I hate Mondays

Actually, I don't. The kids go back to school and I can rest up a little from the weekend's activities. Although not today. This morning I had the pleasure of keeping Declan home from school, since he decided to get sick on me. I know, I know. He didn't do it on purpose. And actually, it kept me home and out of the stores spending money. He felt much better tonight and I let him go to karate. He really loves it and is looking forward to his karate party. He turned 6 years old this past Friday. Where did the time go?? Did I celebrate with him at school? No. I did bring in cupcakes that morning for his class, but I wasn't there to sing and take pictures. Bad mom. Instead, I went to the most adorable scrapbook store!! It is called Sweet Memories Scrapbooks. I went with my friend Michelle and we left as soon as the kids were in school! Not too eager were we? We showed up just a couple of minutes after they opened. We would've been there earlier, but couldn't find it! It is THE CUTEST STORE, all painted hot pink with black accents. I loved it!! They carry so much stuff that our LSS doesn't carry. We "oohed" and "aahed" over all of it. It is owned by some very sweet ladies as well. And speaking of sweet, they have fully stocked candy jars for their customers to nibble on while shopping! After taking a needed lunch break, we went back to take one last look and then check out. I didn't do too bad either. When my dear husband asked me how much I spent, I only told him, "Less than Michelle." Some things in a marriage are better left a mystery. Don't you agree?

I spent yesterday trying to kick a head cold. I took an afternoon nap and woke up when my kids told me that they brought home chicken. They left?? I guess I was in a deep sleep. I got up, ate and then left to play soccer. I'm getting too old for this. I mean, the oldest girl on the other team just turned 21!! Give me a break!

Saturday, I took Aidan, Declan and Maeve to the Columbus Airport to do the Young Eagles thing again. This time Declan flew the plane. I think Aidan was scared. He wouldn't even look. I know Maeve was frightened. The death grip on my arm and her crying and yelling at the pilot to "Turn it off! I want to go home!" was a giveaway. Declan was too short to be flying. Each time he leaned, he moved the wheel with him. Well, that turns the plane! It was a very bumpy ride and even I was relieved to be on the ground. Joe can go next time. He took Aislinn to play soccer. After that, it was off to Valdosta to meet my dad. He was picking up Aidan for the week. He is on his Disney cruise. Lucky kid! I really wish I were going, but it's one-on-one time with the grandparents. I hope he takes tons of pictures so I can scrap them.

Well, Prison Break is coming on in a minute, so I have just enough time to get a dish of ice cream!! Sweet Dreams!

Menopause, the Musical

Last night a few friends and I went out. By ourselves, with NO KIDS!! This doesn't happen very often, if at all. We started off by going to a place called the Cannon. Almost every table was seated with women. It appears we all had the same plans. Anyhow, it's downtown Columbus and not a bad place. More like a college hangout/bar. I would have loved to order a drink, but since I was driving, I stuck to sweet tea. After dinner we walked over to the Springer Opera House and saw Menopause the Musical. If you've never heard of it, it is set in Bloomingdale's. Four women who have nothing in common meet over a lingerie table and the fun starts! It covers everything Menopause is about from hot flashes to weight gain, insomnia to sex (with your spouse and by yourself), and "Mother's Little Helper", aka Prozac! When I say that it's hysterical, I mean it. I laughed so hard until I cried. And not like my eyelashes were a little wet either. I had tears streaming down my face and falling onto my shirt. The audience is, of course, mostly women with a few token men here and there. If you've never seen it, you really should go. I would love to go back. It's worth it.

Into the Lion's Den

This morning Maeve called my husband to come and get her up. She still sleeps in a crib, mainly because she has never tried to get out of it. I mean, why should I bother to buy another bed when she is happy sleeping in the crib, right? I have to sooner or later though. She is getting a little too tall for it and will soon be sticking her feet out at the end! Anyhow, she gets up and wanders around looking for Dunkin Donuts. I called her into my room and asked her if Aislinn was up and out of bed yet. Naturally, she wasn't, but since I enjoy a good surprise, I ask anyway, because you never know. So I told Maeve to tell Aislinn to get up. My husband made the comment that it was like sending her into the lion's den! Aislinn likes her sleep and does not like getting woken up. Especially by me. No gently rocking here, no soothing voices to ease her into the day. Nope. I turn the light on and pull the covers off of her body and announce very loudly that it's late and she needs to get up NOW! Lately she has been very moody. I can't wait til her periods start. What fun we will have then!

The other day Declan had his friend *Jake over. (*I promised not to use his real name in order to protect the innocent.) Well, while the boys were playing Jake's mom showed up to gather her beloved and take him home. I said that they were getting along so well and we didn't have any fighting or arguing at all. I started to walk through my living room and saw that the boys were in the back yard looking at our pool. It had turned a very vivid shade of emerald overnight. Anyhow, when I walked over to get the key so I could unlock the door and call Jake in, I happened to ask out loud "What are they doing?" Well, the words were still hanging in the air when Jake pulled down his shorts to show off the pride of his childhood and then he peed in my pool!! You know, I've never actually SEEN the color drain from someone's face before. I mean, I've heard the saying, but one look at his mom, and I knew she was mortified. Of course, there was me practically shouting "Oh my God! He's peeing in the pool!" So I know she was as embarrassed as could be. I really thought the whole thing was funny and couldn't help but laugh. I mean, c'mon. He's only 5. Granted my own kids don't do that but it's not like I was going to yell at him or anything. His mom took care of that. She even had him call me later to apologize.
She did ask me not to tell anyone, but when I said "Are you kidding! Now I have something to blog about!", she made me promise not to use his real name.

We have yet another busy weekend coming up. I swear this time of the year goes by in such a blur. Between soccer on the weekends as well as 2 days a week, boy scouts and birthday parties, and now karate, it's a mad house around here. Things will calm down for the month of January and then baseball season starts up. You'd think I would be a size 3 from all the running around I do. But alas, I am not. I also signed up for Wrapper's Delight. It's a cropping weekend in November. I get to go to Alabama and scrapbook!! I wish it were this weekend. I can't wait!! My friend Michelle told me about it and we are going to go together. Fun, Fun, FUN!!

I didn't break anything!!

Today was such a busy day for me. Tonight, I had my first soccer game in over 20 years. I know that we are out there to have fun, but I was really nervous that I was going to mess up. We lost, but I consider the game a total success, because my goal was to leave with all my bones intact. And it worked! I didn't break anything at all!! I did flip over our goalie though. I was running and couldn't stop, so when she went down, I went right over her! I was fine, but I accidentally hurt her neck. I felt terrible. I watch my kids play and try to offer them advice on what to do to help their game. However, when it comes time for me to play, I found out real quick that it's harder than it looks. My kids wanted to come and watch, but in the end no one did. It doesn't bother me, especially since I didn't play very much. Our team has the same players every year, with only a couple of us "newbies". Naturally, he put the girls he knows in a whole lot more than us. Our team doesn't practice, so I guess he's just feeling us out to see what we have for skills. Anyhow, I downed about 64 ounces of water in less than 2 hours. I certainly got my workout tonight. This might prove to be great for weight loss!! Here's hoping.

This afternoon I went to my friend Michelle's Stampin Up! open house. Fun, fun, fun!! It was nice getting together with other women that enjoy the same hobby and just talking and creating. The hard part is deciding what to buy. I want it all! I wish I was better at it though. Some people are just so talented. Life's not fair. *sniff, sniff*

Just another day...

So today started off a little rough. First, I let my daughter, Maeve sleep with me last night. She has never slept in my bed and really, really wanted to, Since she is still in a crib, I thought why not. I need to get her a bed soon, but she's never even tried to climb out, so why rush, right? My goodness, that child was WIDE awake until 10pm when I practically yelled at her that it was time to go to sleep. I think that she was just excited, but I was tired. All through the night that little girl kept waking me up with kicks to my kidneys! Thank God that I put up a side railing or she would have been on the floor. Anyhow, I was so stiff and sore when I finally crawled out of bed. I only had about 15 minutes to get up and dressed and out the door to take Declan to an open house at a local martial arts studio. He had a blast and for the short time I was there watching, it looked really cool. He stayed with some friends and was able to spend about 2 hours on the floor doing the moves. He even broke a board with his foot on the first try! He brought it home and has promised not to hit his brother or sisters with it! He truly had a great time and now wants his birthday party there. After watching for a bit, I had to leave and take Aislinn to her first soccer game. I'm not sure why the kids were so surprised that it was hot out. I mean, we live in Georgia and it's summer. What did they expect! Her team was slaughtered 10 - 0. Of course, as we were on our way back to the car, I asked Aislinn if I could have some of her Gatorade. She was given a Gatorade and ice water after the game and had not had any of the Gatorade yet. I was also holding her iced tea, but it was sitting in the sun with me for an hour, so I know it was warm. She actually told me no. Can you imagine?! I gave BIRTH to that child and she will not even let me have anything to drink!! She told me I could have her iced tea! I am truly amazed with her sometimes. How selfish can you be? I take her to practice twice a week and then to her game where I get to sit in the hot sun with no drink and she can't even share! I think there might be some hostility left over from this afternoon, don't you think?

My husband left shortly after I got home to Atlanta. He goes every now and then for acupuncture. I love that. It really cures all ailments. I had it when I was preggo with Maeve for a severe case of carpal tunnel where it felt like my arm was on fire from the inside all the way up to my shoulder. When I say it was excruciating, it's an understatement. After one treatment, it has never come back. Maybe it can help with weight loss? It's worth a try.

I am really looking forward to tomorrow. At 1:00 I get to go to my friend Michelle's house for her SU! open house. I can't wait. Michelle is sooo talented and really makes the most awesome things. After that, I have MY first soccer game at 6pm. I haven't played in, oh...22 years. This should be fun. We are the Pink Panthers. I love that name. Much better than the Pocket Rockets, another team we play. The last thing I want my kids yelling from the sidelines is "Go Pocket Rockets!" That's the name of a vibrator! Give me Pink Panthers any day. Hopefully I won't hurt my knee any more than I already have. It is still black and blue from last Sunday when I fell in a friend's garage! I swear if it doesn't get any better this week, I am getting it x-rayed.

Proud to be an American

Do you remember?
Do you remember where you were and what you were doing?
I do. I remember thinking what is this world coming to? My children have to live in a world that does this to each other! It's makes me so sad.

I finally saw the movie United 93 a couple of days ago. It was a good movie, but for the last few seconds until the credit start to run, you just sit there. Silent. You realize that it's non fiction and your eyes fill with tears. My cousin's husband was scheduled to be on that flight. However, because his son's birthday is today, he changed his flight and took the last one home on the evening of the 10th so he could be there for his son. Because he was across the country on business, his company had made all his travel arrangements. They were not aware that he made any changes. The phone rang early at their house, because it was thought Jim was on board, and had died. Thankfully, her family avoided a horrible tragedy. Unfortunately, not everyone was so lucky.

I just watched a few videos on You Tube of the attacks. It still makes me sick. It's like a train wreck. You know what the outcome is going to be, but for some reason you cannot turn away. I only hope that in each plane, before the crashes, God took the souls of those on board and brought them home to Him. How else could He let this happen to so many innocent victims?

As my daughter and I were on our way to soccer practice tonight, I heard the song "Proud to be an American". It always gives me chills, brings a tear to my eye and makes me sing it out loud. I am so proud at the way this country rallied around each other, and looked out for each other after the attacks. Thank God for the job our military does to protect us all from ever having to experience September 11, 2001 again. I am so glad to be an American.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Happy Wednesday! Today started off nicely at my house. Seriously. The kids all got up on time and neither of the dogs were outside howling at the early hour of 6am. I'm sure my neighbors were pleased. I know I was. And, to top it all off, Maeve slept in!! Ah, these are the days. My husband called me mid-morning and asked if I wanted to go to lunch. With HIM!! He took me to a fabulous place called The Fresh Market. They have great seafood, not to heavy on the breading. For an appetizer, I ordered Fried Green Tomatoes with lump Crab Meat. Yum-O! I guess I'm really in the south, now. It made me wonder though, are the tomatoes grown to be green? Or are they just picked too early? I think they would taste great with some provolone cheese melted on top. Mmm. My daughter only wanted crackers and french fries. How's that for healthy. My husband had somre grouper with horseradish and grilled okra. I think I could get used to the food in the south. Now if someone would only learn how to properly make pizza and chinese food, I'd be all set!!

I had to head over to the Springer Opera house after lunch to exchange some tickets. A few friends and I are going to see Menopause, the Musical in a couple of weeks. I cannot wait! It is supposed to be hysterical. I guess I should pay attention in case I start heading down that road soon.

Later tonight, I get to go to Aidan's boy scout meeting. I think we register for camping, too. I took him last October and it was an experience I will NEVER forget. Joe didn't want to go, instead he volunteered to stay home with the other 3 kids. I think he knew something I didn't.
I had never been camping before. I had never even slept in a tent for that matter. Instead of trying to put up the tent before the trip (so I would know what I was doing), I waited until we got to the campground (read: woods) and tried to put up our tent. It is a 7 person tent, with a pet dome. Nothing small here. Not knowing what to expect, I didn't bring any extra blankets, or a light. My son didn't even want smores because the stick was dirty! I swear, I am the only person who's son doesn't like germs! Of course, he may have been onto something because I ate the smores and was sick later that night. Even though it was cold during the night, and there were coyotes howling, spiders inside the tent, AND *gasp* we had over 100 people sharing a single bathroom, we did manage to have a good time. And Aidan wants to go back. Maybe it's like childbirth. You forget the horrible parts and willingly enter into it again. I hope so.

Typical day

Well, I tried to blog before another week went by and it looks like I just made it. I've had another busy week here. Last Monday night I watch the season premier of Prison Break. I LOVE that show. There is nothing better than sitting in my bed, all the kids in their beds and watching Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell in Prison Break. Except having chocolate chip ice cream at the same time. I'll try that tonight. My husband can't understand my fascination with that show. I've never missed an episode yet. He gave up after the first season. He says it's not believable. Um, so what? The actors are cute. That's reason enough for me to keep tuning in!

Also this past week we went to dinner for my friend Michelle's birthday. We were outnumbered when it came to the adult/child ratio. There were only 6 adults and 8 kids. All under 10. I had never been to Red Robin, but apparently on Tuesday nights the big red robin walks around and says hello to all the kids. The kids loved that and a few of them got up to dance with him. My daughter thought he was a duck and was quacking at him!!

This past Sunday, we went to visit my friend Tina and her kids who had to evacuate New Orleans. A bunch of us friends used to live in the same neighborhood until one by one, we each moved away. It had been 2 years since seeing them and it was nice to visit. My son Aidan, and Tina's son, David, used to be really good friends. Both boys wanted to know if the other looked the same! It's funny what kids think of. Anyhow, we were at Tina's brother's house (which is absolutely beautiful) when I walked into the garage after my 3 year old. Their garage floor sits about 2 inches above the driveway. You can see where this is going, right? I tripped and went sliding across the floor. It was probably only a few inches, but it may as well have been all the way across. Both my knees were skinned, I hurt both hands, one of which bruised, and my right shoulder was killing me. Just call me graceful. I guess Noreen's (Tina's sil) mother is a nurse and she had me on the recliner with my leg elevated and ice on my knee! I have to say that if I fell at my house, I would have been stepped over. No, really. How nice to be fussed and fretted over! I actually felt very bad and jokingly asked Noreen if she had homeowner's insurance! And since I'm sure you are concerned about me, I'm fine.

Another week gone by already?!

While I would love to be able to update my blog more often, I find that there's not enough time in the day. At night, when all the kids are asleep and I have the time, I have no energy and just want to go to sleep. After they come home from school, I have the energy, but dammit, the kids want to TALK to me!! When are they going to get into the stage where they come home from where ever and head straight into their rooms and don't come out until the next morning? Apparently not yet. Anyhow, this weekend was pretty good. On Saturday morning, I took Aislinn and Aidan to the Columbus Airport. Aislinn was thinking I was taking her on a trip (with no luggage??). Instead, the airport has a Young Eagles program where someone explains the parts of a small plane and then takes them up for a short 15 minute flight. Sounds like fun, right?





Not to Aislinn. She was ready to cry! As a matter of fact, she refused to go up unless I did. I hate to fly. Really, really hate it. My plan was to keep my feet firmly on the ground and take pictures, but noooo. I ended up going with them. This itty, bitty plane only holds 4 people, including the pilot. Aidan was the co-pilot and had a blast!
While we were slowly heading over to the end of the runway, the pilot told me to hold my foot outside the door to prop it open. That would be our air conditioning. I'm thinking "Is he serious?" There is no way I want my foot hanging out the door while we are flying over Columbus! What if my shoe flies off my foot? Some poor soul out for a nice morning walk could get struck by my flip flop if it were to hit them on the head! Could I get sued for that? So, I decide to take my shoe off and leave it in the plane. But thankfully, he shuts the door right before take-off. It was a really nice flight and I was not nervous at all, until I heard the pilot tell Aidan, my 9 YEAR OLD, to head for the runway so he could land us! WHAT!! This child does not even ride his bike and the pilot expects him to land a plane! I think the real reason the pilot wears those large head phones is so that he can't hear the moms on the plane screaming. After the bumpy landing, Aislinn asks me what that smell is. It's the rubber from the wheels when we hit the runway. When I got home, I took a nice 4 hour nap. Sunday was nice. I woke up Aislinn and Declan at 5am so we can leave by 5:30 to head over to Callaway Gardens for the balloon launch. They have a really nice Hot Air balloon festival every year. This year there was about 14 balloons. It starts Friday night and there are all sorts of family activities that last all weekend long. So anyway, I waited until Sunday morning to go. We get there at 6 and have breakfast. Then I find a nice spot right at the ropes where we sit so I can get great pictures of the balloons all lit up. And we wait. And wait. Mind you, the seat I was on had been out all night and while it was comfy, it apparently had dew on it, so my butt was getting all wet after waiting for 30 minutes. With my 5 year old telling me he is bored. I told him too bad, we were not leaving until I saw a balloon. Well finally the Re/Max balloon inflates and rocks back and forth. It's too windy. Great. No lift off today. As a matter of fact, there might not even be tethered rides! All weekend everything was fine, until Sunday! It figured. So, we watch the 5K race, and a few other things. Much to my surprise, the person in charge decides to have the rides after all! Yea!! Of course, I have Aislinn with me, who for some reason doesn't like her feet to leave the ground anymore! Unless I go too. I tell the woman that I am not flying, I am taking pictures, to which she replies that she will take a quick shot of the 3 of us, and then we can all go as a family. Thanks. So up we go. Surprisingly, Declan stays inside the basket and doesn't even try once to shimmy down the tethered rope!!