*SIGH*

Yeah, I know I'm recording it. But imagine my surprise at 6am, I walk by the Game Room, and Thing One is in there, curled up with her Snuggie, watching the Royal Wedding.

Reminded me of me! ;-) I watched with her for a while, and we were both amazed at how flawless everything went off. And everyone looked fantastic!

Lots to do today. Running around, the usual crud, and we are supposed to go on a church campout tonight. We'll show up for the s'mores, but I think we will opt to sleep at home, tonight. Camping isn't much fun with a 3-year old and two certified Bug Phobes. (Things One and Two.)

I hope everyone has a great weekend! :-)

I am SO Watching The Royal Wedding. (There, I Admitted It!)

I don't care if everyone else is sick of "Royal Wedding Stuff." I don't care if half the UK finds Will and Kate boring. (Would you rather they were felons? Puhleeze, people!), or if the nastier gossips think Kate had planned behind closed doors with her mother to bag William for a decade. WHO CARES. I'm totally going to admit it: I'm a sucker for a royal wedding. As a hopeless anglophile, I've always had a soft spot for that dysfunctional royal family across the pond. So, yes, I have my DVR set to record a bunch of pre-wedding shows and the wedding itself, and I will watch every single one of them. :-)

I remember VIVIDLY in 1981, when I was nine years old, I BEGGED my parents to let me watch the Royal Wedding of Charles and Diana. I got up at 2am, the house was still asleep, and I sat in front of the TV, watching a fairytale unfold. Sure, Charles wasn't exactly "dashing" or anything, but Diana Spencer was beautiful and her dress (back then) was just like a fairytale princess's, and I watched from beginning to end. I even remember feeling shock when Diana goofed up Charles' legion of names during the wedding vows. And I remember the camera panning to Queen Elizabeth, and her looking ridiculously bored and stoic. Maybe she knew a lot more than she let on, at the time?? Hmmmm. I wonder if she'll look the same tomorrow? Probably. She's not exactly Guy Smiley.

Tomorrow's the big day!! I need a diversion, and this is right up my alley. :-)

Lots of running around today, and lots of rain. At least we don't have TORNADOES. My thoughts go out to all the people who were affected by yesterday's storms.

Things Are Gettin' Crazy...

I can't believe there's only six weeks left of school! I'm starting to freak out a little bit. A) because I like having one kid around the house and B) Summer is going to be CRAZY this year.

I kind of don't want to think about it. I'd really like to get the Remote Of My Life and press "FF" for about six months. Yep. Then I'll be a very happy camper. Unfortunately, that's not how things work. We're supposed to HAVE the crazy experiences, because they are for our GOOD. I think. Right?

Ugh.

I have to try and find a birthday cake today, unfortunately we discovered JUST NOW the recipient is taking Friday off, so that will be problematic, seeing as the party was going to be on Friday. Ooops.

I started de-junking my garage yesterday, and it was like Christmas all over again. I undid every single box, and sorted stuff into "will use it" piles and "Goodwill" piles. Goodwill is going to LOVE me, can I just say? I don't have time to set up a garage sale, so everything is just GOING. And I threw away a bunch more stuff. Although I was SUPER sad to part with Thing One's baby clothes. I mean, they've sat in storage for TWELVE years, even if I gave them away they're unwearable at this point, because they're so old. It's memories. I have kept her Blessing dress, and some of the important things, but everything else must go. *sniff* :-(

So, I get to do more ripping my heart out throwing stuff away today, regardless of nostalgic value. We need to DOWNSIZE the junk quotient. Because my junk is unique. It can reproduce and make babies.

Yes, I swear it really can.

I Love/Hate Commercials.

I took an Advertising/Marketing class in college, and it was so much fun. I've always been a big fan of commercials. Yes, I'm that wife who, when Hubby fast-forwards through the commercials, sometimes says "Oh! That's a funny one! Stop! We need to watch it!"

Hubby doesn't get it. I totally LOVE commercials. But now, I totally LOATHE them. Why? Because they know how to GET MY KIDS.

Case in point, I'm writing yesterday morning, and in typical Mother Of The Year fashion, I'm letting Thing Four watch TV. I hear a thump and running and suddenly he's barreling down the steps and shouting with glee: MOM! GUESS WHAT??? THEY HAVE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN LEGOS! WE HAVE TO GO TO TARGET RIGHT NOW SO YOU CAN GET ME SOME!!!"

I had to explain to him that just because they have them, doesn't mean we have to go out and BUY them. Then I told him I would "think about" getting them for his BIRTHDAY. Luckily, I was able to put him off.
Well, a few minutes later, he comes running back to me, because there's another toy he needs to have. UGH. I tell him we're done with watching Nickelodeon, and it's time to read some books. Grrrr.

I have to admit, they're slick with those commercials. They can make inanimate objects fly, shoot lasers, and look downright real, in commercials. And the boys/girls in those commercials are so cool looking, and their toys are just The. Coolest. Ever.

And my kids eat it up.

Hey, it's my fault, right? They must have gotten the "Loves Commercials DNA" from their good ol' mom.

We're doomed.

I Need A T-Shirt That Says "I SURVIVED THE STAYCATION."

"Nuff said.

The kids are back at school, Hubby is back at work, and I am going to give myself a day. ONE day, to just get my sanity back. Granted, I need to do some serious cleaning, so I'll do that, but other than that, I'm not going to run around like I usually do. Well, not until around 2pm anyway. ;-)

Spring Break was super busy with a lot of running around, but it was nice to hang with the family. We ate out way too much, but we did have some fun. And if you ever find yourself in South Carolina (just over the NC border) on Johnston road, you MUST stop at "521 BBQ & Grill," because they have The. Most. Amazing. Ribs. I. Have. Ever. Tasted. Hands down. It's a little dive-ey, but SO worth it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday! Boy do I have some catch-up blog reading to do!

I'm ALIVE!

Yes! I really am! I'm just on Spring Break, and our "Staycation" is very busy! I hope everyone is having a great week!

:-)

We're OK.

Thank you all for the emails and thoughts--we were lucky and didn't have any tornadoes in our immediate area of NC. All is well! My thoughts go out to the families that were affected by this nasty storm system that swept through these past few days.

We're on Spring Break! Hubby is home for the week (after weeks of back-to-back travel, he needs the rest!) and it will be nice to have QT with Dad for the kids. Normally they only see their dad for a few minutes in the morning, and a couple hours (maybe) at night.

Time to get the trash out! Have a great day everyone!

Spring Break is Here!

And for once, in like, our whole entire 15 years of marriage, we don't have a vacation planned! Is that crazy, or what? Usually we'd be going to Disneyworld, stay with family, or someplace near sand and water. But not this time!

Hubby is burned out from back-to-back travel these last two months, and I'm a mess because of stuff that's going on here, so we didn't even get around to planning anything. So, I need to figure out some fun local stuff we can do with the kids next week. Unfortunately there aren't any pools open yet, so that's out. Going anywhere is out, because we have a lot of local things happening next week we need to stick around for. Wow, this will be a challenge!

Hmmmm....

In the meantime, I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Quickie.

As in POST! Yeah, I'm sure I'll get lots of hits now.

Was at the Dr. this morning, Thing Three is wheezing all over the place, but we've started breathing treatments with the nebulizer three times a day, until the virus runs it's course. As usual, my other kids just had the fever, but the virus went right into Thing Three's chest. UGH.

I've been busy writing, even though I should be cleaning. ;-) Hop on over to my writing blog and weigh on on Cussing in YA: because I'm a little conflicted.

Other than that, the sun is out, and it's a gorgeous, warm day!

My Son Wants To Be In A Band.

Hubby left for New York this morning. It's a short trip, but I plan to get some serious stuff done today. Thing Three is sick, which has put a crimp in my plans somewhat--he had a fever and sore throat this weekend, and then on Tuesday he was fine. Well, APPARENTLY at Scouts last night, he was running around in the cold playing Capture the Flag with only a shirt on, and all night last night he was coughing, and this morning, the fever is back. UGH. I'm waiting for a call back from the nurse to see if I should take him in to the Dr. Given his history, I get nervous whenever he sounds like he's getting a chest cold. :-(

My other son, the non-athlete who is highly intelligent and artistic, (who will be twelve next month, AACK!) was invited by one of his schoolmates to be in a band. They are getting together over the weekend to start it. We told Thing Two we didn't mind he was in a band, but we wondered what INSTRUMENT he would be playing, since he is too embarrassed to sing in front of anyone and he only took Trumpet for one year in the fifth grade.

His answer? "Drums, Mom. I will be the drummer." Apparently he plays the drums "really well at school" when they play around, and he wants to try his hand at them in a band. Um, doesn't it take some SKILL or at least LESSONS to play the drums? Also, I've never seen Thing Two play the drums EVER, in his LIFE. Well, maybe on the Wii, but that isn't real playing, is it?

Hmmm, not sure about that one. I guess we'll see. But since our neighborhood has the houses pretty darn close to each other, I doubt having a drum set in the garage would go over very well. IF I was to ever consider letting him have drums...

*sigh* I always told him I'd encourage him in his artistic pursuits...

I Love Chaos???

I have realized, recently (okay, maybe I've known this a while) that my life seems to be in a perpetual state of chaos.

My kids add a LOT to the chaos. I always have projects going on, so there's chaos at home. When I write, the house doesn't get picked up as much, ergo, CHAOS. Hubby comes home from work, and suddenly the kids turn from generally peaceful little children into frantic MONKEY IMPS. So, Hubby thinks they've been like that all day (when really they're just excited to see him) and suddenly we have...drumroll please...EVEN WORSE CHAOS.

We have chaos in the car. Mom! He's looking at me! MOM! WILL YOU TELL HIM TO SHUT UP AND STOP TALKING TO ME??? "Mom! I dropped my icecream all over the seat! Uh oh!" MOM...

It's a wonder I haven't had an accident before now.

We have chaos getting ready for school. We have chaos getting ready for church. We have chaos getting everyone to the table for meals. We have chaos getting everyone into bed.

And everyone tells me, when my kids are all grown up and have left the house, I'm going to cry and cry from loneliness.

So, does this mean I am going to MISS the chaos?

Somehow, I don't think so. I'll miss the kids, but I'll welcome some peace and quiet! But I guess that's easy to say now, when I'm in the middle of constant CHAOS.

*sigh*

We Survived the HAIL.

We had a good weekend. Sort of. Except for the parts where we took Thing One clothes shopping, and out of the ENTIRE mall, she found only one outfit that was "cool." Heh heh so we picked an outfit for her and made her wear it. Of course she pitched a fit but when she got a bunch of compliments, suddenly the outfit was "okay." It's a wonder I still have any hair, because she makes me want to PULL IT ALL OUT. Meh. 13-year olds. 'Nuff said.

Hubby had a freakout moment because his iPhone wasn't working--we noticed it while we were out to lunch on Saturday, all the icons were HUGE and you couldn't maneuver the home screen or anything. Or answer the phone. As it turns out, he'd accidentally activated the screen "Zoom" feature. If you tap twice on the iPhone with three fingers at once, it zooms. Crazy, but luckily, it was fixable. He was FREAKING OUT over his phone not working. ;-) It was kinda cute.

Later that night, we let Thing One have a friend over, and as soon as I went to pick her up, the RAIN started. It was pretty intense. We got back to the house, and it was flash-flooding everwhere. Then, suddenly, it started hailing. At first, it was little hail. Then, it sounded like someone was throwing rocks at all the windows. The hail was getting bigger. It was marble-sized. THEN it got even bigger. It sure is loud, when it hits the house! And the windows--thank heaven none of them broke! The kids were completely freaked out by the noise, and when we looked outside, some of the hail was EGG sized. No joke. It was HUGE.

So, we got all the kids downstairs in front of the TV with blankets and popcorn and let them watch TANGLED while Hubby and I kept track of the severe storm and YES, Tornado watch warnings we were having. It was mildly stressful. Especially when the hail came back a short while later, big and bad AGAIN.

I've never seen hail like that in my life. I am wondering, is this a North Carolina thing? ;-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY HUBBS!!!

 I can't believe that hot guy I met in college (it feels like it was only a few years ago, I swear!) has turned 40!!! Lucky for him, he has one of those "youthful" faces--when he puts on a baseball cap he looks like he could still be in college. :-)

Wish I could say the same for myself. Bah. ;-)

Happy Birthday, Sweetie! I hope it's the best!!

XOXO,

Lara

MARATHON TIME!

As in, I'm RUNNING!! Hubby's birthday is tomorrow. Yes, he's the big 4-0. We're kind of freaking out about it! Which means I'm not far behind! Eeek! ANYWAY, I have lots of errands today (see previous post) and birthday preparations.

I hope everyone has a happy Thursday!

Playing Catch-Up.

Since I am an avid worshipper at the altar of PROCRASTINATION, I tend to "put things off" until the last minute. Let's say on Monday, I make a "to do" list. Well, instead of knock it out as quickly as possible, I usually put it off and put it off and let other things take precedence, and then, on Friday, I have to run around to seven different places and accomplish the entire list in one day. And I am a completely exhausted wreck at the end of the day.

My FIL has a saying, which drives me nuts: "Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?"

It only drives me nuts because he's totally right, and I have GUILT when I procrastinate. I know I shouldn't do it. Because eventually all the things I have to do get overwhelming and I just throw up my hands and say "UGH. TO HECK WITH THIS."

I'm so brilliant, right? ;-) But it's not the way to be.

Well, excuse me while I run around doing all the things I didn't do the last few days. UGH.

Cue the "Had a Bad Day" Song...

Yesterday, in a word, sucked. Like, SERIOUS SUCKAGE.

I got in the car to take the kids to school, and realized I only had about 15 miles left on my car before it ran out of gas. I drove the 7 miles to the school, and the car line was impossibly long. I told the kids I had to let them off on the sidewalk, instead of driving them up to the front of the school, or I'd run out of gas. Of course, my daughter had a complete "hissy" fit, because I was making her "too early." I didn't care, we exchanged words, she got out of the car totally angry.

I barely made it to the nearest gas station, which happened to be 4 miles away just over the South Carolina Border. It was a very busy gas station, but I pulled in, and started gassing up. While I did, this guy pulled in in front of me, facing me, and parked about three feet from my front bumper. When I was finished filling up, I realized this guy in a truck had pulled in behind me, to wait (a little close, I might add) and I was pinned in. Well, I sat there. And the guy behind me started HONKING at me! Well, since I am a nice person, I tried to wedge my way out from between the cars, and the guy behind me wasn't letting me back up. So, I veered to the right, misjudged, and ran into the GAS PUMP. I ran into the pump part, and it wasn't damaged, but now I have a big ugly dent in the front of my Sequoia. I pulled forward, upset, and the JERK BEHIND ME SAT THERE. Finally, this nice guy, who had seen the whole thing, got out of his car and started yelling at the guy behind me to back up and let me out.

It was creepy, the guy just sat there in his truck with his sunglasses on, not showing any emotion at all, and backed up, like TWO feet. I got in my car, and still couldn't get out (I'm in a big Sequoia, not exactly a tiny car) and finally, I was able to back up and turn and back up until I could wing around the MAJOR JERK. I was so mad, I mouthed "THANK YOU" to him, while glaring at him as best I could. He sat there, motionless, no expression at all. He was probably some social psychopath, because none of what happened elicited any emotional response from him at all. I was completely aghast at his jerkiness. I haven't experienced anything as rude as him in a very long time. What a Creep. In retrospect, I should have just waited, instead of letting the horn-honking a**hat intimidate me, but I wasn't thinking.

I went home, cried over my dented car, and walked into the house to see Sushi, my three-year old son's beloved Betta, floating. He'd died while I was gone. Inexplicably. (Granted, he stopped eating his food two weeks ago, which we found strange, so I'd tried new food to tempt him, then bought new of the same food he'd been eating, and he wouldn't eat it.) It's totally strange. Anyway, he was dead and I had to flush him and the day just got worse from there.

Got a rejection. Found ants in a second-floor bathroom (WHY THE HECK DO WE HAVE ANTS UP THERE WHEN THERE ISN'T ANYTHING THERE BUT TOOTHPASTE AND SOAP???) Burned the cake I was baking for Thing Two's Blue and Gold Scout dinner.

THEN, the icing on the cake, Hubby (who is in L.A.) texted me around 10pm my time saying he'd heard we were supposed to have horrible thunderstorms and TORNADOES all night, here in Charlotte. So, I was up all night freaking out about it, and of course once the storm hit at around 2am the kids all came running, terrified and I had to figure them out and get everyone situated.  The wind howled and the rain beat down on us, but thankfully, no tornadoes.

Today I'm a Zombie. I'm so taking a nap.

Is There A "Pack Rats Anonymous?"

It's going to be 87 degrees today. Yikes! That means around 90 for sure. I've noticed it gets at least 3-5 degrees warmer than the "projected" temperature for the day, around here.

Wow.

I, like a fool, decided to tackle the STACKS this weekend. Naturally, I didn't start until yesterday, but let me explain what I'm talking about:
In our last house, right before we moved, I cleaned out the basement. And I realized that with all my years of "shoving" old bills and mail into boxes, (because A) I am lazy and B) I thought it was "smart" to keep stuff like cancelled checks and anything that was remotely financial related) I had a BUTTLOAD of stuff that needed to be shredded. and/or filed. About ten plastic tubs, to be exact. The movers were nice, they said "we can load all this paper stuff into smaller boxes, for you to take care of later." I thanked them, and in my current garage, is a STACK of about 15 boxes, all full of PAPER. Paper to be shredded or filed, whatever the case may be.

So, two weeks ago, I started opening a box a day, and shredding/filing everything inside. I'm now down to four boxes (hooray!) but I have to say, I will NEVER shove stuff in a box or tub again! I've found old bills from the late 1990's. I must say, some of it was quite nostalgic. But my whole point to this: shredding and going through boxes of documents is TIME SUCKING. Not to mention a little messy, with all the shredding and dumping.

Yeah, I won't be doing this again. Thanks, Mom, for passing your packrat tendencies on to me!

Thing One was watching a disturbing show last night, about "strange addictions." One lady was addicted to sleeping with her blowdryer. As in, it had to be ON all night, on the bed next to her. Her husband actually divorced her over it! And yes, she's burned herself many times. I was like, HUH?

Another lady is addicted to eating TOILET PAPER. About half a roll a day. She keeps TP in her car, her handbag, etc. When she's in the movie theater, instead of popcorn, she whips a roll of 2-ply out of her purse and NomNomNom. And get this: she's been eating it for 23 years. Can you all say "DANGER OF INTESTINAL BLOCKAGE" with me???? Oy.

I am thankful my kids are normal. Granted, I wish two of them weren't so dependent on their night lights, but after watching this show, I'm not even worried. At ALL. Total normal stuff going on at OUR house! ;-)

Okay, I'm rambling, now. Off to get the garbage cans out!

You Gotta Love It!

I got this in my email inbox yesterday, courtesy of my dear friend Aimee:

A first grade girl handed in the drawing below for her homework assignment:

The teacher graded it and the child took it home. She returned to school the next day with the following note:

Dear Ms. Davis,

I want to be perfectly clear on my child's homework illustration.
It is NOT of me on a dance pole on a stage in a strip joint surrounded by male customers with money.
I work at Home Depot and had commented to my daughter how much money we made in the recent snowstorm.
This drawing is of me selling a shovel. 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Harrington