Thank you all for the birthday wishes - it warms my heart to read
them! As for the grandbaby... now that the danger is past (not too
soon, no longer breech) the little rascal is refusing to be born! 
my youngest drove to Sioux Falls and the car started
"smoking". Apparently, the radiator is cracked. Thankfully
though, she isn't stranded at the side of the road or anything. But,
she will need to wait for a ride home with a friend, towing the car.
(Glad she has friends!!!) The truck is also out-of-commision. Yay. I
am soooo glad that Bob is a mechanic! 
A few things will need to be replaced on the car, but my youngest was
able to drive it home yesterday after a friend helped her get water
in the radiator (with phone tech support from Bob) . When Bob got
home, he found that the truck parts and special tools he ordered had
already arrived instead of Monday as expected. So, he pulled the
front end of the truck under the porch roof to do the repairs in the
down pouring rain. Then, he and my youngest took the truck for a
"test drive" that brought them to visit us. 
We had
plans to visit my Dad and Carolyn, but after two weeks of restless
sleep we ended up sleeping until noon, ate some lunch, and took a
nap 
On top of that, my oldest has been having some impressive
contractions that has left her feeling a bit less than social. 
I
was beginning to think that her little boy would make an appearance
while Bob and my youngest were here, but they had to get back home.
Another day. Away from my husband. And no grandbaby. Depressing.
Time for some chocolate!
I was wide awake at 2am thinking that NOW would be a good time for
baby to be born. But, nooo! my oldest has had this routine going since
Friday.... lots of breath-taking contractions for hours and hours,
then... stop. 
I've threatened to go home if the little guy
doesn't make an appearance soon! Like I'd really follow through with
that!
6 days of irregular contractions and my oldest has decided to take the
doctor up on getting induced before her body's energy reserves are
depleted. A responsible choice, I think. So, if all goes well, she
should have her baby tomorrow. She and her husband will be staying the
night in the hospital and I'll stay at the house to take care of the
critters. The house is only a block from the hospital, so they can
call me whenever they need me and I can be there in just a few
minutes.
Bob and I with our grandson. 
Since Daddy is able to take
the week off of work, I decided to let the kids have some bonding
time with their baby and came home - much to Bob and my youngest's
delight!
The kitties met the baby. This one purred and gave him a little kiss on the top of his head. The other, older, cat hissed and ran off - guess she's not exactly thrilled!
Bob came home last night, took a look around the kitchen, and said
that I make more dishes in a day than he and my youngest do in a week!
That's the price of cooking!
#2 - making sure the electric fence tape is flat instead of twisted... takes me 2hrs to do a 20 min job, but I can't seem to let it be!
I also do #1, 3, 5, 7, 9 & 10!
I woke up this morning angry and depressed over dreams of my ex. The emotions aren't nearly as strong as they used to be and I am terribly grateful for the way life has turned out. Still, I am sooo looking forward to the day that I can say with all certainty "You have no power over me".
My granson is having a bit of tummy trouble and will spit up every time he is laying flat, so I was holding him for my oldest while playing solitaire when I got really sleepy and decided to try using the laundry for a pillow for a little shut-eye.
As much fun as it's been to be here for my oldest, I'm thinking
it's about time for me to get home before I take over their entire
lives and never leave! 
I'm having totally irrational thoughts
like: I miss having a little one around... 
9 my oldest suggested that I
should start babysitting... yeah, I can imagine the panic in Bob and
my youngest's eyes just from the thought! No, I just need to get back
home, spend time with the horses, regain sanity, and enjoy watching
the journey of my girl and son-in-law new parenting experiences
unfold. At arm's length. So I'm not tempted to take control.
The question has been asked: When will my oldest's Dad and grandparents come to
visit the new grandbaby? Short answer: They aren't coming. Ever. But why????
Prepare for some venting...
I have been contemplating for hours about how to answer this question without making it sound unreasonable or disrespectful. Despite painting a rosy picture over Mark's reasons for doing one thing or another for 20 years, I can't seem to come up with a pleasant explanation. I mean, I could say they don't have the money or the health for a cross-country trip, which would be true. But, the truth is, even if they could, they wouldn't.
You
see, my oldest was sent away to live with my Dad as soon as she was an adult because
she was seeing things that weren't there and having conversations with these
unseen beings. This, being coupled with the normal teenage questioning of authority,
meant that she was "demon possessed" and in need of reform. Since she wanted to
move out anyway, I didn't fight it too much. (though I did wonder why they thought
sending a demon to my Dad was such a good idea ) When she was diagnosed with
schizophrenia, the opinion remained the same.
Then, my oldest had the audacity to start dating a guy outside of the religion she was raised in, verifying her obvious backslidden state. Even though he was baptized before they got married, Mark and his folks were still disapproving of the couple, refused to come to the wedding, and were appalled that I planned to attend without their consent.
Furthermore, I dropped a HUGE bombshell when I let it be known that I would be visiting my oldest and helping her through any future pregnancy she might have if needed (as they were planning on having kids - much to their disapproval because of my oldest's schizophrenia). Within a week, it was decided that we'd be getting a divorce.
Their opinions have not changed during the past two years.
They have no interest in visiting my oldest (who will forever be plagued with the
demons of schizophrenia) or the husband of her choice (not heeding the counsel
of her elders) or the child they didn't think they should have. And it doesn't
help that the insubordinate ex-wife lives just a couple hours away - even if
she agreed not to visit. But, they DO want lots of pictures!
I woke up this morning thinking about the post I made yesterday about the reason why Mark won't be coming to see his grandchild and realized that I need to make an addendum.
Although I remain appalled at his logic, at least he realizes his limitations and is willing to separate himself to minimize the conflict. His natural tendency is to sever all ties to those that he has conflict with, but he is trying to keep a line of communication open. He has his issues, but he's not an ogre. His over-reaction, leading to our divorce, was because he was distraught thinking that I wanted to "desert" him and stay with my oldest throughout an entire pregnancy despite my telling him over and over that I was talking about the last month and a little after the birth (like I've done now).
However, by the time he calmed down enough to realize what I was wanting and willing to talk things through, he had already packed and shipped out all of my stuff, telling me he'd never take me back, so "talking things through" didn't go well.
Obviously, I STILL have issues about it all (and plenty besides
this). He's not the only one with limitations here, so don't judge
him too harshly.
I wish we had been able to get a video of Hotshot backing up to the hot wire
while nursing on Gyspy in the pond. Felt bad for Gypsy, but soooo funny!
I find myself daily appalled by the atrocities of what people will do to each
other. my oldest has now informed me that there is a black market for breast milk
with mothers giving their babes only enough to live while selling off the rest!
Oh good grief! I just realized that they could even be selling the babies!
9 I need to think of something else for a bit or I'll cry a bucket of tears!
Mashing potatoes can be therapeutic
I have the afternoon to myself to work on any project that I want. What do
I do? Watch a movie and play computer games