tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117Sun, 10 Nov 2024 07:19:59 +0000plugGeof2006 World SeriesNOT a plugRivalSt Louis Cardinalsanti-plugbirthdayscrock potrantI am young, married to a trucker, mother to a precocious 7 year old boy..<br>..and these are my adventures in holding down the forthttp://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Mandi)Blogger226125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-3368911022883103620Thu, 01 Oct 2015 02:43:00 +00002015-09-30T21:58:01.909-05:00 Well, hello there.&nbsp; What a difference about 5 years makes!&nbsp; Let's see...what all has changed?&nbsp; Geof is now 12 years old and still just as precocious (that's him over there to the left, isn't he handsome?)&nbsp; Legally I am still married to the trucker however I have not laid eyes on him in 2 years and he has called Hawaii home for the past 3.&nbsp; I lost my Dad in March 2013,http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2015/09/well-hello-there.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-7315959159141578363Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:49:00 +00002010-09-02T23:15:29.287-05:00I AM!! Seems like I type out an apologetic post every 6 months or so. Scratch that, I just checked and my last post was well over a year ago. How embarrassing! I remember the days when going 3 days without posting was a tragedy. Sheesh! Anyhoo, enough blabber, let's get down to the updates, shall we?In the past 19 months since I last posted here we've:Celebrated Geof's 7th year on this http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2010/09/whos-bad-blogger.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-5593525472211035473Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:37:00 +00002009-02-09T21:34:06.628-05:00Geof had a birthday Saturday before last. He is now 6 going on 16. We had hoped to have a couple of his friends over for the day but these days it's all or nothing. Or so the teacher said. We could pass out invites to just the three boys Geof wanted to have over because the teacher's didn't want feelings hurt. I understand and all but it meant that my kid didn't get to have the party he http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2009/02/six.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-8070961377208827614Sun, 18 Jan 2009 02:49:00 +00002009-01-17T22:08:10.724-05:00I had a lovely surprise this morning. It all started with the ring of the doorbell and a man standing on the other side with some not-so-great news. He asked if I knew that my tires had been slashed. I said no and went to the driveway to investigate hoping he was seriously mistaken. Unfortunately he was not. Both passenger side tires had been slashed and were puddled like forgotten snowmen.http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-am-rosie-riveter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-2800462768624577269Tue, 30 Dec 2008 02:42:00 +00002008-12-29T21:44:54.928-05:00I never mentioned anything earlier simply because I thought it was a scam... but... a few months ago I was contacted by a casting producer for an entertainment company out in Los Angeles concerning a video I had posted on Myspace of Geof. (Which you can see below!) The casting producer said that they were interested in using the video in an upcoming holiday home video special for NBC. Various http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-kiddos-national-television-debut.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-2849264832610583090Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:48:00 +00002008-11-02T07:49:09.847-05:00Hope everyone had a great Halloween! Geof went as Iron Man because he's all about super heroes these days. He said all year that he wanted to go as a vampire and I got all excited about making that costume until about 2 months ago when he insisted on being Iron Man. I caved in and bought his costume. He had a really great time though and said it was a night he'll "remember for the rest of hishttp://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/11/halloween.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-764013539831231305Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:25:00 +00002008-10-04T19:32:42.188-05:00Hello world! Long time no post and all that self-deprecating hoohah mess....I almost typed "self-defecating" there! HA! Quite the mental image, no? Life these days is a blur. I thought the years I spent as a stay-at-home Mom whizzed by with lightening speed but that pales in comparison to my life today. It's nice in some respects and scary in others. I love my job. Seriously. I work withhttp://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/10/moment-to-spare-and-thus-update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-8044114666571549687Mon, 01 Sep 2008 02:22:00 +00002008-08-31T21:40:40.539-05:00Today is my 6th wedding anniversary. Nathaniel is on the road again so it's just been another day around here. It's been a few years since Nathaniel has been home on our anniversary...at least that's what it feels like. You might catch me in a lie if you go back through the archives, but I don't have the energy to check my facts at the moment. At any rate, here are a few pictures for your viewinghttp://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/08/six-years-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-1512649871499007698Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:21:00 +00002008-08-26T06:36:52.860-05:00Yesterday was Geof's first day of Kindergarten....and we've all survived it mostly intact. Nathaniel came home off the road on Friday with a cold. We pumped orange juice and vitamins into Geof all weekend in the hopes that he wouldn't be sick for his first day of school. At 2am the night before he wakes me up to tell me he has a stuffy nose. I gave him some cold medicine and sent him back to http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/08/school-daze.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-5870707156234693049Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:09:00 +00002008-07-26T13:03:38.214-05:00Let's see...what has gone on since my last post? Well, I had another tooth pulled. That took place a week ago this past Wednesday. Recovery hasn't been as smooth compared to the last extraction. I think I have a dry socket, but I'm not sure. The pain feels different and it radiates up towards my ear. A double dose of Ibuprofen knocks out the pain, it's just more annoying than anything else.http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/07/long-time-no-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-7122990463319528452Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:19:00 +00002008-06-25T17:32:19.135-05:00Ugh. Well I survived the extraction but things didn't exactly go as planned. My appointment was scheduled for 3:10pm, I got there 15 minutes early hoping to get in and get out quickly. That didn't happen. It was almost 4:15 before I even got into the dentist's chair. First came the numbing cream, then the many shots of Novocaine. At that point I was still in good spirits with only a http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/06/aftermath.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-8623692929233818027Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:15:00 +00002008-06-23T11:54:36.740-05:00I suck and I don't want to hear any arguments to the contrary! We're all moved in but there are still a couple boxes that haven't yet been unpacked. You spend 5 years learning just how much junk every little nook and cranny can handle and how to configure and store said junk and when you move to a slightly larger space it's hard to fill the void! Sounds crazy, I know....well it does if that http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/06/deadbeat-blogger-teeth-and-other.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-1483730100767209253Thu, 22 May 2008 14:02:00 +00002008-05-22T09:10:12.636-05:00We're finally in the new place officially. The cable and internet were hooked up yesterday and the keys to the old place were returned the day before. The new place is still a disaster, but not quite as bad. Everything is at least in the room where it belongs, but most things are still in boxes and will remain there for a while I'm sure. I've decided that I hate moving and feel as though I'vehttp://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/05/im-baaack.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-1533999605294828059Mon, 12 May 2008 14:56:00 +00002008-05-12T10:13:06.274-05:00Dunkin' Donuts coffee isn't exactly my preferred caffeine source. I prefer Folgers or if I'm going high-brow a little fresh ground Fair Trade coffee. I'm no coffee snob trust me, I've only been to a Starbucks once, and usually the only coffee in my house is whatever pre-ground, vacuum sealed variety was on sale at the grocery store. I do however LOVE freebies and I like coffee and I think http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/05/half-truth.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-2850742696333916174Sun, 11 May 2008 16:03:00 +00002008-05-11T11:46:03.201-05:00I would like to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day. To all the birth mothers, adoptive mothers, second mothers, step mothers, surrogate mothers, mothers-to-be, mothers who never got to be mothers, and even the Fathers out there who have to play both roles I wish you all a safe and happy Mother's Day. Sometimes it's hard to find the time to enjoy the ride or to even catch a http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/05/mothers-day-wish.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-5283684666308784526Wed, 07 May 2008 23:26:00 +00002008-05-07T18:33:08.857-05:00...EVERYWHERE! I guess that's what 6 hours of scrubbing a kitchen floor while on your hands and knees will do for you. I swear the new rental is filthy...the previous tenants apparently had 3 large dogs that were allowed inside...mud, fur and all. I do believe that had I really inspected it before signing the lease I would have run screaming the other way. The place does have potential to be http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/05/i-hurt.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-5916497827388413417Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:52:00 +00002008-04-28T22:07:30.524-05:00Today has been non stop it seems. Things started off early with an AM appointment with Geof's pediatrician to get his immunizations for school. That went more smoothly than I could ever have imagined. Geof was a real trooper and he made his mother extremely proud. He had to get 4 shots, 2 in each arm and he never shed a tear, flinched, or made a fuss. I could tell he wanted to though becausehttp://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/04/and-miles-to-go-before-i-sleep.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-7986246649494474783Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:12:00 +00002008-04-24T20:38:47.064-05:00Nathaniel's Grandparents came for a short 2-day visit yesterday. They got in late in the afternoon and treated Geof and me to dinner at the local Chinese restaurant...yum! Today we toured the Biltmore House during their festival of flowers. Grandpa is an avid gardener and toured the grounds while Grandma, Geof, and I toured the house. Afterwards we drove around to the barns, ate a picnic http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/04/day-tripping-with-grandparents-in-law.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-8708606688798714001Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +00002008-04-23T07:28:05.994-05:00I've been doing some long distance house hunting recently and the pickin's have been pretty slim in the area we wanted. However, luck was on our side and we've decided on the first (and only) house we were finally able to look at last Friday. It's located in what used to be my second choice school district but after doing a little more research I'm convinced it's the best by far. The house hashttp://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-fort.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-6959725433992129655Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:57:00 +00002008-04-15T09:19:19.658-05:00It's amazing all the different things that can transpire in a rather short span of time. As I mentioned in my last post which was..gasp!..over a month ago Geof and I ventured out to experience a true Midwestern winter. We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. When we returned to North Carolina we stayed a night with my folks before heading home. What I haven't mentioned is http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/04/playing-catch-up.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-673562552310789793Sun, 09 Mar 2008 01:43:00 +00002008-03-08T21:05:23.932-05:00Yesterday I turned 26 and Geof got his first visit from the Tooth Fairy. Oh yeah and we flew home from Wisconsin too! I'm glad to be back, but I really enjoyed myself while we were gone....and I'm pretty sure Geof feels the same way. This trip was filled with many firsts for the both of us. Geof went sledding for the first time, held a brand new baby, went to Chuck E. Cheese, had and lost hishttp://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/03/we-have-returned.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-4481260764010417576Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:59:00 +00002008-02-10T17:26:28.079-05:00This time next week Geof and I will be braving the cold in Wisconsin. A friend of ours is expecting a baby within the next few weeks and she has two other kids at home. She called a few weeks ago to ask if I'd be willing to lend a hand and I agreed without hesitation. Who doesn't love pregnant bellies and newborns?! I'm excited about everything except for the cold, the snow, and the flying. http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/02/wisconsin-bound.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-7330733365309189127Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:56:00 +00002008-02-05T12:57:06.058-05:00http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/02/i-have-too-much-free-time.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-8774571649710076976Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:46:00 +00002008-01-31T16:03:43.152-05:00At this exact moment 5 years ago I was staring at my newborn son and feeling a little like my insides had become outsides. Geof was born at 2:58pm on Friday, January 31, 2003 after an hour and a half pushing session and close to 20 hours of labor. He weighed in at 8lbs 9oz and was 21 inches long.Today he stands 46 1/2" and weighs exactly 50lbs. I can't hold him and cuddle him as much as I usedhttp://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/01/f-i-v-e.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13156117.post-1038956081808365859Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:52:00 +00002008-01-28T09:32:07.097-05:00Geof grinds his teeth, Nathaniel did as a kid, my friend Morgan did when we had sleepovers. There are only a few sounds in the world that turn my stomach and drive me to the brink of insanity and that is the sound of someone grinding their teeth...especially at night. I've been told that I do it on occasion, but the last few nights I've been waking myself up because of grinding my teeth. Gag http://holdindownthefort.blogspot.com/2008/01/worse-than-nails-on-chalk-board.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mandi)2