Yesterday Gave Me the Heebie Jeebies.

Yesterday was NOT a fun day for me. I finished cleaning the garage (DEFINITELY not fun) and came inside the house, washed my hands all the way up to my arms, got myself a piece of toast, surfed the web for a minute, and GUESS WHAT DECIDED TO CRAWL OUT OF MY HAIR???

Yes, a SPIDER. So, of course I did my "bug dance" and was all sicked out, and immediately jumped into the shower.

Cut to about 11am, I piled Thing Four in the car and we set out for the grocery store. As we were driving out of my subdivision, we passed by a bunch of landscapers mowing the common areas, and there was this big black hose in the road, and I didn't want to run over it, so I swerved and only ran over the end of it with my car. Then I realized, as I ran over it: THAT WASN'T A HOSE.

I stopped the car and looked back to see this HUGE black snake in the road, flailing and twitching because I'd run over the end of it. It was about as thick around as a paper-towel tube, and about five feet long I KID YOU NOT. One of the mowers stopped and looked at it in awe and looked at me, and uttered what is probably the most Obvious Statement Of The Year: "You hit a snake."

I immediately wanted to throw up. I was so sick--mostly because I have never, EVER seen a snake that big unless they were behind glass at the Zoo or in a PET STORE, and I'd just run over it. I was completely freaked/grossed out. My flight instinct kicked in, and I drove off. I guess the snake survived, because it wasn't laying in the road when I came back. Or the landscapers did something with it.

My sons are convinced I ran over a copperhead snake, apparently they are very dangerous. But I Googled "snakes common in North Carolina" and from the images I'm convinced it was a Black Rat Snake. Because it looked just like this:

I just didn't realize they were HUGE and LONG. And yeah, it kind of freaks me out they are BY MY HOUSE!!! Eeek!!! I'm a "live and let live" person, but I really hope not to see one of those babies again. EVER. Because I probably will throw up. I didn't realize I would have such a visceral reaction to seeing a snake up close. Guess I learned something new about myself.

And then later I found sugar ants in the mud room. Not a good day for me. Not at all.

A Day for Celebrating.

Had a nice, relaxing weekend. Now it's back to the grind! I'm a little freaked out by all the stuff I have to do, but I will get through it. I just need to buckle down and GO FOR IT.

And can I say, I've never actually been happy to hear about someone being killed, but today, I am. And if that makes me a horrible person, so be it. That madman represented all the suffering we endured on Sept. 11th, and all the anxiety and pain since. May he enjoy his new home. I bet it's got a great view:

*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!