I'm so excited!

Not only is today the beginning of my vacation, but I get to go and check out the proofs from the teenager's senior portraits today! If they look anywhere as great as I'm anticipating, I'll be leaving the studio much poorer!

Speaking of the teenager, I think he misses us a lot. He's called every day, but he also called Thursday night, all on his own, specifically to speak to each of his siblings. Pretty sweet for a 17 year old boy!

I had a lovely night out with my friends on Thursday. Found a chocolate martini (or two!) second only to the ones Mark makes for me! It was after 12:30 when I finally got home which made for a loooong day yesterday and an early bedtime last night.

As for the rest of the weekend, my in-laws are coming for dinner tonight as yesterday was their 44th wedding anniversary! We're headed to the gym for orientation this morning after the picture appointment and then the kiddos are going to spend the day tomorrow at my mom's house doing some work for her to earn some money! I wonder if she'll pay me to help too???

I'm looking to buy a new camera here in the next couple of months...I love my camera most of the time, but am looking for something with a little less lag time for shooting football, dance and cheer. We've looked at some SLR cameras, but I'm very spoiled with my camera as it has a 10x optical zoom. The SLRs require a changing of lenses for that kind of zoom, but offer faster shooting capability than any regular digital I can find. But the additional lenses make them much more expensive. I have seen a couple of regular digital that offer a 12x optical zoom, but am worried about shooting speed. If you were buying a new camera, what would you be looking at?

I just want to cry!

I've been working on and off on this quilt for almost 2 years. I hate it. I dread working on it. It's a pain in the butt and I'm fed up with it. I have 90 million other projects I want to work on, but feel like I can't until I finish this stupid quilt. It was promised to my MIL and FIL over 18 months ago. I just feel like such a failure with this stupid thing.

Social Butterfly is appropriate!

SB has already been to 3 parties this summer and has one again this week. That doesn't include the two she missed because we had something else going on! I don't ever remember going to so many parties as a kid. I think I certainly didn't have nearly as many friends as Sb does, but also, kids just didn't have as many parties. Only one of these parties has been a birthday party, the rest were just get together parties. I would think that one of the reasons is that she goes to a charter school, so her friends are not in our neighborhood, but three of the parties(two she couldn't go to) have been girls from dance. What's up with all the summer parties???

Let's Get Physical

Mark and I have decided to join a gym! We've looked into several options, but decided that our local YMCA is the best fit for us. It's right down the street, newly remodeled with lots of fancy equipment, offers lots of classes and free childcare with your membership,not only for my kiddos if I need it, but also for the little ones that I have during the day. They also do fitness programs included with your membership and our whole family membership is cheaper than just the 3 of us (teenager included) joining another gym. The kiddos can also participate in classes with us if they want to. So, we're going this weekend to sign up and working out starting this weekend. I'm really excited. For the summer it means getting up early for me to go, but Mark will be able to go on his way home from work and on the weekends we can go together.

Friends

One of my goals for the summer was to be more active in my friendships. Making sure I'm taking time for me and tending to the friendships I've developed over the years at school. So often I chat with these people all school year long, but then go most of the summer without seeing or talking to them! Not this year! We've made a commitment as a group to get together at least once a month. This month it'll be 3 times. Good for the soul. Lots of laughter and good times. This photo was taken at a mini class reunion held by FE's teacher. As the kiddos largely ignored the fact that their moms were even around, we decided to bowl as well. We only got half a game in, but it was a riot. I think we may have needed the bumpers as much as the kiddos did!

Monday, Monday

The teenager made it to Colorado just fine. He texted me several times while they were driving, letting me know the price of gas where they were ($3.47 in Utah!lol!) and that he loved us. He's a sweet boy.

We took the other three kiddos to see the play version of High School Musical at Mark's work last night. Now SB has the acting bug. I'll have to see if I can find something for her to audition for that's a little closer to home.

I have two evenings out with friends planned for this week. Tonight a birthday party at Cheesecake Factory and Thursday dinner at a restaurant I've never heard of. Should be a fun week! And then Mark and I are both on vacation next week! Woohoo!

What Not to Wear

We took the kiddos to breakfast this morning. We rarely go out to breakfast, but a buffet-style restaurant nearby was offering free breakfast to kids who wore pajamas! Fun!

While we were eating I was people watching and decided that the women of Arizona need a PSA about what not to wear!
First of all, women in their 30's and 40's should NOT wear concert t-shirts. Really!

And secondly? For the love of all that is Holy, would you please pass along the message that white bras do NOT go under white shirts. Please, invest in a beige bra and save the white ones for your colored non see through shirts! That's all!

More than you ever wanted to know!

Found at Karin's!

Facts about Marlene:

1. Were you named after anyone? Yep. Both my first and middle names. My mom's Aunt Marlene(A loon!) and my aunt Cynthia Louise

2. When was the last time you cried? Last night when I was talking to the teenager about his trip.

3. Do you like your handwriting? Sometimes

4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Pastrami

5. Do you have kids? 4! Ages 17, 12, 8 and 5

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Probably, since I'm a great listener!

7. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Never!! Teehee!

8. Do you still have your tonsils? Yep!

9. Would you bungee jump? Maybe. If you paid me a lot!

10. What is your favorite cereal? Apple Jacks!

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Never!

12. Do you think you are strong? When I need to be

13. What is your favorite ice cream? Rocky Road with whole marshmallows and almonds!

14. What is the first thing you notice about people? Eyes

15. Red or pink? Depends on the situation. I love both colors!

16. What is the least favorite thing about yourself?My weight

17. Who do you miss the most? My grandma.

18. What color pants and shoes are you wearing?Black pants, no shoes

19. What was the last thing you ate?A hamburger

20. What are you listening to right now?The sounds of the teenager playing a video game and Mark and FE chatting

21. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? forest green

22. Favorite smells? my hubby, my kiddos, rain, clean laundry

23. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My mom this morning

24. Favorite sport to watch?College basketball and college football!

25. Hair color[s]?Auburn with blond, caramel and gray highlights!lol!

26. Eye color? green

27. Do you wear contacts? no

28. Favorite food? red meat, cupcakes

29. Scary movies or happy endings?Happy endings. I used to LOVE scary movies until I had kids!

30. Last movie you watched?At the theatre - Ice Age 2 (summer movies!)

31. What color shirt are you wearing? red

32. Summer or winter? I love all seasons, but between those two is summer because the kids are out of school!

33. Hugs or kisses? Both from my hubby or my kiddos!

34. Favorite dessert? No way i could pick just one!

35. What book are you reading now? The Reading Group

36. What is on your mouse pad? Don’t use one

37. What did you watch on T.V. last night?No tv last night!

38. Favorite sound[s]? My kids laughing or playing, the teenager playing guitar, the sound of Mark's voice, falling rain

39. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Neither one!

40. What is the farthest you have been from home?London, England as a 15 year old!

41. Do you have a special talent?Not that I can tell YOU about!

42. Where were you born?Phoenix, Arizona


Feel free to join in and leave a comment if you do. :)

Hmmm...

From FE last night...

"Daddy, what if, when I get to heaven, God is on a business trip to Chicago?"!

Singing

The Princess is in the other room playing with blocks, but I can hear her singing. Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield. There will be no silly preschool songs for my kiddo!lol!

Well he was just 17...

Happy Birthday to the teenager. 17 years old...I think it's much harder for me to think about the fact that I've been a mom for 17 years than the fact that he's 17. The teenager has always been older than his years would say. I guess that's maybe a first born thing.

On today's agenda? Breakfast from McDonald's (that's what he asked for!) with a candle and happy birthday song. Getting senor pictures taken. Grilling big steaks for dinner (also his choice) and I'm sure a trip to Cold Stone Creamery later tonight. We had a party for him on Saturday since he's leaving this Saturday on a trip to Colorado with his friend and said friend's mom. He'll be gone for two weeks. Then he comes back and goes to camp in California for a week. I miss him already.

Pass the Popcorn!

Today/tonight was my daughters' dance recital. We wait all year for this and boy was it worth it. The Princess was adorable, as usual. My nieces were cute danced very well, as usual. And SB? She just takes my breath away. She's a great hip hop dancer and jazz follows that quite well, so she's got all of that technique that can't necessarily be taught. Some people have the hip shaking ability, some don't She's got it. And how!
But really? She's fallen in love with ballet this year. And watching her perform her flawless ballet routine tonight drove me to tears. She is so long and lean and beautiful. And has such poise and grace. And the follow through! She was absolutely a joy to watch. That was her last dance today and I'm so glad, because as well as she did everything else? There was no topping this ballet dance. Amazing.

Happy Father's Day

To the love of my life. The best daddy ever. The man who sits in the rain at football games to watch his son play. Who coached same son for many, many years. Has taught that son to drive without freaking out (unlike me!). Who leaves work early to attend Cub Scout meetings, even though it means he has to work well into the night. Who prays with his kids every single night as he tucks them in. Who works so hard to make sure we have not only everything we need, but most everything we want as well. Who says there is nothing in the world he'd rather do than watch his girls dance on Father's Day...for the last 5 years... He is my parenting hero. I love you Mark.

I'm So Not Ready for This...

This afternoon I got a phone call from the studio that does Senior Portraits for the teenager's high school. They have moved their studio and if we make an appointment for next week, we have no sitting fee. A savings of $60. I won't get started on the fact that it drives me batty that we're told which studio to go to. When I was in high school, you decided where to go and they sent your picture to your school. Now it's one particular studio. And the prices? Goodness. Let's just say that Senior pictures are almost as much as my car payment. But, I digress. My real point in writing is that I can't believe we're at this point already. I mean, I was aware of the senior year being upon us, but the pictures? It feels so real now. So close. So final...



Next Thursday, while I'm already struggling with the fact that my baby is 17 years old that day, I'll also be watching him get his portraits taken. I just figured, since I'll be crying anyway I might as well kill two birds with one stone!lol!

The Squeaky Wheel and all...

On Saturday I received my water bill in the mail. along with the water bill was the monthly newsletter send out by the city. I rarely do more than glance at the newsletter, but Saturday I thought I would read it over to see what was going on. There was an article about our city's annual 4th of July celebration. It's a really fun event that takes place in the local community college football stadium. My family and my mom have attended this same festival for the past 11 years and my grandfather used to attend with us when he was still living. My FIL has been going with us for about 8 of those years, and my BIL and his family for the last 3 or so. It's a great family time. The kids run around and play, there is live music and we always bring in a picnic supper. It's an event we really look forward to all year long.

This year, the city decided that they were no longer going to allow coolers into the stadium. This was printed in the newsletter on Saturday. Needless to say, we were greatly disappointed. We could have chosen some other options, like eating before we went, or not sitting inside the stadium, but it's a tradition to picnic and the stadium has the music to go with the fireworks. It's just a much better experience. So, I called the city. I left a strongly worded, but polite message letting them know exactly how we felt about this. And you know what? Today they called me back. And they have reconsidered! They will be allowing coolers in the stadium. Our event goes on as planned!

I have no delusions that the city changed their plans just for me. But, I do know that I was probably not the only phone call they received. And that, even though this is a small issue, we as citizens have power only when we speak up!

Mr. Mister

Misters have been built and are working (this is a very inexpensive project if you build them yourself, BTW), house is sparkling clean, all yard work is done. We are headed to my mom's for a yummy dinner and to play with Bucket the wonder dog. Hope your day has been lovely as well!

Dance Fever!

It's recital time here. That means one dress rehearsal yesterday and three next week, one of which will require us being at a rehearsal from about 5:30 PM until about midnight. All of them require hair and makeup for the girls. They love it though, which makes me love it as well.

We've had a fun week, dome some little crafts here and there including tie dyeing shirts with kool-aid!

Today was summer movie day. The kids were, as always, great and well behaved, including my two year old charge. It's always appalling to me at the movies, but particularly at the summer movies, the type of behavior parents are willing to put up with. It's one thing if your child is screaming during a movie at home, but really, how rude and disrespectful of you to allow it to go on when it interrupts everyone else's experience! I've been going to summer movies for about 13 years now, always with 5 or more children, always with an infant or toddler or preschooler, in addition to other children of various ages and never, not once have I sat and allowed a child to scream through a movie, or kick someone's seat or hang on the back of someone's seat. Honestly, it's never even been an issue. But, if it had? We would have left. The end. My children are my responsibility, not anyone else's and that means that if they are being disruptive, it is my responsibility to deal with that. Not to expect other people to just deal with it. Now, I'm not talking about a little bit of chattering during the movie, that's normal and expected behavior for the littler ones, but the screaming, crying, running around the theater? Deal with your kids people!

We've got a quiet weekend lined up before the craziness of next week starts. Mark is building and putting up a misting system on the back patio, and we've got yard work and house work to do to get ready for next weekend when we'll be celebrating the teenager's 17th birthday!! 17!!!! (We're throwing Father's Day in there as well since we have all day recital on the actual day, but it's really the teenager's celebration!)

Hope you all have a glorious weekend!

Too Close to Home...

When my oldest son was 6 weeks old or so, the United States was sending troops to Saudi Arabia, gearing up for what would become Operation Desert Storm. I vividly remember standing in Mark's parent's living room, holding my newborn baby and sobbing because I was so heartsick that I had brought this baby into a world that was fighting. And not only did I have a baby, I had a baby boy. Visions of the draft, visions of Mamas losing their baby boys, fear that the war would not be over by the time my baby was old enough to have to go fight. While that particular Operation ended, we now are in the throes of another war. A war that has cost our country thousands of lives. Those lives are someones sons. They are brothers, fathers, uncles, nephews, boyfriends, husbands, grandfathers.

And my son? Is now safely here with me, but is turning 17 in two weeks. And the military recruitment calls have started in earnest. Not a week has gone by in the last two months that we have not received a call form a recruiter from one branch of the military or another. And my son is looking at the military as a viable option for himself. And while I will support him, my heart goes back to that 6 week old baby that I held and the fear that I had then, which is so much more real now.

My son comes from a long line of military veterans. Some member of our family fought in every war until The Gulf War. We have had members in every branch of the military, including my own mother, who was in the Air Force. I took the Armed Services test and was ready to go into the Air Force as well, but had a very last minute change of heart. I support the military with everything I am. But with my baby? I'm just not so sure...

Candy Clay

Today's project was making Candy Clay which can be used like regular clay for sculpting, but can also be eaten! The kids had a great time with it, both the sculpting and the eating!

Candy Clay:

1 pound powdered sugar

1/3 cup corn syrup

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup margarine, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract (or any extract of your choosing)

food coloring

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until blended. If the mixture is too sticky, add more powdered sugar.

ENJOY!!

Beautiful!

It's a breezy 76 degrees outside this morning. Gorgeous weather! I have my doors and windows open to let the fresh air in and the kids who are awake are outside waking the neighbors! I'm headed out there with my book and a beverage in a few moments to soak up this atypical summer weather. Enjoy your day!

Ahoy Matey!

I had a date night with my hubby last night. We went to see the new Pirates movie. I did NOT want to see this movie. At all. But nothing else was playing and Mark wanted to see it again. (He had seen it last weekend with SB and they both LOVED it.) I liked the first one, did not at all like the second one and so was not at all interested in seeing the latest installment. It was AWESOME!!! I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and was stunned when it was over that it had gone so fast!(It's almost 3 hours long.)

What do YOU think??

When she was in 2nd grade, over 4 years ago, SB asked me if she could get a second piercing in her ears. At that point, because it seemed so far away and I thought she'd forget, I told her that she could after she finished 6th grade. Well, guess what? We've reached that time. And she totally remembers. And asked the day after school got out.

Her dad won't even talk to me about it as he's really struggling with his baby girl growing up anyway and I think this is just another sign to him that she's not so much a baby anymore.

I don't have double piercings, but I'm not adverse to them. I just really don't want to open up a can of worms with piercings. Because I will not let her get her belly button or any facial features pierced (not that she's asked). And I know plenty of people MY age have double piercings, but the who piercing of other body parts was not en vogue when I was younger.

So, I guess I'm asking if you have an opinion on whether or not this is a good idea, if she's too young, if it's harmless...Not at all saying I'll take your advice, just curious!lol!

The Morning After

I feel hung over this morning. Not from drinking, but I am so tired. I had a lovely much needed night out with friends. We had good dinner, saw a great movie, and laughed a lot. A lot! But, after a somewhat disturbing phone call from a friend who couldn't be with us and is in tornado country right now, and Karin telling the story of the director of the lovely little movie, sleep was hard to find. Thankfully I have a darling husband who will not sleep until I do if he can help it, and employs whatever techniques necessary to make sure I get to sleep;) (and you know, I'm prolonging his life !)

We're off to the bane of my summer existence, The Summer Movies! Cheap fun for the kids, they love it, so who am I to stand in the way of fun??!

Have a great weekend!!!