NKOTB and ME 20 years later!

While I was in the hospital having Ryleigh, Adam gave me an envelope with 4 tickets to the New Kids on the Block concert here in Noblesville! While it has been 20 years since my last New Kids concert, nobody worry, I picked up right where I left off! I still knew EVERY single word to all their OLD songs!

I took my friends, Tanya, Jenni and Amanda (who by the way has been to 3 nkotb concerts in the last few months!)

We saw some doozy fans-girls our age decked out in their finest 80's outfits and some even bringing their own teenage daughters to experience the nostalgia with them!

All and all..it was nice, for a few hours, to be 9 years old again...

A lesson in being NICE.

Growing up, there was a girl in my class named Opal Harmon. I went to school with Opal from the time we were in Kindergarten to Graduation. Opal was a very quiet girl, who probably came from a home that didn't have alot of money. Bless her heart, she wore clothes that didn't match and was often sent home due to lice.
The kids in our class were awful to her. INCLUDING ME. We would stand feet away from her in lunch line and coined the phrase "OPAL GERMS" We would purposely leave her off our birthday invitation list-even when we were inviting the entire class. Nobody wanted to sit by her and she was often the BUTT of many jokes.

She never retaliated. She just took it from us.

As I got older, I really felt bad about how I treated her as a child. I always made an effort to speak to her in our later school years. I hoped she had forgiven me. I never told her I was sorry.

Now that I am a mommy-my heart breaks for both Opal and her Mom. I wonder if she went home all those days after school crying and hurt by all the mean things we did to her, and how that mom must have felt defenseless and her heart might have ached knowing kids were being so mean.

I felt compelled to tell Cassity about Opal today. She is about to start Kindergarten and I suspect there will be an "Opal" in her class. I suggested to Cass, that while you don't have to be best buddies with everyone, that it is very important to treat EVERYONE with respect and kindness no matter who they are.

I told her about how Jesus wants us to love everyone like HE loves us.

I do not wish for Cassity to be a bully. I do not wish for her to be bullied. I want her to have a gentleness and a tender heart for everyone!

I hope that Cassity learned a lesson in my story today..and it sticks with her forever!

Maybe I relearned an important lesson today!

Ryleigh Reid Galema

June 10, 2009

6lbs. 15oz. 19.5 in.

Smack!

Cassity=Adam

Note: Please do NOT tell me Cassity doesn't look like her father.
Thanks.

RETRO WEEK

I was looking at my old blog and found some posts I made during my pregnancy with Jared and found myself comforted and entertained by my very own words..

So this week I am going to REWIND and post some of my old blogs...

I hope you get a kick out of them as much as I have!


Thursday, 06 April 2006
i think i might have stolen $10.01 in gas from the shell station. i swiped our debit card, it asked me debit or credit, so i hit the debit button, and it didnt work, then i hit the credit button to see if it worked...it did but it took forever! so i got my gas, and finished and it asked me if i wanted a car wash...i hit no, and of corse it didnt work, so i started hitting yes and then i just hit cancel. NONE OF THEM WORKED....i just stood there looking at the pump. all of a sudden it all cleared...so in the moment i thought "oh it must have went through" and got in the car and drove away.
the more i think of it the more i think that maybe the cancel key worked and just cleared what i did, and that maybe i should have went in and checked with the cashier...i have worried all night about it. adam says they wont arrest me for 10$ in gas--but cant you just see it now..." A PREGNANT WOMAN CLOSELY RESEMBLING BENJIMAN FRANKLIN WAS SEEN FLEEING FROM THE GAS PUMP-IF YOU SEE HER OR HAVE ANY INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHORITIES"
Reports have been submitted that she is at the local Dairy Queen eating a Brownie Batter Blizzard...
ah just another day in paradise.





Tuesday 21, February 2006

27 weeks pregnant....got to get to 40 weeks....and im spent! if there is senioritis in pregnancy i have it! and im not even in the 3rd trimester yet (next week i will be) adam and i have started this strict budget with ourselves...it should be interesting! we have specific amounts of money set aside each week and we are trying to see if we can stick to it! yipee! it wont be any big deal to me b/c i only buy groceries and gas...ah the life i lead! (however ill probably start taking a calculator to the store with me to make sure i dont go over....what are the items that i should put back if i go over? swiss cake rolls or eggs...really that is a tough one!)
im going to take cassity to the library today and get a membership--its free! (which is in the budget!) i am thinkin of joining the Rory Book club off the Gilmore Girls website...is that nerdy? probably. seeing as though the last thing i read was probably the great gatsby in JUNIOR ENGLISH class in high school...sadly. here is the deal...anytime i think of reading a book they come out with the movie! then why read it? how is this for lazy--im tempted to buy books on cd --you know where the author reads it to you! that sounds much easier!
i have to share one final thought...kerry sent us a pic of what she thinks our bridesmaids dresses are going to be...the dress is beautiful...(i might wear it to prom this year...oh wait..i mean.....walmartsince that is the only place i ever go) anyway they named it Darlene...my question is how does one come up with a name for a dress...what is the thought process? are there strict standards and guidelines of naming a dress? could you name it after your mom or you favorite teacher...let me know what you think.



Tuesday, 24 January 2006
if i have to go chasing my trash down our street one more time...i think i am going to ram a pen in my eye......i think my neighbors are getting a kick out of seeing me run down my street with adams tennis shoes on.....WHATS WITH WIND TODAY? i think old man winter is on vacation this year...he thinks its spring....i mean to look outside you would think it would be cold...but you'd be wrong...its like a march day! maybe it will just be a mild winter this year...i feel some what cheated...i went to get cass some snow boots thinkin it would be cheaper after christmas...and what do my wondering eyes do appear....FREAKING FLIP FLOPS! has time got away from me? must have.
Go Fly a KITE!


Tuesday, 08 November 2005
well my birthday turned out just magical. it was my first day back at the Y since my OCTOBER OF PUKE made itself known...i did really well...as cassity and i were leaving it hit me like a ton of bricks...I HAVE TO PUKE! i live 10 min. from the Y and thought surely i can make it home....i had the windows down...the radio was blarring...i was taking deep breaths...i made it to our subdivision and to the road i live on and HURLED right there on the side of the road in a O CHARLEYs TOGO bag...who knew trash in your car would come in handy...cassity from the back seat kept saying SICK SICK SICK...MOMMY SICK...its hard to puke when you are buckled and trying to be unabtrusive(sp?)...plus your toddler is crackin you up! we got home and i slept for 3 hours...adam got home and i basiclly went to bed...it was one for the history books...ugh!
tonight was a good gilmore girls...they have been really slow lately...i have been pretty bummed...but tonight changed all of that...i will be tuning in on the edge of my seat from now on!
well its 9 im off to bed...im one crazy party girl...

First Base Collision

Adam plays on our church softball team and on Tuesday night he and a guy from the other team had a pretty nasty collision at First base. The kids and I weren't there-but from what I have heard it was pretty ugly-and Adam was knocked out for 20-30 seconds.

In true ADAM FORM he continued playing that game and also in the game that followed it.

He came home all banged up. Bruises on his head, and leg and his thumb was swollen. He seemed out of it-but didn't want me to take him to the ER. He repeated a story 3 times to me as if it was the first time he was telling it....and I knew something wasn't right.

He ended up going to work the next morning and calling me at lunch saying he was coming home and wanted to go to the ER.

Turns out he had a grade 2 concussion. He was experiencing nausea, dizziness, lack of focus, not remembering things that JUST happened and headaches.

They did a cat scan and everything looked ok-he is to take it easy for a week or so...

His friends at work decorated his office with band aids and funny little sayings and pictures for him this morning...

this one, i thought couldn't be more PERFECT.

enjoy.

Ryleigh: BEFORE

PHOTOS BY JEN CARNEY!

Jared TIME

With all these posts about Cassity and Ryleigh-I wanted to post some recent pics of Jared!

Jared's most recent love is the movie CARS-we are having a CARS Birthday Party-he will be 3 THIS SUNDAY!!

He also love coffee and helping me make coffee every morning...(see below pic)

He is a sweetie!

THINK PINK!

My wonderful church family had a baby shower for me this past Saturday! IT was so great to get together with so many wonderful ladies! I was honored and flattered by the amount of love and kindness that was shown to my little Ryleigh and our family!

Here are some pics from the shower and the "aftermath"

(I didn't take enough pics-but I have a friend that will send me more....)

How Clean is MYhouse!?

Most of you look at this pic and think..."looks like a normal bedroom to me!?" Well-you would be right accept you are wrong! For the last 2 years this very room has been our storage unit, garage, attick, and laundry room-it is the room in our house that is the catch all-when ppl come over-our door shuts and we pray to GOD that nobody sees what lies behind it! The floor has not seen the light of days in what I fear is years......

I am proud to show you the room I have worked ALL. DAY. LONG. on...

It is about time that we get our room back!

(plus I might be "nesting" --but whatever the case is-its about TIME!)

Class of 2009

10 years ago, this week, I graduated from High School, Today my oldest graduated from Preschool....full circle moment!
Time is flying.

Cass also lost 2 teeth THIS WEEK!

Thanks to Jenni Carney my BESTEST FRIENDO for taking pics of this special day!

ALSO!

My little brother graduated with a BA in Music Business from Belmont University in Nashville THIS WEEKEND! This is a pic of My dad, Jared, his fiance Natalie, and my Mom..

Way to go JJ!!

SPEECHLESS.

I don't know what to say about this.

My mom told me about this guy in our hometown-that I knew nothing about.
I am not sure how it got by me...

But...

It did.


Watch THIS at your own risk.

You have been warned.

Kids City Blog.

Hey I have been TRYING to stay current with our KIDS CITY blog-if you are interested...
check out my BLOG FEED by clicking on: "MY INTERNSHIP"

I would love to hear feedback..

I am not so sure anyone reads it-so humor me!

My Cassity Girl.

Saturday was Cassity's OPENING DAY for her softball league. She is on the WHITE SOX and is LOVING it! She played the best she could and tried her best! This mommy was very proud! Some highlights of the day were:

1. Her team pic and her pic holding her bat. SO CUTE! Cant wait to share it!

2. 84 degrees-hundreds of people-lots of walking and carrying a 4-5lb unborn child wherever I went--do I need to say more about my how my day was!? PS-I am totally sunburned.

3.Jared spilling A LITTLE water on his shorts and before I knew it he was in his underwear in the bleachers.

4. Cassity's first time up to bat-she FINALLY got a hit (off a T) and ran to first base with the bat in her hand.

5. Seeing Adam help coach!!

6. Going Home!

Cassity had her Preschool Graduation Pics at school on Friday.

I called it her "SENIOR PICS" she is a cutie!!

On Thursday, Cass had Kindergarten Registration. No. I did not let her attend this in her softball practice clothing. I just didnt find my camera until we were about to leave-and she had already changed for practice.

We (Mommy, Cass, and Jared) got to take a tour of the school and visit the classrooms. We saw the library and the art room and the computer lab! We also got to ride the school bus! Cassity and Jared were so cute I couldnt stand it Jared listened so well and the bus driver went over the BUS RULES and was quiet as a church mouse. As the bus started to move, I could see Cassity smiling -she sat by the window! I cant believe she is already old enough to go to school...I cant believe I am old enough to have a child in school.....EEK!

Here is a not so good pic of the kids on Easter Morning.

Its kind of blurry but you can get an idea of how they looked!!

the following YOUTUBE clips are my kiddos FAV's-
thought you might enjoy too!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNYfZd8iV2k

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS4a4j_G1y0

Donna Reed

Is it realistic to think that you can wake up in the morning, do your hair, put a full face of makeup on, and wear dress clothers-all while you raise young children-who obey, make 3 HOT meals, have a SPOTLESS house and have a homemade chocalote cake, freshly frosted when your husband gets home?

I know that there are moms out there like this. I have seen it with my own two eyes. It is these very moms that make moms like me feel like......well, Roseanne.

I have said it before in this blog, that motherhood for me is strictly survival. I get up in the morning, put pants on-sometimes inside out, get COLD cereal on the table and start packing Cassitys lunch-
I open her backpack and look through her papers only to realise that she had homework-so I throw it on the table and have her working while she eats....
I get Cass dressed and in the car, while Jared is still in his PJs and I may or may not have shoes on to get her to school RIGHT ON TIME.

The rest of the day involves me pleading for Jared to do this or do that-or dont do this or dont do that-and remembering that I had forgotten to put the milk away from breakfast and the washer sat all night with clothes still in it.

I get Jared dressed and make him lunch and drag him out the door to pick Cass up-noticing, a. i am still in my pj's, b. i havent brushed my hair or c. jared has katchup all over his face from lunch.

We get home, and kick our way in the door, dodging shoes, and toys all over the floor, only to get Jared down for a nap-Cass a snack and a minute to lay down on the couch, while the child INSIDE of my sucks every ounce of energy I DONT ALREADY HAVE that I need to take a nap.

(This is probably the time where Donna Reed would be mixing her cake and peeling the potatoes for dinner and just about to run the vaccum.)


4 o'clock hits and I am done for the day-but Adam wont be home for 2 more hours....the kids have already been in fights, poured apple sauce on the floor and shredded toiletpaper all across the house....

Whats for dinner you might ask? Nothing but CEREAL BAR-I lay out the vareity of boxes of cereal we have and let the kids pick out what they want and call it DINNER!

Just in time for Jared to go potty and wipe his bottom with his hand-insert an impromptu bath while i lysol the bathroom and clean the toilet seat.

(I guess about this time is where "THE BEAV" is reading in comics quietly on the living room rug and "Ward" is having his pipe and reading his paper)

Bedtime comes-the kids are in PJs-and quiet fills the house. I go to bed.

AND IT ALL STARTS AGAIN.


I am 100% sure that there is no right or wrong way to be a mom-and to be a wife....I know that I am MOST HARD on myself.....but I just dont know where Dear ol DOnna Reed EVER got her energy..or the other moms that I am thinking of who do this same thing every day....

In the meantime...I will be Roseanne and you can be Donna.....
our kids will still all most likely graduate from High School.

How is SHE my daughter!?!?

Cassity DID NOT get this from ME....

Adam is so proud.

I am signing her up for 5-6 year old Girls Softball tomorrow.....

to be continued, I am sure..

it MIGHT be the hormones!?

im in a ugly mood these days...
its most likely pregnancy hormones..yeah. thats it.

i am very hateful and almost bitter towards EVERYTHING and EVERYONE--

it is definetly not becoming of me-but really what is? the double chin? the gray hair? the 50lbs? the clothes that i seem to wear over and over and over. the gap between my teeth?

ah..i am certainly living the dream!?

today i got REALLY annoyed with a mom who got out her stroller for her baby JUST to walk in and pick up her preschooler. Seriously...come on! Really? Gotta get the stroller out?

some other things that have been setting me off are:
moms who let their kids run crazy in public-i wish you could see the look of death i give them.

those sketcher shoes that preteens wear with the wheels on the bottom-I HATE! I judge every mom who bought a pair.

young kids (under 16) with cell phones. period.

moms/dads who keep their kids in a bubble. while they think they are protecting their children-they are actually doing more harm than good.....the real world will be a harsh reality for them.

those grocery cart covers for babies....totally on. my. nerves. "yeah we see you-you are a much better mom than i am.....your kid wont catch any germs ever in their lives."
gag me.

parents who talk to their toddler/preschooler like a baby.

also- news flash, kids get dirty. it is part of their job description.....chill out!

and just a tip-IF you go somewhere that PROVIDES FREE CHILDCARE-it is mostly likely a hint that they would like for you to use it---
and if your kid is crying in a meeting, church, someplace quiet-TAKE. THEM. OUT.. and while you are at it-USE THE CHILD CARE!


OBVIOUSLY i am a perfect mom and I do EVERYTHING right-so I have room to judge everyone else.

NOT!

but thanks for letting me vent!

Photos by Jenni Carney

I have pretty cute kids.

GUITAR HERO

TONSILS AND ADNOIDS BE GONE!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Hmmmm....you might say: "wow Leslie, he looks just fine to me" Well-you would be right. The kid acted like N O T H I N G happened to him. He ate mac and cheese, and pudding, and drank blue gatorade like it was his job...he was DESPERATE to get out of the bed. He threw the fit of his life after 4 hours....HE WAS DONE!!!!!! HE wanted the IV out and wanted to "GO HOME" the nurses finally let him get up and walk around-still with the IV.....there was a small playroom-and Jared was in heaven! He came alive, he talked their legs off-about guitar hero and when his birthday was ect...

The nurses asked us what we thought about them calling his Dr to see what he thought about Jared leaving a little early.....

We got the thumbs up! And when the nurses asked Jared "ARE YOU READY TO GO HOME" he was so busy playing that he said "NO NOT YET" We were all shocked!

He is doing great! Eating and drinkin like a champ! He has his sore moments and wants me to hold him but for the most part-he is the same Ol' Jared!!!!

Below are two of basiclly the same pic-his smiles just made me laugh and i had to post them BOTH! A friend of ours from church brought over balloons and the movie MADAGASCAR-which is his fav!!! It took us a while to get him to understand that the balloons were for him to feel better not for his birthday.........

IT'S A GIRL!!

We are pleased to introduce you to our daughter.... (drum roll please)

Ryleigh Reid Galema

Yes, RRG, 2 R's..
I get it....

Ryleigh: My great great grandfather's name was William Riley Black
we are spelling it this way because it's a little more girly-and my mom and sister's middle names are LEIGH

Reid: Because when I was younger I watched this show called "SISTERS" and Ashley Judd played a girl named "Reid" and I thought she was sooo pretty...and I always thought I would name my daughter that if I had one....
I have since regretted not naming Cassity, Reid-so here is my second chance!!

It is still up in the air on what she will go by...Adam likes Ryleigh and I like Reid. I say if I threw up for 18 weeks I can name the baby the Easter Bunny if I want...

...But still I would like to agree! So that might be a suprise until she is born!?!?!?

Here she is...Everything looks great and the dr says she is right on target for her June due date!

This is a 3D pic of JUST her arm and little hand--I thought it was awesome!

I would show you the 3D pics of her face...but they are kind of creepy...a face only a mother could love at this point in the game!!

4+ Tonsils.

Our little Buddy Bear has to have his tonsils/adnoids out. He has size 4+ tonsils...if you look at the diagram below you can see what that really means.. 1+ is average...

What does that mean?

For Jared, it means that it makes it hard for him to breath and swallow leading to restless sleep (sleep apnea) and lots of drooling.

We went through this Exact same thing with Cassity when she was his age...

His surgery is set for FEB 11

Lots of popcicles, icecream, yogart, applesause, an jello are in his future...I am sure he wont complain!!!

Stay Tuned!