Is It Bedtime, Yet??

Went to bed last night, still on Spring Break schedule. Could not fall asleep until about 1:30, then at 2:30, Emmaline gets into our bed and says she is cold (probably because every time we try to cover her up, she kicks like a rabid donkey). Brian had a full conversation with her when she came in there and snuggled up to him, then 20 minutes later when she had fallen asleep, he sits up and says, "When did she come in here?" Good grief.... So, after about 3 or 4 hours of sleep, the alarm goes off and it is time to get up and get going. I thought I would just run by the grocery store after dropping off the girls at school and then come home, unload groceries and take a quick nap. Then I remembered that I have to do the bulletin board for April for Annelise's class. (Insert scream of frustration here.) Worked on that all morning, then went to get the girls and found Emmaline to be acting like Satan's Spawn. I know she is just really tired, but so was I- not a good combination. She got 2 spanks from the time we left school until 15 minutes later when we got home, and was also able to have about 4 meltdowns in that small amount of time. We came home, ate lunch and she went straight down for nap and slept 2 and a half hours. I went to work doing phone triage and just now finished that. Now I am going to go up and get the girls in the kitchen to help make Chocolate Caramel Nut Cake from Southern Living's 1983 Annual Recipe book. I'll let you know how that turns out. It sounds divine and easy- my 2 favorite qualifications for a recipe. My parents are coming over and have requested that I make Spaghetti, so the sauce has been simmering for about 2 hours, now and should be quite tasty by the time they get here. I have a few more things to do with this bulletin board tonight and then will watch Idol and head straight up to bed. Wish there was time to work in a bubble bath somewhere in there, but it doesn't look like that will happen tonight. We do think we have solved our issue of trying to cut square footage off of the house we want to build, so I am in a pretty good mood after all. My sense coupled with having an awesome architect for a lifelong friend added up to a good combination for that. So, I can't say I am stressed, but I do look forward to putting my head on my pillow tonight! Hope this cake is as good as it sounds!

Bad Weather Week-End

Blah , the weather has just been gross this past week-end. We arrived to the lake Friday in balmy, breezy, beautiful Spring weather and that was all we were to see of it. Saturday greeted us with cold wind, rain and just pure yuckiness. We didn't even get the boats out to ride or anything. B took the girls down to the dock to fish on Saturday afternoon after the rain stopped (temporarily) and the wind was so bad, they had to come back up almost immediately.(That picture, by the way, is from last Summer- taken from the dock.) We did get to go to our favorite hole-in-the-wall fish camp on Friday night- yum. And there was only 1 live cockroach in the lakehouse, that we saw. We had a few dead ones, but those I can handle. Other than that I would not say that the week-end went well. We got there and found the well house had a busted water pipe in it and water was going everywhere when we turned it on. B repaired it and then had to repair it again. (Standing in a tiny well house trying to work with plumbing is not fun...) It finally stopped and we were able to use the water, but when we took a shower we noticed that water was all over the laundry area floor - it is directly behind the shower. This happened last year, so we just caulked the tub like we did then and thought it would be fine. Nope. When I took a shower Sunday morning, there was a lot of water again in the laundry floor. There has to be a leak in the pipe, inside the wall. So, next time we are going to have to take part of the wall out and repair that, or just use the other shower. We came to the realization that the lakehouse is on it's last leg :sigh:. We both feel that this is the last year we will be able to get out of it (safely, anyway). Hush, CF. It seems to be leaning more and more and it seems to need more repair every time we go there. So, on top of building the new house this year, it looks like we will be building a lakehouse at the end of Summer or beginning of next year. I haven't decided how we will pay for all of it, yet. I am thinking it will have to be some sort of crack-selling business or brothel, but those are both against my religion so I will have to keep brainstorming! We did have some good family time.( Being stuck together in a double-wide all day kind of forces that on you). However, I am ready for the girls to start back to school tommorrow. They have been a little "challenging" this week and week-end. Spending all day almost every day with them has been a blessing, but also a challenge. I need time Monday morning just to be by myself! For now, I am going to go try and "scare up" something to cook for dinner. This should be interesting, not having been to the grocery store in several days.......

And We're Off....

Off to the lake for Spring Cleaning and whatever repair needs to be done. Pray that there are no cockroaches and that the house has'nt slid down the hill..... Oh, and that we find some granite we like for this house we will build soon!!

Be back in a few days!

Prozac, Anyone??

Yesterday was a sad, sad day. I went to lunch with a friend and afterwards I must have been feeling suicidal because I went to try on bathingsuits. I don't know why I do that to myself every year. It is pure torture. You think you might be lookin' a little better than last year and then you go and do something like try on bathing suits. I do know one thing. Looking at myself in some of those bathingsuits in the gigantic walls of mirrors made me realize that B either really loves me or he is getting cataracts. You would think that just trying on the suits would be bad enough. No, not for me, I am a glutton for punishment. I bought not only a bathingsuit, but a bikini. Now, it is not one of those skimpy string things. After birthing 2 children those should be illegal. It has moderate coverage for a 2-piece. I think I got it more for motivation than for anything. You know the commercial for yogurt where the girl hangs up the bikini on her bedroom wall and looks at it every day and by the time Summer comes, she looks great in it? That kind of thing is what I am going for. Except I need to hang it on the fridge or the cabinet where I keep my secret chocolate stash. I know I will never look like I did before I had kids in a swimsuit, but you know I would like to be able to be in a bikini without making people feel ill when they see me. So, we will see how this goes. I will start back to the gym on a regular basis this week. I had been going every other night until my surgery. I have only been back a few times since then. I am going on a cruise in June, so my goal is to be able to wear it for that. 3 months- not a lot of time. Anyway- my architect friend came up with our downstairs floor plan and gave it to me yesterday. We are trying to figure out a way to shave some square footage off of it because right now it is a little monstrous. She was able to put everything we wanted into it, though. She is cool like that. Oh, well- off to get the girls ready to go to Gattitown and meet up with A's friend from last year. I will take headache meds before I go.... Oh Happy Birthday to Kristen- babysitter of the year, and Happy Birthday to The Rhino- he is 4 today, truly my bestest bosom buddy...... :)

The Story Behind The Music...

So I have this new playlist and I know I said I would tell the story behind why I chose these particular songs. (Some of them are on there just because I like them.) I am a very musically oriented person. In saying that, I mean, I use music to help me through things and I am very interested in different types of music- I have always held music really close to my heart. It has been a big part of my life. So, I tend to associate things in my life with certain songs. Okay- here are a few explanations for some of the songs.... Joy To The World and Lay Down Sally were my absolute favorite songs when I was little.,. I can remember being very little and being in the bathtub in our single-wide trailor and singing both of these songs. I named everything Sally after that song. (My dolls and even our male cat.) I wanted my baby sister's name to be Sally, but my parents didn't go for it. I didn't listen to kids music growing up. My parents were children of the late 60's/ early 70's and they were a bit hippie'ish. My lullaby was Stairway to Heaven. (No kidding.) The songs Fighter and Survivor just describe a big part of my personality. I was a bit of a thug when I was a teenager and to this day I am very stubborn and hot-headed and I am not one to give up- sometimes that is good and sometimes it is bad. The songs I'm Not Who I Was and Legacy are ones that I would like to say would describe my life, now. (Most of the time, anyway....) Then there's Praise You In This Storm, He Reigns and Voice Of Truth. Those 3 helped get me through a very difficult time with my last church. They are very healing and inspirational songs for me. Heartache Tonight was the song my college roomate and I would play when we were getting ready to go out on the week-ends. We would play it while we were putting on our make-up and fixing our hair. (I know, a bit of an arrogant song, but it was fun.) The other girls on our dorm hall would hear it and come running to our room wanting to know where we were going that night. The songs Clocks and Home I just love because the music and the words are filled with emotion and I can just feel what the artist is trying to convey with those particular songs. She's Got A Way- well Billy Joel is one of my all-time favs, and I just think that is one of the most romantic songs ever written for a woman. I am not a soft, romantic type, but I would have never left Billy if he wrote that song for me.... In My Daughters Eyes and Set Adrift On Memory Bliss- well, those are kind of self-explanatory. Tiger Rag- duh. I am a Clemson fanatic. I am not ashamed of it. I think that covers it for the ones that have particular special meaning for me. If I tried to put all the songs I have ever attached myself to on here, there would not be enough room for them. I know for people who don't associate with music like I do, this may seem strange. But for those who do, they understand. So, there you go, the story behind the music. I guess it also says a lot about who I am. Maybe one day I could write some songs about something. Nah.....

Easter Pictures!!

Wow, can you believe it? I actually got the Easter pics up and it's not 3 months later!! I made B sit down and show me how to get the pics off my camera. He actually did it, so who knows if I can do it myself next time. I have a tough time with anything mechanical.... This morning one of the girls friends is coming over to play. Her mom was going to bring her, but now her dad is bringing her because her mom had a day at the spa scheduled. Then the dad tells me he is going to stay and bring his ATV and ride the kids around on it and stuff. I was just not prepared to "entertain" anybody today. I was pretty much planning on letting the kids play and doing whatever I needed to do while they were playing. Yesterday was a bust, because Annelise decided she wanted to stay in her PJ's all day and watch TV. Hey, it's her Spring Break, so I didn't argue. We were going to go to the science center, but I found out it was closed to allow all the daycares on Spring Break to come in. Yesterday evening A and E finally decided to play outside while B did yardwork, and E buried A in the sandbox, hair and all, and they didn't tell us until they had already gone upstairs and laid in our bed for an hour or so. When we went to bed, we may as well have been sleeping on the beach. So, hopefully today will be a little more "structured"- even though I am not looking forward to having another adult here to entertain. Aunt Libby said she wanted to have them for a night or 2 this week, but I haven't heard from her. Tonight is the only night they can spend with her because we have plans Thursday afternoon, then Thursday night we leave for the lake. I am debating on whether to call her and tell her or let her find out when she calls. If I call her it will seem like I am pushing them on her, but if I don't she will be mad when she calls for them and I tell her they can't come.... I may let Annelise call, that would solve everything. Oh, well- hopefully this morning will go by smoothly and this afternoon will be quiet and calm. (Yeah right.) I am trying to find the recipe book that has the cake I wanted to make with the girls in it. I thought that would be a fun thing to do this afternoon. It's chocolate with a caramel layer in the middle and some other good stuff in it. Who knows where the book is....... One day I will be organized again.

Planning for The Week

This picture is from last year. Annabelle was only a couple of months old, and Willie, being the caretaker that he is, was trying to bathe her. She apparantly didn't like it.... It was taken at the lakehouse, which explains the 1980's furniture and decor you may see. Anyway- I love this picture- it looks like he is trying to eat her. Now they are almost the same size, so he can't boss her around anymore. I really would love to post some pics from Easter and this week-end, but B still hasn't taught me how to do that, yet. I know how to get them from the computer to this, but not directly from my camera. He has been reorganizing the front yard and has been working very hard on that, so he has not had time to teach me about the camera this week-end, but maybe he can spare some time tonight. I am so computer-retarded. I thought we would get to sleep in today, but a wonderful backyard neighbor decided that 7 a.m. was a great time to start banging some pole into the ground. It sounded like a gong or something. I was sooo ill. I know his neighbors truly appreciated it, too. I mean, come on, can you not wait another couple of hours to do that kind of stuff?? Oh, well- Emmaline and I made the best of it and had some snuggle time in my bed watching TV. I made chocolate chip banana bread last night, so we could have something not out of a box for breakfast. Aunt Libby wants to come get them to spend the night sometime in the next couple of days. I hope to take them to the local Science Center and also to see the movie "Horton Hears a Who" one day. Annelise is meeting up with her best friend from school last year on Thursday- she hasn't seen her since last school year. It is supposed to be pretty that day, so I think I will suggest a picnic at the playground. I got sooo much cleaning up done this week-end. We had Easter with my family on Saturday night, so yesterday, we went to lunch with our friends family and came home and worked our hineys off until dark-thirty. I still have a lot to do, so I am going to try to get it done while the girls are with Aunt Libby. I think with some focus and some coffee, I may get a lot accomplished. Then Thursday, when B gets home from work, we will head to the lake for a couple of nights and get the Spring Cleaning done there. We are also going to go to the granite company there, since that is where the "headquarters" are and they have a much larger selection there. Before I know it, this week will be gone. Well- maybe tommorrow I will have some Easter pics up here. If not, we will continue to revisit last year!!

It's Lookin Like Spring!

Well, Spring has started to show it's pretty face around here. The jonquils and hyacinths and tulip tree are all blooming. The irises and lilies have begun to peek through the ground and the bleeding hearts are all up and cute-looking. We bought this house and 8 acres (now 5.5 acres...) in the winter. We noticed the next Spring that all kinds of flowers started poking up everywhere. The weirdest places, even. The people who we bought from were the original owners and they lived here for 38 years. They just put flowers wherever they landed, I think. We have decided that we love the flowers so much, we are going to dig most of them up and take them with us. Some of the irises are just huge and they are so pretty. We actually got some rooted trees from our tulip tree in the backyard and they survived, so we will be able to plant those on the new lot. When my new camera gets charged I will post a pic of it. The pics above are of A and E last Spring. I love those pics of them. So cute. Spring is my favorite season with Fall at a close second. Today we went to Lowe's and Home Depot and got some flowers for the front porch urns and also new shrubs for the front of the house. We chose 5-gallon gardenias. I love the smell of the flowers and they are nice and green all year-round. We will start re-doing the front yard this week-end, not a small task, but it will look great when we are done. Then after we do that, on to the back yard and then we will be done with this house and will be ready to put it on the market when we move. The girls have been a little wild today- they did not enjoy the trip to look at plants. I think they are tired and just ill. I kept one of my friend's daughters this morning (5 years old) and the 3 of them played outside all morning and now they are wiped out. Tonight we will maybe watch a movie together and just hit the sack early. I am making a yummy orange salad tonight for my mom's Easter dinner tommorrow and I will make a sweet potato casserole tommorrow to take, too. Marshmallows and all on top. My parents live about 45 minutes away, so to try to make it out there after church in time for lunch would be hectic, so we are celebrating tommorrow. I know I am going to eat way too much and then have to spend an extra 3 hours on the treadmill..... Then Sunday we will just be able to hang out here and hide eggs and relax. A and E have been talking about Easter and what it means and they get really excited when they talk about how Jesus was dead and then He was alive. I am glad that the meaning doesn't get covered by all the egg hunts and candy. I am so thankful for what Easter means. God truly does love us so much. Happy Easter everybody!!

This Was a Good One

Wow, what a great day it has been! Emmaline and I dropped Annelise off at school and since we had to be back there by 9:45 to hide Easter eggs, we went and shopped for a while. (I know, I am supposed to be on shopping time-out.....) We went to Barnes and Noble and I had to get a Honey Latte- you know it only made sense because I was already there and all. Then I read a few books to E and she just loved that. I have been in love with books since I was very small. My grandfather spent all his time reading to me when I was little, and in fact, he taught me to read by the time I was 3. I have read everything I can get my hands on since then. E seems to have inherited a little bit of that. We read Seek and Find Dora, The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches, and one of my all-time favs, Puff The Magic Dragon. I let her select a book for a prize to take home and she chose Noisy Nora. It looks cute, so I look forward to reading that to her. I saw the new Fancy Nancy book and knew I had to take that to Annelise. I swear you could substitute Annelise's name everywhere in the book for Fancy Nancy and it would be totally appropriate. I also found a B & N gift card in my purse and it was still worth the whole amount- so it turned out to be a really good trip. Then we went to the school store to get some things to do the bulletin board for A's class next month. I found the cutest things and E was perfect in there. She helped me carry stuff and pick things out. We went to the school and I hid eggs and watched while A and her class found them all and the whole time E was absolutely awesome. She sat on a bench and cheered for her sister and never whined that she did not get to do it too. A then shared some of her findings with her, without being asked. Then we went to Target and got all kinds of stuff that was on clearance (including some tooth fairy prizes because that supply was gone at home due to the recent losses....) A friend from school called and invited us to eat lunch with her and her son while we were there. We decided on Mexican and met up with them and the kids were all so good. E actually ate almost every bite of food without being told and without moving around in her chair or acting up. (That was a total miracle.....) They didn't even argue in the car on the way home. This afternoon they have been a little ill, but considering there has been no nap- they have been pretty good. Spring Break has officially sprung, and so far it has been great. Tommorrow we are going out to the lots to meet up with some tree specialists to look at our big oak tree (see lot pics in a previous post). We are also going to the plant nursery to get ideas for what to do with our front yard here. The girls love to go play on the lot and look at plants, so that should go well. My new camera came today, so I should be able to post pics of the girls again, soon. I have missed being able to take digital pictures! I bought the movie Enchanted at Target- for those of you who have not seen it, B and I both loved it. It was hilarious. I added some new songs to the playlist here, some time I will have to tell the story behind some of them. Oh, well- gotta go figure out what to fix for supper. Looks like fast and easy will be the way it goes tonight!!

Ah Hah!

I have been trying to figure out how to get a playlist on my blog for a while, now. It really was so much more simple than I thought it would be. Most of the songs on there are just ones that are inspirational to me or mean something to me. A couple others are there because they show my personality. I am sure I will be changing them and adding to and taking away as I go along. It is much different from my MP3 player list, which includes mostly songs I like to work out to. (Which I am getting back to this week-end hopefully....) I wanted this list of songs to be more "meaningful"and "feel good", so we will see how it goes. I love Wednesdays because I don't have to cook supper and the church food is sooo good. Even if we did not end up at this church, I may still go eat there on Wed. nights.... Annelise lost another tooth last night. She is truly looking like the Polident poster child. One more day of school and Spring Break begins. We have a few small things planned that the girls have been wanting to do, but really we are just going to play it by ear. Tommorrow is Annelise's Easter party and egg hunt at school. I am helping to hide the eggs and then I will attend the party. She gets so upset if someone else's mom is there and I am not. Emmaline could care less, but Annelise really wants me to be there. I remember being jealous of other kids in elementary school when their moms were at class events and mine wasn't. But, my mom had to work full time and that is the way it was. I understood that on some level, I just didn't like it. But Annelise will absolutely fall apart if I am not there. So, I will be Easter partying tommorrow morning. Then we'll go home and after I work, Spring Break officially starts. I hope they will sleep in a few days so I can catch up on some Z's. I have been in a baking mood lately, so I think one day we will try a few new cake recipes that I found and test those. I know, for all my full-time mom friends, please don't hate me.... There are pros and cons to being at home with your kids. I may get to sleep in a few days, but my sanity will be tested by the end of the day! Oh, well, enjoy my playlist. Let me know if you are a regular reader and you have a "request" for it. I may consider it!

More House Previews....

Okay, now y'all know I am not good at organizing the pictures on my blog. I have almost no computer skills. So, I'll do the best I can with this to explain what is what. OK- the master bathroom is going to be a muted wedgewood blue- the stuff that goes in it includes the chrome 3- light fixture at the top, the chocolate brown accented shower curtain and the fringe towels. The counters in there will be marble, the fixtures are old-timey looking and are chrome. The guest bathroom upstairs will have vintage-looking pewter fixtures, and the 2-light fixture at the top, the plaid towels, the stripe shower curtain, and the wooden and stainless pieces go with that. I wanted to make it a little more masculine. I think the walls will be tan in there. The white chandelier will go in Princess Annelise's "fancy" bedroom, and the retro chandelier with the Swarovski crystals will be in Emmaline's room (remember she has the polka-dot comforter). I love love love the light for Emmaline's room- but Brian had to be convinced. She just tends to pick out retro stuff with a modern flair to it, so I thought she would love this light fixture. Let me know what you think!! Every time I pick something out I feel relief creep in. The sunroom is going to be the hardest to figure out, I think. But, at least the rest of the house is coming together. And my friend Nat, the architect, is steadily working on the plans. I am going to have to have her over for a "special" housewarming party after it is built that may or may not include Lifetime movies, take-out, and lots of junk food. Anyway- on to get Annelise from school. Emmaline is going to pitch a fit because we have to leave and she is playing "puter" games. (Quite the computer addict, that little one has become...)

Back To Reality

The beach was great and much-needed. I think we needed that to re-connect as a family and it was good for us. It was good for me and B too. I spent some time thinking about when we first met and why I fell in love with him and it was good to remind myself of all of that, and to see how far we have come since then. The girls had their fill of quality time with us and while B stayed with the Burnes Scholar group and chatted into the wee hours at night, I would come back to the condo, put the girls to bed and just have "me" time. We had an oceanfront condo and even though the condo itself left much to be desired (gross blue carpet with mysterious stains and peeling popcorn ceilings...) the view was great. We were on the first floor , so on the balcony it was almost like you were sitting right on the beach. We had no air during the entire stay (even after multiple calls to fix it) , so at night, I would open up the doors to the beach while I watched TV- and even though I looked like a poodle after about an hour-it was nice. The weather was great- we played on the beach in shorts and T-shirts and the girls flew kites and found a ton of shark teeth. The tornado weather didn't come until late Saturday night, so we got lucky there, too. We went to the outlets on Friday morning (much to the girls dismay) and my favorite store, Hartstrings, was having an 80% off sale for all the winter stuff- plus I had an addtl 25% off coupon. We racked up there and at the Children's Place outlet and it is safe to say that both of the girls have their complete winter wardrobes. To add to the credit card bills, Kohl's sent me a 30% off my entire purchase coupon and I went and did some major damage with that today. I have more to do tonight online, since some of the stuff was out of stock in the store. I did get our master bathroom shower curtain and towels, and also the guest bathroom curtain and towels- I will try to post pics tommorrow. So, I have been in shopping heaven for the past few days and now I have to put myself in time-out for a while from shopping (after tonight, of course). Next week is the girls Spring Break, and I am so excited that I can sleep in for a while and not worry about getting up and getting going right off the bat. They are pretty pumped about it, too. I miss the beach, we did not have a lot of time there, so next year we plan to stay a couple of extra days. It is a long drive just for a few nights stay. Oh well, I am supposed to be working, so I need to get to that. Then I am going to have to figure out where to put all these things I bought!

Beach Bound

Well, tommorrow we leave for the beach to go to Super Weekend. I always look forward to seeing everyone there and I know Brian enjoys it. The girls also have made friends that they play with every year, so I hope everyone makes it there. Annelise lost another tooth last night, so she cannot wait to show all the kids at Super Weekend. She thinks she is big stuff. Today has just been wild. I went to Barnes and Noble this morning to buy "vacation surprises" for the girls. (AKA- new stuff to occupy them on the trip.) They had some cool holographic puzzles and another type of snap-together puzzle that I bought one of, too. I got 2 things for them to share and I also got some new coloring books. (And to reward myself for choosing such awesome surprises, I got the new Honey Latte at their cafe- yum and yum- it was heavenly.) We are supposed to leave tommorrow after lunch and I have about 2 million things to do before then. I did manage to get the girls bathed and signed up for soccer today. Tommorrow I have to take the car and get the oil changed and tires rotated before the trip, and at some point I need to pack. I debated on not going to church tonight, but I think I need to- if for nothing else, just to sit and absorb for a while. (Not to mention the great Wednesday night suppers....) The braces are on and they are annoying, but not too painful. I look ridiculous. Sort of like a 14-year old who hasn't aged well. I am on a soft diet instead of liquid, which is good, but it takes me about 10 minutes to chew up one bite. I am about to eat lunch- so I have a bowl of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch soaking in milk right now. (Hate mushy cereal, but don't really have a choice.) Tonight I will come home, get the girls in bed and watch Idol with B while I fold about 4 loads of laundry. I was watching it last night and one of the songs just stuck in my head. I have always loved the song "Let It Be", but never really payed attention to the lyrics. I decided that I need to apply those lyrics into my life to help with my temper and some of my stresses. Sometimes things happen that I just cannot control, and it is just best to let them go. Such a simple statement, but so hard to do for someone like me who likes to "fix" things. The simplicity of the song just struck me last night and it was like a lightbulb went on inside my head and I realized that to let some things be as they are is exactly what I needed to do. So, I am trying to put it into practice and I already feel better about some things that have been on my mind. Anyway- since I really should be doing things to get ready for the beach instead of typing on my blog, I guess that is all for now!

Woo-Hoo!

Let me go ahead and warn you that this is kind of a sad and pathetic post. It is really depressing to see the things that excite me, now. But I have to share anyway, because something happened that has not happened in years. Something I used to despise, but this time I was elated about it. I was in a parking lot in a huge shopping center the other day. And I got hollered at. (Yes," hollered" is the correct term for this type of thing in the South.) By construction workers. Now that used to be a regular thing back when I was a size 2 and had no children and looked all youthful and stuff. But since those days have long passed, it really hasn't happened. Granted, this particular group of workers may have been especially desperate for a woman's attention, but still it made me feel good in a sad , lame sort of way. I just ignored them and tried to look disgusted and disinterested, but inside I was thinking- "Well, maybe I've still got it." Sad, I know, but you know at this age and this stage, you take what you can get. I just had to share that. Tommorrow I am getting braces. All I will need after that is some acne and some fatter cheeks and I can re-live middle school......
Annelise has got 4 more loose teeth. I told Brian I am going to get her some dentures, because the poor child won't be able to eat at all if she loses them anytime soon. She already lost 4, and only one has started growing back. People are going to think she is my adopted child from Gaffney. My mother suggested letting her stick Chicklet gum in the holes like on Dennis The Menace. That just gave Annelise unnecessary ideas. Emmaline is going to spend the night with Aunt Libby tonight so I can go to the orthodontist tommorrow, so Annelise is our only child tonight. We are taking her to Kyoto Myabi's for dinner and meeting my parents there. That is her favorite place, but we can only take her when Emmaline is not here, since Emmaline proceeded to vomit in her plate last time, in front of the chef and all other 5 people at our table. We got the message that she did not care for that restaurant, or that type of food. (She likes to make herself clear.) So, that should be fun. I am going to pig out since it will be my last night of solid food for the next 2 weeks. I will be on a liquid diet for a while after my braces because I won't be able to bite down all the way. I know, you are all jealous... Anyway- at least I will be able to eat by the time we go on our cruise. (90-something more days!) My aunt let me know that she and my cousin will be able to come and stay with the girls at our house while we are gone. That is great, because the girls are going to love being with them. I used to spend a couple weeks in the Summer with her and I always loved it. She is very imaginative and loves children, so I know they are in for a treat. Oh, well- guess that is all the updating for now. Off to find something on my mile list of things to do that can be done before I have to go get the girls from school.

Not Bad, Not Bad At All....

This past week, that is. It has been a pretty good one if I do say so myself. Except for Brian being quite the snapdragon due to his anxiety about the boards, and the fact that the girls have been acting like they are auditioning for the show "Hellraiser", it has been ok. When Brian gets snappy, I just picture him in an elf costume while he is ranting and raving and it keeps me from yelling back. I'm sure he wonders why I laugh sometimes when he is just blowing up. It's pretty funny, you should try it with your husband.... But the girls are wearing on my nerves. Having to deal with them while B has been studying has been torture. The girls and I had lunch today with a friend and her little girl- and I think it took about 5 years off of my life. It was terrible. But- like I said, the rest of the week has been great. Ann Taylor Loft (one of my fave stores for clothes) was having a deal where for every $50.00 you spent you got 2 $25.00 gift cards! Well, I ended up with 18 gift cards and by the time it's done I will have one of everything in the store.... But I love the new clothes. I also did not have to cook 2 nights this week because of Wed. night suppers at church and then last night we got dinner at Annelise's basketball banquet- which was so cool. The entertainer was one of the Harlem Globetrotters. Let me tell ya- white boy had some smooth moves. He put on a show that the kids and adults loved and then he gave his testimony and told the kids how much God loves them and how important it was to have God in their lives. I think it was good for them to see someone they considered "cool" to be talking about that. So, overall I think this week has been good. To add to my good fortune, Aunt Libby called and wants to come get the girls tommorrow and let them spend the night and keep them all day Sunday. Wow! Brian and I are going to the Home and Garden Show to see what kind of cool stuff they might have for the new house. Last year we went to it and took the girls- not a good idea. So, it should be nice and peaceful this time. I also decided that I was going to start looking into getting my grief counseling certification online soon. I have been talking about it for a while and now I think I am ready to do it. That was part of my job as a peds oncology nurse that really made me feel like I was helping people , so I am going to get certified and see where it takes me. Brian wants me to flip houses instead, but I told him I could do that for fun on the side- in addition to a real job. Oh, well- off to do the laundry that I have been putting off all week. It is spilling out of all the hampers, so I guess I can't deny it any longer.......

Blah, Blah, Blah...

Brian is taking his boards (again) this Friday. Yes- it has been a stressful week in this house. At least he only has to take them every few years. He has about 15 DVD's that are all review for the boards, and they are all about 3 hours each. So, my job this week and most of last week was to keep the girls quiet and away from him while he is watching these DVDs. Much to my dismay, he has decided that he could more easily watch them after the girls go to bed-which is normally our TV-watching together time. Anyone who knows him knows that he is very needy and hates to be alone. (Totally opposite of me.) So, lucky for me- after we watched Idol tonight (yes, I love David Archewhatever, but I hope Michael Johns stays on for a while- I have a crush. Something to do with his accent, and I've always had a weak spot for tennis players.....) Anyway- after Idol, Brian decided to watch the pediatric dermatology review DVD. Goody for me that he can't be alone and begged for me to sit on the couch and "play on the computer" while he watches it. I swear, these DVD's have to be the most boring things I have listened to since my Chemistry teacher at Clemson. I want to cry. If I had to watch all of these, I would be on the news for going crazy and sniper shooting people from a bell tower somewhere afterwards. I try to watch some of them and after a few minutes I find myself wondering what I am going to do with my hair tommorrow or thinking of where I misplaced my good lipstick. Or, like a couple of nights ago, I wake myself up snoring or jumping in my sleep. This is complete torture! Poor Brian, he is so nervous about taking the boards, too. I truly would say that he is one of the most knowledgeable doctors I have ever met. Not just because I married him- he really knows an amazing amount of stuff. (Granted- he has the common sense of a goat, but you can't have everything....) So, I will be glad when Friday afternoon comes. His friends have decided to be nice and they called tonight and said they wanted to take him out Friday night to celebrate the boards being over. (They are such girls.) Oh, well- only a couple more days until then. Maybe we will both survive........

June Cleaver I Ain't

So we have been visiting different Sunday School classes at the church we have been going to. There are many in our age group so we have been going around to each one with our friends and trying to find one that we feel like we "fit" into really well. It hasn't happened so far, but this past Sunday we thought we had finally found one that would be a contender. The teacher was great and well-educated. The people in the class were almost all our age with kids. The class wasn't too big or too small. We started to feel pretty good about it..... Anyway, one of the guys in the class (who just happened to go to school with Brian) invited our family to eat lunch with their family out to a restaurant. We were kind of put on the spot and didn't have plans, so we agreed to go. Got to the restaurant and found that there were also 3 other families from the class that they had invited. No big deal. I can talk to a wall and I am not what one would call shy, so I was cool with it. All the kids sat at one end of the table, the women sat at the other end and the men in the middle. About 5 minutes into the conversation, the other 3 women were already trying to convince me to home school my children. Okay, for those who know me you know how hysterical that is. I calmly explained to them that I had zero patience and also a terrible temper and that my children would be the dumbest children on the planet if I attempted to home school them. They all stated that they too had said the same thing just a short while ago and that if I would just be open to it, God would show me that I could do it. (Let me remind you that my children already go to private Christian school for goodness sakes....) I just stared at them. One woman then piped up and said that she knew it was meant to be when her husband was the one to bring it up and she never thought he would have been in favor of it before. I told her that I could surely put all their concerns to rest then, because my husband had stated that even if I ever wanted to home school he would not let me. They looked at me like I was from outer space. (And that wasn't the only time during lunch that I got that look.) After a while, I was tempted to take one of them into the bathroom and check their head for the screwplate that led to the wiring that was installed when they became Stepford Wives. They were in shock that I desperately want to go back to work outside of the home. They could not believe that I would rather work with teens than children. I was getting slightly uncomfortable and really anxious to leave. I heard the men talking about college basketball and sooo wanted to ask if anyone knew the final score of the BC/UNC game, but I thought if I asked such a question that the women may assume I was a lesbian. The final straw was when the men stated that they have a "guy's night out" once a month and it is nice because it gives the women a "real break" because they wait until the kids have been put to bed to leave. I told Brian in the car that I would take a break whenever I thought I needed one, regardless of what time it was, thank you very much. I asked the women what they do on their "girls night out" that they also take once a month and they said the last one was when they went to someone's house and she actually made her pasta from scratch and she made a lasagna and they all shrieked and laughed about how great it was. (Alrighty then....) Not exactly my idea of a good time. There are a few things I can pretty much guarantee: I will never again drive a mini-van, I will never home school my children, I will never have a "soccer mom" bumper sticker on my car, I will never wear "mom jeans" and I will never ever let this group of women get me alone somewhere, lest they take me to the workshop where their real bodies are being held and transform me into what they are. I am not what one would think of as a typical mom. I sometimes wish I could be, but that is just not the way I was made. I love my kids and I spend lots of quality time with them and they are very emotionally and mentally stable. It works for us, and I cannot change so I have just accepted the way I am. That being said, I told my husband that if this class is the one everyone likes, then I can deal with it. I can socialize with these people every now and then, and I can surely survive in a Sunday School class with them. I do have access to narcotics......