Bleh

I'm tired. and grumpy. Hours and hours of painting and other work over the weekend does not make me feel refreshed. And we're not done.

This morning I was feeling particularly pissy, going so far as to pick a fight with Mark on the phone. He did nothing, I just felt like arguing. Do you ever do that? Anyway, I was mad when I got home, so I cleaned the kitchen. I don't mean I cleaned the kitchen . I CLEANED the kitchen. Organized the cupboards, cleaned out the refrigerator and freezer, took out the shelves and cleaned them. Cleaned the windowsills and washed the windows. 90 minutes worth of hard work. I wasn't mad anymore when i was done and I have a sparkling kitchen. Maybe I need to always use my bad attitudes for good!

Prayers again...

My father-in-law and mother-in-law have been best friends with a couple for as many years as I've known them(over 22 now). The male part of the couple sang at our wedding along with my mother-in-law and the wife played piano at our wedding. Well, he had a massive stroke last night. He was supposed to open in a musical of some sort tonight. They have 7 or 8 grown children and numerous grandchildren. Please keep the entire family in your prayers, and my mother and father-in-law as well as they are reeling from this...

Weekend!

I'm so glad it's Friday!! Tonight FE has his best friend over for a sleepover and Mark is going to pick up some stuff we need to paint the patio cover! Provided it doesn't rain, the roofers will be coming to put the roof on sometime tomorrow after they finish at Rochelle's.
Tomorrow night we're taking my mom to dinner for her birthday that was last week. She wouldn't let us take her until the teenager came home!
Sunday hopefully we'll be able to get some work done on the patio and backyard(which is getting an overhaul as well!) before going to FE's Blue and Gold Banquet and hopefully being done in time to make it to church!


Hope you all have a great weekend! I know I will!

Field Day and Stuff

Today was Field Day for FE. He had so much fun. I think I don't give the kid enough credit for being athletic. he has on older brother who is a much gifted athlete and I think I just never consider FE athletic. But he kicked butt in every event at Field Day. He jumped 6 feet in the long jump, which was at least 6 inches more than the nearest competitor. He won the 50 yard dash by 10 yards. He led his team to the relay win and he won the sack race easily. In this age group they don't give place ribbons, which is awesome, but the kid did great!

In other happenings, SB was involved in a little incident today. A girl in her class,the mean girl, had lent a book to another girl. The second girl was reading this book when she should not have been yesterday and it got confiscated by the sub. The sub left it on the teacher's desk. The teacher started thumbing through it today and realized it was a book not at all appropriate for 12 year old girls. She sent the book and it's owner to the VP's office. She then asked if anyone else had been lent a book by this girl. SB said yes she had one at home in her dance bag, but she hadn't read it yet. So, her teacher called me and told me to take a look at the book. I opened it up and was appalled!! This girl denied that she knew anything was wrong with the book and also that there was another book(the one SB had). Her mom came down and said she hadn't known anything was wrong with the book either and that there was not another book. They suspended the girl for two days. I took the other book back to school when I went for field day. The book I took back has the girl's name in it. She'll be getting an extended suspension for the second book and for lying about it. I am so glad Sb did not start this book. This is not reading material suitable to 12 year olds. The books are marketed to teens, but no way should anyone younger than 16 be reading this and I'm not even certain of that age! I am glad that my children attend a school that sees this as a serious matter to be dealt with at school since obviously this mom had no intention of dealing!

He's Home!!

The teenager arrived home safely after almost missing his plane in Texas! I was on the phone with him and he was running to get to the gate on time. I don't think I've ever prayed so hard!
But he's home and CHATTY!! I don't think he's actually stopped talking since he arrived!

Another Win!!

A small win, but I won a "How to Eat Fried Worms" prize pack for FE from Nickelodeon today! Woohoo!!

I Did It!!

As some of you know, I've been wanting to go back to school and been sort of planning to when The Princess is in school all day. I've been a little overwhelmed by the thought of starting all over since it's been almost 20 years since I started college the first time, but some of the basic classes are available online. I've been tossing around the idea of starting some classes this summer, but not really doing anything about finding out what the next step is for me. Today, I was on the phone with Mark and talking about what to do when he said "Call them, right now. Then call me back". I was full of excuses as to why I shouldn't call, but he was having none of that. So, I called. I spoke to someone very friendly who told me what I needed to do to get started was to have all of my transcripts sent to be evaluated. She thought my credits probably won't still be good as prerequisites since they are so old, but at least they'll get evaluated and I'll know. She told me what to expect during this step and then what the next few steps are. So, I've made initial contact with the other schools I attended and have placed orders fro my transcripts to be sent! A small step to some, but this was HUGE for me. I may just be on my way!!!

Thank You Mr. President(s)!

We had a lovely day off yesterday. Mark had to work, but I took the day off, so it was just me and the kiddos (minus the teenager who comes home TONIGHT!!!). We spent the morning at the park with LG and her mama. The kids had so much fun! And I got some great pictures! After playing we headed to Panda Express for lunch and then to Payless for the BOGO sales event! FE desperately needed new shoes! His had a hole in the toe! So, three new pairs for him and one for the Princess and I only spent $42!!! I love BOGO!!! We also hit Target and I got some new chairs for my patio that is looking AWESOME!! Then we headed home and watched the patio come together in amazing fashion! It is so cool!

Today was back to school, of course, and the Princess is staying to eat lunch at school! She's been bugging me for months to let her stay and I finally signed her up. She'll be gone until 2:30! I don't know what I'll do without her!

Happy Birthday!!

Today is my mom's 60th birthday! She wears her age well! We'll be taking her out for dinner next weekend when the teenager is home. She wouldn't go without him.

Speaking of the teenager, he has called me 4 times since arriving in Texas. Thank God for free long distance on our cell phones! I think he misses me!

Half day for the kiddos today and no school for them or work for me on Monday so we'll be having a nice long relaxing weekend! Hope you do the same!

Loving Technology

Since, at 16, the teenager is not considered an unaccompanied minor for travel on some airlines, but an adult, Mark was not able to go to the gate with him, just the security checkpoint. He made it through security fine and had some dinner while waiting for his flight. I called him on his cell about 6:45 and asked if he was okay and said he should be boarding soon, so call me when he landed. He called about 7:00 and said the flight had not started boarding and that the flight number and destination were not correct on the board of the gate where he was. The gate number was printed on his boarding pass. So, I told him to go to the counter and ask and he realized that they had changed gates. There was no announcement that he heard! I'm glad we have cellphones, and grateful that my gut (or God!) told me to call and tell him the time he should have been boarding. I also love text messaging because I got a "Luv U" text message from him before his flight took off. I'm going to miss my boy...

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

The teenager is leaving tonight for a weekend in Texas. His girlfriend moved there almost a year ago now and this is the first time he'll be traveling there. it's actually the first time he'll be flying alone at all. To say I'm incredibly nervous would be the understatement of the century. He'll be home Tuesday night, so if you could keep him in your prayers that would be awesome!

Valentine's Day was lovely! The parties were fun, The Princess had a great time at Karin's, and dinner was fabulous. Plus we had a rainbow and snow ice from the sky! We don't get that, ummm...ever! The kids went out and played in it, even scooping it up in their hands and throwing it at one another! Yes, it was cold and wet and thundering and lightening, but the giggles? Made it all worth it! and? My hubby??? Got me the most awesome jacket and a gorgeous nightgown. I don't know what the deal was yesterday, because he's always romantic, but we don't really do the gift thing for Valentine's Day, but I got SPOILED! I love it!

My patio is getting covered! NEXT WEEK!!! I was not planning on this for a while, but Mike has the time and is coming tomorrow or Monday to get started! Woohoo! We've only been talking about it since we bought our house 5 1/2 years ago! I can't wait!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

My valentine came home last night around midnight. I'm so happy to have him here! He had left to take the teenager to weightlifting when I got up, but when he came back I was showered with roses, a balloon, adorable kissing singing bears, and dark chocolate. i think he missed me!

We celebrate Valentine's Day as a family (at least in the early part of the evening;)) and will be having a lovely candlelight dinner complete with lasagna, salad, bread, chocolate covered strawberries and creme brulee! I'm ready for dinner now!!!

My lovely wonderful best friend volunteered, without me even asking!!!, to keep the Princess and my day care kiddo for the afternoon so I can go to the older kids parties. It's nice this year as they are still on different release times so the parties are an hour apart and I can go to both of them for the full time! Karin is hosting a little party for the girls AND feeding them lunch! What a friend!

Speaking of friends, another friend offered to do something awesome for me as well. Her youngest kid is in school all day with FE, so she has a bit more freedom than I do during the day. There's a possibility that SB may end up in a classroom taught by a truly evil person for the remainder of the year. Only half an hour once a week, but still, it's not a possibility for my daughter to be in that class. This is a safety issue for my girl. And is known by the administration, so I think they will take care of it on their own, BUT, this friend offered to drive from her home 45 minutes away from school, in the middle of the day, to sign my daughter out of school and keep her for the half hour class if necessary every other week. Basically, she'll split the chore with me to protect my daughter. That is an awesome friend as well! I'm feeling particularly blessed today.

And I can't forget to mention this friend as well. She always makes me laugh! Always!

So, Happy Valentine's Day. Enjoy your family and friends and loved ones. I know I will!

More whining about my arm!

It hurts again. Started while walking with Karin this morning. Pushing the stroller seems to have aggravated it. Not as bad as last night, but it's really bugging me!

Who Knew?

In the three years since I've had a preschooler, apparently Valentine etiquette has changed. See, with all three of my other kids it was enough to give little valentines. The store bought ones with characters. Occasionally someone added a tiny lollipop or something. Today? At the Princess' party? We were the ONLY ones who gave little Valentines. Seriously, every single other kid gave candy or little cups, or cute little bags FULL of candy. Tons of stuff. Geesh! The Princess didn't notice of course, since it was utter chaos in the room. I mean PB & J sandwiches, ice cream sundaes, big frosted sugar cookies and then a boat load of candy?? At 10:30 in the morning? Yikes! I seriously have NEVER been to such a chaotic party. Ever. And I've been a room mom for 5th graders. So I know chaos!

Why My Arms May Fall Off Before Morning

In addition to my normal Monday housewifely duties, today I cleaned my bedroom (dusted ALL the furniture, cleaned mirrors and closet doors, vacuumed) scrubbed my bathroom AND washed both cars. My arms are hurting so badly!

Tomorrow is the Princess' Valentine's Day party. I'm looking forward to attending that with the exception of the fact that I need to take my daycare charge with me and I'm not sure how she's going to do. She's 2 ya know! I'm sure we'll have fun. Preschool is winding down to an end. I love having a preschooler and my days are numbered. Very hard for me to deal with.

Updated: I was sort of joking last night about my arms, but I was up much of the night, literally in tears at some points because my right arm was in so much pain. It's fine this morning, but I honestly did not know what to do last night!

Why I Rarely Go to Church When Mark is Gone!

Because my mom, as dear as she is, is the grandma and has no control over the children. Now, granted, my children are typically extremely well behaved at church and they really were tonight, but I kept seeing them doing stuff and cracking up. Which is not so good since, as a member of the choir, I am in front of the congregation. And so, not only can I see my kids teasing each other during Mass, but I can see the other people around them laughing at them as well. It's all a bit distracting for me!

In other exceedingly boring news, do you think it's possible to pull a muscle in your hand? Sometime this week I was getting something out of my dresser and felt like I spread my index and middle finger too far apart. It sill hurts, like a torn or pulled muscle. And boy do i feel like an idiot that I pulled something in my HAND! Ugh!

I Need a NAP!!!

Had to get up early this morning to say goodbye to the hubby and get the teenager to school by 6:15. My eyes are so tired! But, it was 29 degrees at noon where Mark is, so i guess I shouldn't complain! Brrrr!!!

Part of my big win came in today. It's not exactly as promised, and I'm a little pissy about it. it would be one thing if it were a small win, but with these big ones you must claim the winnings on your income tax and pay taxes on them, so I want the value of the items to equal the value of my W-9. We'll have to see how the rest of it turns out.

Scrapbooking tonight and taking all four kiddos shopping tomorrow. It's time for some new clothes and other essentials. Maybe I'll get them something too! Teehee!

Have a great weekend!

Gross Miscarriage of Justice

I am generally a supporter of President Bush, and even when I disagree with what he does, he is the President of our country and I am always respectful of that office and title. But, today? I am angry. I am angry that he is taking far too long to respond to the ultimate travesty of justice.

I've been hearing bits and pieces about this (long video, but tells the story far more succinctly than I ever could) case for a few weeks, I guess ever since the agents were sent to prison. These agents have lost their savings, their homes, their lives. Even worse? One agent, after agreeing to be released in to the general population of a white collar, minimum security prison in Arizona, was actually transferred to a medium security prison in Mississippi with many known illegals and released into the general population where he was beaten severely by 5 other inmates, presumed to be illegals. This after the showing of America's Most Wanted. The smuggler? Suing the Border patrol for 5 million dollars.

New information was released within the last day or so that Department of Homeland Security officials actually lied about evidence used to convict these two agents. You can search for that information yourself as I cannot find a reputable news source to link. These men who were protecting out Border and doing their jobs need to be pardoned by our President and returned to their families.

I am sickened that this happened in our country, to upstanding officers who were enforcing the law. They made a small error in judgement by not reporting the situation, not something that deserved 11 and 12 years in Federal Prison! I am praying for justice to be served in this case and these men to be returned to their grieving families.

So Tired...

I am exhausted! The teenager has to be at school at 6:15 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday until May! This is football related, so I can't complain about it, but I'm so tired. I don't think the early wake up time is my only problem. My hair is falling out again like it was in October. My thyroid levels were fine then and the tiredness and hair loss went away for several months. why is it back again???

On a cheerful note though, it is Wednesday, my new favorite weekday! Why? No after school activities! we just get to come home and get homework done and have dinner together! Mini Cheddar Meatloaves and mashed potatoes tonight! Yum!!

Movin' On Up

SB has been dancing a level lower than she should be in hip hop all year as we had a scheduling conflict. I was really unhappy with this, but it was the only solution at the time because at her level only one class is offered. Her hip hop teacher approached SB last week to find out when her Thursday commitment ended. Today she told me that she really wants SB to change to the upper level class so that she can be dancing the harder dance during recital. So, we have a mixed up schedule for the rest of this month, going back and forth between classes, but as soon as Cheer is over, she'll be full time in the higher level. Amen!

All Tuckered Out!

I had such a hard time getting up this morning! We had a wonderful weekend. I so did not want it to end. Especially since Mark will be in Nashville next weekend. I hate it when he's gone!

Anyway, we went to dinner Friday night, but spent so much time talking over dinner that we missed our movie! I love that, after being together for almost 22 years we still have so much to talk about. And yesterday we were walking across the courtyard at church laughing at something when someone yelled at us to stop having so much fun together. I just love that I am more in love with my husband now than ever! And that we have such a good time together. It makes my heart soar.

Saturday was the baby shower, which ended up being a lot of fun, except for my little accident with the gate when I got there. But, the car is fine, I'm fine and the gate finally shut on it's own!

Yesterday we had Generations, which was sooooooo much fun! The guest speaker kept me in stitches the entire time! And, minus a lyric flub on my part, the music was stellar, if I do say so myself!

Afterwards, we rushed home to get the food cooked for our little SuperBowl party which was a lot of fun as well. SB read through the ENTIRE game. Honestly, she read for like 4 hours straight. She's SO my girl! The Princess hung on her Grandpa for most of the game, and FE and his uncle joked back and forth about who was going to win the game. The teenager was with us most of the time, cheering for the team only FE was rooting for, but at one point he was in his room watching. For some reason, his TV gets the signal faster, so we're sitting out here watching and nothing's happening and we hear this really loud commotion from the teenager. Seriously, like 30 seconds later on our TV is an interception, which would explain his outburst, but what a time lag!

Back to the daily grind today! School, dance, a game, Generations. But, I feel so blessed and happy and full after this weekend that I'm ready to face the week!

Have you seen this?

Shame on you NFL! Hope it feels good picking on the little guy!

The Dreaded "C" Word

My mom's dog, the beautiful and much loved Patty, 132 pounds of glorious red haired gentleness, has cancer. Mom's going to keep her at home until Patty is in pain or suffering and then she'll let her go. It's a sad time for all of us...

I Forgot...

Something REALLY awesome might be happening for SB. We're seeing if schedules can be arranged to work it out, but it's an awesome pat on the back for all her hard work, so keep your fingers crossed for her!

It's Date Night!!!!!!!

In an effort to stop my incessant whining Because he adores me so, Mark suggested a date tonight. We haven't been out in a while (for us) and he'll be out of town next weekend, so tonight's the night! I am so excited! I really need to get out and have some time with my husband.

I have to go to a baby shower tomorrow and I'm so not looking forward to it. My heart still desperately wants another baby, even though my head says "Are you crazy???". Even though I have four children and am grateful and yada, yada, yada, there's still a yearning in my heart that I can't control. So, baby showers are tough. But, it's at a super fancy house (FE's teacher) and lots of my good friends will be there, so I'm hoping it'll be a fun time!

I hope all of you have a lovely weekend!

Stress Relief

I've been pretty stressed all week. To the point that yesterday I was gritting my teeth by mid afternoon. I think the combination of the Princess being sick and the events happening with the extended family and the idiocy of some people I have to see every week day along with the fact that I had a dinner date with a friend who I used to be very close to, but for the last year or so had just not been communicating well with combined to make me ready to blow a fuse.

Luckily, the dinner went quite well. I feel like my friend and I are back on the same wavelength again after being headed in very separate directions with our lives for a while. During the course of dinner conversation, my friend and I talked about our feelings about our children aging which is a sore subject for both of us. We also talked about some past problems in her marriage. One of the things she said that really resonated with me was that her marriage was her way of being perfect. That she felt like, if she let anyone know there were any problems in her relationship, she would look like a failure. I totally get that. Not so much with my marriage, but with my children. I want them to look perfect to the outside world. Angelic and wonderful and amazing. and they are. But, like ALL children, they can drive me crazy and get on my nerves and make me need a break. That's so hard for me to admit. It feels like admitting that makes me look like a bad mom. And of all things, being a good mom is a vanity for me. Having well behaved children is a source of pride. And so, it is mortifying to me when one of my children misbehaves in front of other people. Mortifying,. Right or wrong, that is how I feel. Because it feels like a statement about my parenting. Because as much as I logically know that my children are their own beings and while I can teach them right from wrong, i can't necessarily make sure they do things correctly all the time, it still emotionally is difficult for me to let that go. And, let's face it. we live in an ultra-judgemental society. People do think that children are a direct reflection of the way they've been parented. Particularly mothers. Because it makes people feel better to see another kid getting in trouble. It makes them feel like at least my kids don't do THAT!

Someone told me recently that I had a "holier-than-thou" attitude. I can see where my feelings about the above issue might make it seem that way, but really, that's so not how I feel inside. I'm just trying to do the best I can to get from day to day. I'm trying really hard to let go of my judgements and to try to let my self be more real. It's a long hard process.