during the month of July. And then we only have one more week after we return from the cruise to get ready for KINDERGARTEN!! All in all, I think it's going to be a much better summer for all of us. If I can only keep my sanity, that is!!!

I also have some exciting weekend plans coming up...a day at the spa for Lorie's 40th b'day on June 6th, "Jersey Boys" at the Fox with Ed on June 7th, and Keith Urban(!!!) at Philips Arena with my mom on June 13th. So if we could only get out of this RAINY cycle here in Atlanta...all is looking good (remember the DROUGHT we've had the last few summers? Not anymore!!)

I think that's all I have to blog about for the moment. I feel like I've neglected Daniel in this update. He's been doing GREAT with the potty training, even at night and naptime! I'm thinking of ditching the pull-ups and going to 100% underwear after I finish this package. Unbelievable!! He also had a wonderful school year and I can't believe he'll be going 5 days/week next year! I think he's ready and he'll be so happy to be in school every day like his big sister. We've all enjoyed playing with our new Wii (purchased at an auction during Ed's and my trip to San Antonio last month) and even Elizabeth and Daniel are having fun with it, particularly with bowling! Elizabeth was making us look bad until Ed and I finally figured out how to beat her recently!! It's great for family fun and I just hope we can keep the "video game time" in check....so far so good!