It's Thursday Already?

This week has gotten away from me. I've been busy busy. I get my car back tomorrow morning, but I have to ask the dealership now about the mass Toyota recall. They're recalling all the 2008-10 Sequoias because the gas pedal STICKS. Scary. Apparently there were a TON of Toyota cars recalled because of the same problem. On the link you can see the complete list.

Today is full--IEP at the school for one of my Things, and a 5th grade band concert (just shoot me now) AND basketball practice. Tomorrow my morning is taken up with the school spelling bee, because both Things One and Two won their class spelling bees and they are now in the school bee. (Although why they're pitting 5th graders against 8th graders is a little beyond me. I mean, three years is a BIG difference!) Saturday is busy with haircuts and getting Hubby ready for his trip to New York. He'll be gone all next week. But I've checked my schedule and I don't have to try and be in two places at once that I can tell, so I'm ok.

I'm having some major stress in my life right now (nothing I can talk about here) and it's beginning to take its toll on me. Hopefully all will be resolved soon and I won't have to deal with it, but for now, it kinda sucks. In short, I'm a mess. I just need to take things one day at a time.

It's the old "how do you eat an elephant?" question--and the answer is the same. One. Bite. At. A. Time.

Ooooooohhhhhh....Aaaaahhhhh.....

Is this really what the new Apple Tablet will look like??? Kinda fun to wonder...

*UPDATE* It is EXACTLY how it looks. I think, other than looking like an ipod Touch on steroids, it's very pretty...

The Sun is Out!!!

It's like, THREE stinking degrees out, but at least the sun coming into the windows is warm. The back of our first floor is a lot of windows, and it's nice and toasty right now. I'll sit on the sofa sometimes in front of them, just soaking up the sun. Especially since it's been overcast the past few days. Sun really makes a difference here!

*Note to Self* Always drink your orange juice BEFORE eating your cereal, unless you like sour orange juice...

ANYWAY, yesterday was a little crazy, but ended up okay since I convinced Hubby to come home from work by 7:45 so he could pick up Thing Two from basketball, seeing as I was in another TOWN with Things One, Three and Four, attending YW and Pack Meeting. Thing Four, by the way, was a bit of a turkey during the Pack meeting. Families are always encouraged to attend Cub Scout Pack meetings, but he was being loud and obnoxious. Finally I got him to quiet down and watch an episode of "Shaun the Sheep" on my ipod Touch. That bought us five minutes of quiet. Whew!

Having a two/nearly-three-year old is hard work! I'd forgotten how at this age they still don't get the whole "be quiet and still" thing. HA HA.

;-)

I'm enjoying my ten minutes of quiet while Thing Four eats his waffles. He asked for them specifically this morning. Why not? But I'm having Grape Nuts. Mmmmm....

Had to take the car into the body shop early this morning. They'll have it for four days, but when I get it back, no dents! I am driving a NON SUV and it feels like I'm scraping the ground. I'm just used to being in an "high up" car, I guess. But I can drive anything for four days.

Thing Four (who is two) is becoming so articulate, now. He and I have full-blown discussions about things, and it's fun to see his perspective and how he views life. And I can't get away with much any more. He always tells the truth! The other day I was mortified:

Hubby: So, what did you do today?

Thing Four: I rode in the car with no shoes on.

Me, piping in: It was for just running the kids down the street to school, and he had SOCKS on!!!

Hubby: (Chuckling) Okay. What did you have for lunch?

Thing Four: Grilled cheese.

Hubby: What did you have for dinner?

Thing Four: Grilled cheese!!!

Hubby: Again?

Thing Four: Yes!!!

*cue me grumbling*

In my defense, it was ONE day, he had eaten grilled cheese for lunch, but at dinner time he refused to eat what I'd cooked, and told me he wanted grilled cheese over and over and over and over and over and OVER--and I finally gave in.

Never again. Guess I can't get away with much, any more! Oh well.

Lots to do today. Guess I'd better get going.

Clowns Scare the #&*!! Out of Me!

And Walmart knows it. Needless to say, I died laughing!!!

Calmness...For Now...

I feel like I haven't blogged in eons. At least it feels that way.

I am feeling quite calm today. Last week was craziness. This week is just...busy. Stuff to get done. The kids are home from school today, and I need to shoot Thing Two off to basketball practice in an hour and run some errands. We're going to do "brunch" when I get back, because everyone is not super hungry for breakfast and I need to pick up some toaster waffles because all of us are wanting them for some reason. (I know, I KNOW, I have a belgian waffle maker and everything but for some reason, toaster waffles (Eggo of course) are just...yummier to us.)

Thing Three had pneumonia all last week (which was a big part of my stress) but they injected antibiotics into him and he's been on "super" antibiotics since then. He's fine now, but he has a cruddy cough. I'll take it. I don't want to end up in the hospital again with him. Poor guy. Hubby and I are beginning to wonder if this is something we need to worry about being "recurring?" A question for the pulmonologist, for sure.

Not much else to blog about, so I'd better get going!

I'm In Trouble.

Question: What do you do when you need to buy an outfit for a very nice dinner--complete with shoes?

Oh, and you have a TWO hour window to find said outfit.

Oh, and you have a size eleven foot and all the local department stores only carry up to size TEN in the cute shoes and the closest Nordstrom is in the next STATE?

You cry.

Now before I get any snarky comments about people losing everything in Haiti, please remember that life does very much go on in other parts of the world and as of right now I am having a stress attack over this "fabulous outfit" I'm supposed to find. In. Two. Hours.

But you can still donate to the relief effort for Haiti here.

Tough.

As a conservative Republican, Hubby and I were cheering last night over Brown's win. To us it's historic. It's thrilling. A message has been sent.

It's tough though. On the one hand, Hubby gets great insurance through his company, and we are very fortunate to have it. We think Obamacare is a big convoluted mess, and we don't want our taxes to go up.

On the other hand, I have friends without insurance who are devastated by this election. They feel that now there may be no hope. It's tough. I feel there should be healthcare reform, just not what is currently being shoved down our throats.

Like I said, its a tough issue. I don't normally get political on the blog, but last night's elation (coupled with this morning's sorrow over the earthquake that hit Haiti, AGAIN) has made me throw my usual rules to the wind. Politics are such a hot-button right now. There are a lot of angry Americans, and a lot of relieved/elated Americans. I'm sad it has to be this way.

As for Haiti, if you can spare even ten dollars, it would help out. You can donate here, and here through American Red Cross and DirectRelief.

Off I go into the fray...

Give Me An S...Give Me a T...Give Me an R...

STRESS. I have to call my Internet provider, ever since we had our last lightning storm, my modem has started this high-pitched hissing sound, and my computer drops without warning, now. ANNOYING.

And Thing Three is sick...AGAIN. I just kept him home from school with a fever a week ago, Saturday he started coughing and Sunday morning he had a fever. He still has the fever, so I'm keeping him home. I have no idea what is up with him.

I'm stressed out, I feel like I have very little time to accomplish things. And I'm currently on hold. I LOATHE being on hold. Especially when the wait time is long. I guess I'm particularly miffed because I had the speaker phone on, and after a ten+ minute wait, I finally got a hold of someone, and I accidentally hung up on them trying to switch to regular phone. *cue Wilhelm Scream*

SO, about 8 minutes later, I just got a hold of someone, and she had to transfer me, and they're telling me my wait time exceeds 20 minutes. TWENTY FREAKING MINUTES. UGH. I have STUFF TO DO!!! I AM ON A NARROW TIME LINE!!! I HATE MY LIFE!!!!

*Ahem.* Okay, sorry, I am just having one of those mornings.

Life is funny. You're going along, you think you've got everything right where you want it, and then CRASH BANG BOOM things come crashing down around your ears, and your stress level gets catapulted to Level OhmygoshI'mgoingtostabmyeyesout. It's not fun. I'm not currently enjoying this particular stress level. But if I went and sat in a corner and stared into space, it might freak my kids out, so I have to buck up and get through it.

Cross your fingers for my mental state.

Is It Friday Already???

An odd phenomenon: Whenever Hubby travels, the week seems to FLY by! (Maybe because we're having so much fun, heh heh!) But seriously, this week cruised by. Frankly, it got away from me.

Okay, I just sat and stared at the computer screen for like, THREE minutes straight. I have nothing to report. Nothing to type about (that I dare ;-) and I just realized that is so sad!!! I guess if I could have a great day, my next day's post would go like this:

Had a great day yesterday. After sitting under a tree admiring the Tuscan countryside and reading my historical romance novel for four hours in the buttery breeze, went into the local market and ran into a vacationing J.J. Abrams, whose wife loves my novels. Talked about making one into a movie. Have his business card...

Then came home to the villa where Chef Giancarlo had prepared an excellent dinner--sat on the veranda with Hubby and the kids and dined by candlelight, listening to the neighbors practice their mandolin music and enjoyed the sunset...

YEAH. BLARF. Wouldn't THAT be awesome!!!

Anyway, since that is NOT my life, and I spent most of yesterday chasing after two energetic two-year olds and playing "castle" and reading books and building blocks and wiping butts and noses, I guess it seems fun to "daydream" a little. Especially since I've had to turn off the TV, because my heart is breaking over what is going on in Haiti. I guess I should just shut up, right?

Have a happy weekend, everyone!

The Ratatouille Car

So my car has a new name. Thing Four has dubbed it the "Ratatouille Car." Because whenever we drive somewhere he watches the movie "Ratatouille" in it. Yesterday I was telling him we were getting a new car (rental) for a few days and he looked at me and said "but I want the Ratatouille Car!"
Too cute. And of course I had an absurd idea pop into my head for a personalized license plate:

RATA2EE

Thoughts?

Hmmmmmm.....

Today is a half day. My kids were hard to get up. We've had this weird fever thing happening in our house--I kept Thing Three home from school on Thursday last week with a fever and a headache. The next day he was fine. Yesterday morning, Thing Two had the fever and headache, so I kept him home. Today, he's at school, feeling fine.

Guess who came home from school last night with a fever and a headache? Thing One. Weird. It's like this 24-hour thing is attacking them, but they're fine the next day. So far so good on Thing Four--which is a relief. But I'm watching a friend's daughter tomorrow while she goes into the hospital to have her baby, so I'm spraying and wiping everything down, just to be safe. We'll probably spend the day outside the house anyway. There's a jumping castle place down the street from my house, and other fun places to go.

I'm having a stressful week. Personal stress has added to my own stress of expectation--of myself. I'm always hard on myself at the beginning of each year. Human nature, I suppose. I look back over the previous year and think about what I accomplished/didn't accomplish, and although I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions (since I never seem to keep them more than a few weeks anyway) I set goals for myself, and take a personal inventory.

Wow, I came up pretty short last year! Granted, I'm a stay-home mom. Until my kids leave the house, they are my #1 priority. I'm going to have unrealized dreams and goals. But after I've raised my kids, and they're on their own, it will be time to focus on what *I* need/want. Until then, I'm always going to come up a little short, or be unable to do a few things I want to do. Which is OK. I made this decision, along with Hubby, to make this my occupation, for now.

So, juggling what I need to do with what I want to do, therein lies the difficulty. Because I'm NOT a juggler. I don't do bouncy balls and plates, or anything like that. I'm good at throwing ONE ball in the air at a time, if you'll pardon the lame analogy. Sometimes I can juggle two for a short time, but then I need to drop one and focus on the main ball.

If that makes sense.

I always get "ansty" when a new year arrives. And we're talking MAJOR Ants-in-the-pants. I want to be able to do more than one thing. I want to be able to do multiple things. I want to be able to JUGGLE it all, and have it all. Without burning out, and without spreading myself too thin.

Juggling for Dummies, anyone?

Basketball. Eeek.

Let me preface this post by saying I love all my children. They are all unique and wonderful. And some of them are athletic, and some of them are...not.

Thing Two is my "cerebral" kid. He's super smart, super creative, and prefers to hang out on the computer or play video games when confronted with the choice of "play outside" or "play inside." He's not very athletic per se, especially compared to his younger brother and older sister.

Imagine my surprise when in November he said he'd signed up for the 5th grade boys basketball team. I was like "Uh, Ok, honey. If you really want to."

I sort of left it at that. He's never been "super" athletically inclined. Okay, who am I kidding. He's just not into sports at all. When our family gathers around the TV to watch Football, he's always whining that he'd rather go play or watch a movie instead.

He's changed in the last few months. He's making an effort to watch sports with us. He even told Hubby he wanted to start "working out." (He's ten.) And he went out for basketball. The first day back to school, he went to practice. Yesterday, he got his uniform. When I picked him up after school, yesterday, I asked him how practice went.

Me: "So, how was it today?"

Him: "Hard."

Me: "Well, Basketball isn't easy. But it gets easier, the more you do it."

Him: "I know. But I was last today."

Me: "What do you mean?"

Him: "We had a running drill and I was 30 seconds behind the rest of the guys."

Me: "Well, that will get easier, too. Remember, you haven't played team sports for a while. The last time you played soccer was three years ago."

Him: "Well, I'm getting better at practice. The coach is helping me."

Me: "Good. How is he helping?"

Him: "Well, he told me to stop dribbling with both hands, and since then, I haven't done it."

Both hands??? Yeah. I didn't know whether to burst out laughing or cry at that comment. I am just so...worried for him! He's determined to stick this out, though, and I am going to be the last person to discourage him. In fact, I'm a little nervous for his first game, because I'll probably cringe the whole way through it, but you know what? I love him, this is something he wants to try, and I'll be danged if I'm going to tell him not to do it. I'm trying to think of some people I can recruit to help him with his basketball skills--Hubby just works too much to help him out. Especially now, since he's traveling and closing out the year.

I just wish it wasn't so dang cold outside. He can't even go out and shoot hoops. We'll have to find an indoor basket somewhere. I even googled "Basketball lessons" the other day to see what I could find. If he really wants to do this, I'm going to get him some help.

Wish me luck.

Among Other Things...it's COLD.

Brrrrrr. That about sums up my weekend. I've lived in Wisconsin for about seven years, collectively (except for a short 10-month stint in Colorado a few years back, wahhh) and I don't think I'll EVER get used to the bitter cold.

Okay, complaint for the day out in the open and done with.

Had a good weekend. Saturday was busy--Hubby was getting ready for his first New York trip of the year. At least he only has one this month. In February I think he has three back-to-back business trips. Yikes.
Anyway, Thing One had a church volleyball tournament in the morning (they won all three games, yay!) and I feel bad, but I wasn't there. She'd spent the night before at a friend's house and gone with them. I will go next week. ;-) I went with hubby to get the boys' haircuts, and then we did a killer weight workout. I honestly think buying the Hoist V5 for our home gym was the best investment, EVER.

Then I went to pick up Thing One (who was beyond tired and sore from all the volleyball and lack of sleep) and told her to soak in the tub, while Hubby and I got ready for our date night. We went shopping at the mall and tried a new Mexican restaurant that just opened recently, and were sorely disappointed. We wanted true "Tex Mex" and got what Hubby calls "Chic Mex." They didn't even have Fajitas on the menu, and Hubby and I LOVE Fajitas! :-(

Oh well, we had a nice night out together and when we got home we brought the kids icecream and they watched a movie while we got caught up on DVR shows. American Idol starts up this week--I've never been interested enough to watch much more than the mortifying beginning shows where they have all the crazies audition, but Hubby and the kids LOVE the show. Good for them. They can watch, and I can WRITE. It's a win-win.

Sunday was nice and quiet, just me and the kids (Hubby was on a plane) and we had 1pm church. Having a "big" breakfast and sleeping in is SO awesome! But of course Thing Four naps until 1pm usually, and we had to be on the road at 12:25. So, his nap had to get cut short. But we survived.

Just got the kids off to school and had breakfast--lots of running around to do today! And my walk-in closet is no longer "walk in." Guess I'd better clean it. Boo.

Winter Wonderland My Eye...

Don't get me wrong. I love snow. I think it's pretty. I love watching it fall, like feathers, and cover everything up, and it's AWESOME.

It's just when the temperature dips, and the snow FREEZES, and you've got me out there, attempting to snowblow my super long driveway, having to hack at it with shovels and breaking my back, I find it...difficult to enjoy.

Yesterday I had to do it while the snow was falling, so Hubby could get up the driveway after work. We got about five inches more, and now I need to do it again, but it's just me and the toddler at home, so I have to wait until he naps, and THEN I'm using my precious "me time" to go outside and freeze my aspergums off for an hour while I snowblow. And I always manage to get a facefull of snow powder, because I'm a klutz.

NOT. FUN.

My internet has been off and on today, but I had the insurance people out here to look at the car and assess the damage for the body shop. I am still SO glad this guy took ownership for ramming our car and left his information, I am VERY thankful that I am not having to foot the bill for the damage and a rental car. They are going to have my car for four days to fix it. But I'm not complaining, because I'm not paying for it. THANK HEAVEN. I am feeling really lucky right now! WHEW again!

Time to get the kiddo down and snowblow! It's COLD, too. In the teens with the wind. So, I will be donning some serious clothes. I want to give a big wet kiss to the guy who invented Under Armour. :-)

It's Friday! Hubby leaves for New York on Sunday, and won't be back until the end of next week. So I've got my work cut out for me. I'm just glad church has moved to 1pm on Sunday instead of 9am--I'm all for having church in the morning, but when you have to get four kids crammed into their church clothes and fed and drive 25 minutes and BE at the church by nine, it can get a little dicey. And now we get to sleep in! Woo!

I'm such a wimp.

Sadness.

I got all the Christmas decorations down yesterday. SAD!!! I played Christmas music while I did it, I guess sort of like a last hurrah. It was quite poignant. I know, I know, get over it. It's just my favorite time of year, and it's so...quick.

It doesn't feel like "a new year" to me, yet. Maybe because I was not in my own town when it happened, and traveling just sort of killed me. That four-hour leg from Vegas to Milwaukee was a bear, even though my kids were well-behaved. (Thing Four was supposed to fall asleep on the plane, but OF COURSE he was wide awake throughout the whole thing, and wanting to be "entertained.") Ugh. Thank heaven for portable DVD players. :-)

So, now everything looks like my blog--plain and boring. And cold. Did I mention cold? Did I mention how much I truly detest the winters here? I guess I can complain because we're only here because Hubby's job is here. Otherwise...well...we wouldn't be here. I am usually one to "make the most of things" but the Wisconsin winters just defeat any happy/positive feelings I have. Nice, huh?

So, to prevent the inevitable Winter Blahs, I am going to keep busy. Plus my kids are in sports--Basketball for Thing Two, and for Things One and Three Volleyball and Indoor Soccer start soon. I'll be running around like usual. That should help keep my mind off the MIND-NUMBING BITTER BRUTAL COLD AND GLOOM. We're in the middle of a storm now. Supposed to get 10 inches by tonight. At least the plows are timely around here.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that someone PLOWED into the side of my brand-new baby at the airport parking lot, while we were blissfully several states away. The passenger side of my Sequoia is dented in, right where the passenger and back doors meet. We were pretty freaked out about it, until we found a teeeeeny business card on the windshield with an apology scribbled on the back.
We were so amazed. The guy could have just taken off, but he left a note, and his insurance is taking care of the damage (which is probably going to be in the thousands). So, that's one less stress. I am just grateful he had a conscience and left a note. WHEW!!!

Gotta get some kids up!

Back to Reality.

Egads we were dead yesterday. We arrived home in the wee hours of the morning, collapsed into bed, and didn't wake up until mid-morning. I let the kids stay home from school, they were beyond tired. Didn't have a thing in the house, so Thing One and I dragged our unshowered selves to the Super Walmart (and ran into Karen and her cutie pie, Summer! Sorry, Karen, if I seemed out of it. I honestly couldn't string two words together!) and stocked up on essentials. And I was really mad because the Walmart in UTAH had these delicious frozen cook-them-yourself tortillas, but OF COURSE the Walmart here didn't have them. Boo. Bad Wisconsin.

Our vacation was good. My Highlights: Hubby and I went nuts at the BYU Bookstore, I got to taste an In N Out burger FINALLY for the first time since we lived in Vegas 14 years ago (the closest thing we have here in Wisconsin is Five Guys--but not the same) and we saw all the movies we'd been wanting to see. LOVED Sherlock Holmes. LOVED Avatar. Could have done without Disney's Princess and the Frog, or whatever it was. I think I have the record for most apps downloaded on my new ipod Touch--I had an old first generation ipod Touch and it stinks compared to my new one--and I love every one of those apps. Had a Spa Day with SIL at the Aveda Salon. And every night the guys (DARN THEM!) would come home with Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Yeah, we don't have those here, either. Wah!!!

Tried new Yoga sequences. Laughed when I fell down...a few times. Boy, do I need to work on my balance. Survived two hours at a Jumpy Castle place--with literally a ZILLION stinky kids, and rang in the New Year while watching Season One of Glee--we converted BIL and SIL into "Gleeks." We all can't wait until Season Two! And I'm extremely jealous of Hubby's new Kindle--I fully intend to steal it soon. If I ever get a chance to read ANYTHING...

Now I need to hurry and get all the Christmas decorations down like it never happened (funny how that is) and do 93726 loads of laundry, and get back into a routine.

On the menu: Potty Training. Wheee. And editing two novels. At least I am looking forward to THAT!!!

2010 better not "sneak" up on me like 2009 did! It was over in the blink of an eye! Where does the time go?????

Beyond Tired.

I know I'd promised to be back "bright and early" this morning, but we got in from the airport about eight hours ago. I'm DEAD.

So...I will have lots to report TOMORROW!

I hope everyone had fantastic holidays and a Happy New Year (and Devon I hope Elsa is better!), and I promise a recap tomorrow. For now...sleep.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...