It is so darned hot here. Was 96 at 6:30 tonight! My youngest mowed the lawn for me on Sunday afternoon. That was true love. That was the only times he could do it.

I saw that the U.S. is in for a huge heat wave with temps over 100 and the feel like temps (can't remember the term I saw) will be 110 in some areas. That's downright miserable, humidity or not. That is so sweet of your son (??) to come mow the lawn despite the heat.

Hi all...hope everyone survived the heat and storms. Another extreme summer that is becoming the norm, I'm afraid...

Been busy up at the cabin. The water went down slowly as we have a small creek that takes the water to the St. Croix river, which itself was very high. We had friends who used the place for several days with their 4 children...they couldn't ski or tube, due to docks still being under water; high wakes cause more problems for people who's homes are still inundated with flood water.

We got a pic yesterday from our neighbor showing our doc finally above water We will go back up next week to clean up everything before DS38 & family arrive from out of town. The water is still a bit orange from the iron in the river that flowed into our lake, but it is clear down to the bottom; it's safe for all to swim.

Our whole wood pile moved en masse about 2 feet, so DH & I had to move it back after replacing the boat rack piece by piece. It was a slow, muddy job.

I ended up in the hospital this past thursday. I woke up feeling a bit nauseous. Then I got jaw pain, pain in between shoulder blades and feeling "not right". I was going to call DH who was working out 30 min away, but I felt really bad, so I called 911. I thought I was having a heart attack...they took me to the ER. EKG was normal, but I did show a small blockage in a coronary artery during a stress test last week. So they took me to the heart hospital where my cardiologist is. They performed the angiogram that was scheduled for the following Monday yesterday, and it showed nothing wrong at all

So maybe it is anxiety? It woke me up though...I joined weight watchers this morning and DH is going to be my "coach"...it's so difficult doing it alone. I have a lot to live for-especially him...so I am going to attend to my health and well-being and LIVE LIFE

Debbie, it's always better to be safe than sorry. You did the right thing. Sorry about all the flooding issue. It's wonderful your husband and you are so close that you can do this together.

Well the DH surprised me... our GS is coming down to live with his mommy which means 'nama here is going to have a 2 and a 4 year old to chase around and try to lay down for naps. And our only guest bed went with the DSD when she moved out. So the GD has been sleeping on the floor (yoga mat and sleeping bag) when she's over here for naps and when she spends the night. Having remembered my relationship with my brother, I know this isn't going to work having two kids sleeping on the floor. They're going to wiggle and worm their way over to each other and annoy one another rather than taking their naps.

Anyways it got me looking into beds, and cringing over the cost for 2 twin size guest beds. I mean we already spend a lot of money on the GD, we buy most of her clothes, most of her food, her shoes, her toys, her books heck even her hair ties and toothbrushes and toothpaste and the diapers she needs for naps and sleeping overnight. So needing to buy 2 bed frames, mattresses, protectors, bedding sets plus gaining a GS that is coming from his father with a single shopping bag worth of clothes, no toys, no books, and a single pair of shoes.... it's a lot of money anyway you slices it.

And what does my DH do... after complaining about how much the DSD has cost us since moving down… He decides this weekend NEW BEDS FOR ALL! Luckily my mother and I talked him out of getting the heirloom furniture set for the guest room, with two little ones using it, it won't stay looking nice for long. They'll sneak crayons and markers back there and have no problem "painting" the furniture. Undeterred the DH has decided he'll build their bed frames then I can't complain about them "painting" it because it won't cost much too build. But to top it off he decided it was time for a new bed for us as well. Now I'm thinking okay, our mattress has seen better days so we'll pick up a new queen for $800 or so… No the DH wants the fully adjustable base iComfort series bed. Which I must admit, I too fell in love with. Let alone the adjustable part, which honestly isn't any more special than your typical hospital bed… the mattress!!! Oh my gosh the mattress. It felt like it had its own a/c unit. It was so nice and cool, we even laid there for a while figuring it would heat up some but nope… stayed nice and cool just pulling the body heat out and away. No springs to stab you in the back, or poke you in the hips, just like laying on a chilled pillow.

Still it was something I had to convince the DH to wait just a bit more on it. Let's get the kids set up first then we'll see about getting our bed. That and I want to try out the mattress at a few other places first just to see if I still like it after it's been bounced upon by different people. We bought our current mattress because we liked it when we tried it at the store, but what we got delivered was like a completely different mattress. I definitely want to try it out a few other places this time to see how it feels.

Hi Everyone!

Debbie - I am so glad that everything turned out to be nothing. That must have been pretty scary for you. I'm glad the water at the lake has receded. Hopefully, you won't have anymore rains like that.

Starz - YIKES!!! You are going to be busy! Do you have a mattress outlet type place near you? We have them here and sometimes you can pick up inexpensive mattresses. We also have a local furniture store that sells quality furniture but at discounted prices from their warehouse. They had twin sets on sale for $149!!! It was such a great price. That would be perfect for your grands. How are you feeling? Has everything settled down for you?

Over a year ago I started rearranging my furniture. I was stopped by weakness and tremors and haven't been able to get to it. Yesterday was the day. Well, kind of. I started back to rearranging and going through things that I really don't need. I moved the desk out of the living room and in to the spare room, which I have yet to unpack in the almost 2 years I have been living here. So, now that the desk is in here it will be much easier for me to go through the paperwork that is still boxed up and throw out (shred) all the things I don't think I need. Everything is on computer now so there is not need to keep most of it. Remember when you had to keep everything for months to years. I'm still in that habit and it's crazy! I just want it gone. So that's my task for the next day or so. Then, I'll unpack my boxes of books and put them on the bookshelf or get rid of the ones I don't want anymore.

I hope you all have a great day!

Starz, I haven't checked what Target and Walmart are but I know they have beds. But they might be toddler bds now that I think of it. We are always having some mattress store going out of business. I wish I could convince my husband to buy a sleep number. And they do have the sleep numbers that are temperature controlled and raising the head. I have the very basic. But that's OK with me. Good luck with those kids.

Hi Everyone!

I'm not up to too much today. DD26 is coming over to take me out this afternoon after she gets off of work. It will be so nice to get out and do something with her. She's so busy being a newlywed that I don't see her much anymore. Plus, now that her sister has moved out, I see her even less. I told her that I would like to have weekly or biweekly "dates" with her if she can manage that.

DD24 (almost 25) and my DGS were over last night for dinner. I have a few children's books that I got on my Nook app. My grandson loves these books and once I read them he says, "Blue Truck. Again?" or "Maggie. Again?" I read each of those two books a few times as well as "Goodnight Moon."

I haven't been doing much else. I don't have any doctor's appointments this week. It seems weird to not be going to one as I seem to be at one doctor or another lately...well, almost weekly. It's nice to have a break from all of that and to just breathe.

I am so, so over summer! I get so impatient at this time of year waiting for cooler weather to start. We had a nice break from the high temps, but it looks like will be back over the 100s in the next week and the morning temps in the 80s. UGH!!

I hope you all have a great day!

Today the weather was so nice here, and all I did was sleep . But at least I'm finally feeling better! And without a moment to spare, as the GS has finally moved down here and his mother sent me a picture of him He is so so so skinny, almost sickly so. He looks like one of those kids from a "Save the Children" ad. And if that wasn't bad enough, according the DSD he doesn't have a single concept of "rules". He just does whatever he wants whenever he wants. She went to the bathroom and came out to find the front door open and both kids out at the street... She lives on a very dangerous road where people drive 90mph though the speed limit is only 45.

She said her heart dropped to her toes as she ran to chase them back inside, and her son was completely unfazed by mommy yelling at him. He yelled right back at her that he wanted to go outside and she couldn't tell him no. She carried him inside, he bit her, she tried to put him in the corner for biting and he just walked right back out of the corner telling her he was going to go play with his toys. The DSD is ill equipped with parenting skills to handle him as he is right now. Which means Nama is going to have to be the bearer of bad news for the kid that in life there are things called rules and they will be followed, and eating proper meals is one of those rules that will be followed as well.

I am certainly going to have my hands full come Wednesday when the DSD goes back to work. I'll be all alone with a near 3 yr old GD who now thinks she rules the world and no one can tell her differently and a near 5 yr old GS who has never once been told he doesn't rule the world. Not too mention trying to stuff the GS with food, while watching that the GD doesn't eat it all as she is a bottomless pit when it comes to food, her favorite complaint is 'hungry', and the GS I guess has long since given up on 'hunger' looking at how rail thin he is. I know kids grow at different rates and nearing age 5 as he is he should have dropped most of his baby fat by now making him appear thinner, but honestly guys he has the little distended belly and knobby limbs that starving children have. His poor head looks too big for his body and he doesn't even have chubby cheeks but rather his cheekbones stick out. It's criminal the way he looks.

But what matters is that he's here now, he won't ever be going back to his father again (hooray for full custody award) and hopefully we can get his health not only back to right but have him thriving in no time. I am now, more than ever, so happy we're heading to NH next week where the GBs can just get fat on the mountain air and munch freely from the huge garden my aunt grows every year. And if anyone can turn around his "rules" complex, a kindergarten teacher like my aunt most certainly can give him a good push in the way of good behavior. I just need to survive 6 days! Then help will be there for me before I throttle the little brats . Not that I would... But still I know this is going to be quite a challenge, one that I'm not as confident in meeting as I would like to be.

If the DSD had a bit more of a clue when it comes to parenting I might not be concerned at all... but she really hasn't a clue and that's just going to make things all the harder from here on out, as I have to not only teach the two little ones, but their mother at the same time, while still maintaining my cool and not losing it when exhausted by the heat and MS and getting sick. Not only am I going to be 'taming' a feral GS, while trying to ensure he's not too much of a bad influence on the now 'independent' GD, but I also have to make sure that the clueless DSD can maintain her sanity because if any of us adults lose it with the kid it's going to be a downward spiral from there.

Why can't I just tell my MS to leave me alone for a few months? Just give me the time I need to bring him around and nip some of the GD's independent streak in the butt some, and then what will be will be... But I'm not sure how well I'm going to be able to handle all this with the MS. Mostly the exhaustion that comes with it, followed closely with the inability to run after the little ones if they're getting into danger, like deciding their just going to walk out of the house without an adult or take off running down the road or something. Right now my little GD is being an independent brat but she still cares that Nama is sick, I'm not sure what the GS's reaction will be.

Starz, you made me tired just listening to your story. Yes, wouldn't it be nice if we could just tell our MS to put itself on hold? I wish I had an answer but the only thing is to give them some Benadryl to make them sleep the whole time they are there except for meal time and present them with only whole some foods and they will soon learn that's the only thing there to eat. Praying for you and those kids. You may be the only one to have a really good influence on them.