class of '06

wow, i finally got a chance to catch up on alot of the other blogs i read. it's nice to see i'm not the only one who has been slacking lately. yea class of '06!!! a very good friend of mine had her oldest graduate last night...there were so many times during his adolescence she honestly didn't think he would make it...and he has!!! i am as proud of him as i would be my own. he drives up the road after graduation last night beeping loudly, yelling out the window..it was priceless.

things here are good...dad in all of his infinite wisdom, gave the boys a gift last week. i sent a pic to some of you. dirtbikes..yup. real live motorized dirt bikes. he just came home one day with 3 of 'em. then he bailed. hahahaha...actually he went up to NY to help his dad for a few days. but the dirtbike battle is raging, of course they are new and it is all anyone wants to do. and i am not in charge of the bikes...so they have to call him and ask. grrrrrrrrr.

summer hit us like a brick wall, 9 days ago i had the heat on and now it's been 90 for the last 3 days. we went to the pool for the first time yesterday and the water was like ICE..but it was nice. and of course everyone is trying to jam an entire summer into the last 5 days. umm we have 3 looooong months..relax.

welp my neice and i are heading to the gym this morning. i am determined to get into some sort of shape...because this ovally, pear like, nothing fits anymore one is starting to bum me out. i figure even if she quits on me in a couple weeks i'll be in the habit by then. i am actually looking forward to it. i like to exercise, it's just hard to get back into it when you fall out. wish me luck.....

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. ours was nice, relaxing and calm. until yesterday. my middle guy had been asked to join the hs band for the Spring, so that he could march in the parade on Memorial Day. because sports and band usually collide this was the only time he would probably be able to do this so he did. he plays snare drum, and much to my surprise he is very good. way to fight genetics bud!

so he gets to school and they head over to the parade, line up etc. he makes it all the way to the end, and as they are heading into the veterans cemetary for a tribute...boom...down he goes. i, of course, am not there. i watched the beginning and had plans to meet my sister. so i was home and getting ready to head out when the phone rings. let me just say it does not matter why they tell you one of your kids is in an ambulance headed to the hospital.....you freak out. add that to the fact that the whole way down my cell phone is ringing incessantly, people were franticlly trying to reach me, not knowing i was already on my way. i still can't believe i made it in one piece.

have no fear, he is fine. just a little dehydration, a little too hot in the uniform, and no breakfast added up to him passing out. he is a little bruised from landing on his drum, but thats all. let me say that he is now the first person to make band a contact sport, and he is the hero, because after he passed out, the one director let them march in their street clothes. (they were marching sans parade to the VFW to play and have a picnic)

and i received a wonderful gift. i had really been feeling blue about living here lately. i miss my sibs and i have been very down on this whole area in general. yesterday i realized how special it is to be part of a small town community. everyone was concerned, when i called the one mom back after we got the "all clear", i heard her relay the message to everyone and they cheered. then i find out at least 6 different people were willing to give up their afternoon to ride down with my son so he wouldn't be alone until i got there, and this morning another mom stopped to let me know she had grabbed his uniform and washed it, brought back his sneakers and took his band shoes from me to hand them in. this place may be lacking a Panera, but it's got alot of heart.

amen

well we made it. I think in all honesty Memorial Day should be my favorite holiday (as opposed to Christmas). as much as i look forward to Spring getting here, i usually cannot wait for it to end. this year was no exception, and Memorial day brings about the end of the VERY hectic spring work season, and the end of school. for me this equals money in the bank (yeah!!!) and a much more relaxed schedule. although T ball will start next week, and baseball won't end until July, AND the oldest has to still be at school 4 days a week and Saturday's all summer for football....but you know what i mean.

here's a pic from the big nite...yeah i only have 4 more years with a child in elementary school...WOW. I remember at one point in my life thinking it would take forever. geez time goes by.

wanted...yard boy

this is one for the "only happens in my life" file. thats a file that my sibs have created for me, ONLY because they live in the city and do not have in laws in their yard, nor do any of them have children yet ( can't wait!!!!). from that description, i'm sure you can imagine what that file contains. here's one more....

in the fall my mower, which is a big tractor ride on mower, needed to be fixed. one of the guys who worked for me took it on the truck one day and dropped it off to be fixed. then he stopped working for me. the phone # he gave to call when it was done, i have now learned, was his cell phone that we gave him while he was working. the same cell phone that sat in my office all winter collecting dust, turned off.

spring rolled around, and i had no idea where my mower was. yeah real funny. and the guy who dropped it off to be fixed is no where around. FINALLY, my FIL mentions that a shop near his farm out here (yes he 1/2 followed too, at least he doesn't live here) had called him 2 months ago about a mower, but he had no clue what they were talking about. they sold my mower 2 weeks ago for $400.00. and because my yard looks like this pic here, i now need to go shell out prob 4 times that to replace it.

on the upside, i did get to see what an image search of "jungle weeds" will produce. hahaha

interview in laws BEFORE you wed

ok i'm going to take a chance here and delve into untested waters. i mean what are the chances my MIL will stumble upon this ...right? I know, i know...everyone has horror stories. we almost all have them and can't get rid of them. some people even like them. some people are fortunate enough to only see them a couple times a year.

mine lives in my back yard. literally, she lives about 300 yards from my back deck..in range...i mean straight back. thankfully she no longer lives with my FIL..becuase if they both lived there i would have no choice but to leave my hub. she lives there, with her husband, and our neice who she is raising ( well letting her sleep there while i do everything else for her i should say). want more? her husband works for us, meaning she takes full advantage of the fact she is related to the boss. PLUS she followed us out here. we moved away from all of them (hint hint)...and she followed.

i know right now some of you are thinking "i wish my MIL lived close, it would be nice to have someone so close to help with the kids". WRONG....we tried that a couple times. not only do we have to pay her, but she would just leave the kids at our house, and send my neice up (she's 15) to "keep an eye on things". the only thing she's keeping an eye on up here are the throngs of 16 yr olds my son parades through here if i'm gone. leaving the MIL in charge is a little less effective than leaving the 7 yr old in charge. lesson learned.

now the reason i am soooo bitter today you ask? my MIL is 2 things ...1) a huge drama queen, and 2) a new found hypochondriac (sp?). she has also been laid off for the last month, creating a hypochondriac drama queen with way too much time on her hands. what does all this equal for me....a LOT of time at the ER in the last 4 weeks. not only that...she calls my hub , who is working 2 hours away, crying that "she doesn't know whats wrong with her", so that he will call me to come see what's the matter, and ineveitably go to ER.

please don't think me cruel, if i thought something was wrong ...i would be concerned. the dr's keep telling her it's stress/anxiety, she refuses to believe. she had some stress tests scheduled for next month, now they are doing them today. first she "knew" she was going to "take a stroke"...now this guy told her maybe it's an ulcer. all i know is next time i get that call....i'm checking myself in too, on a flight to Fiji.

one for "why didn't i think of that" file

i came across this awhile ago, and finally ordered it yesterday.you put the lotion on the foam pad and apply to "hard to reach areas"
you know, i knew the world needed one...i knew I needed one. but was i smart enough to invent foam on a stick? oh hell no. i had visions of complicated pumps, tubing, etc...all i needed was foam on a stick..you can get this at aswechange.com....and i am freaked out enough that i actually get a catalog called as we change. of course that doesn't hold a candle to the email from Kodak yesterday entirely in German . i am either leading a double life, or getting someone else's email.

rules to vacation

yeah summer is almost here...i love summer. although by today's weather,it feels more like winter break is upon us. school is over on Thurs, i really enjoy the first 6 weeks or so of summer vaca. less scheduling and no more fighting over homework..a few trips...the usual



however, i must implement, and follow a system. a system that no matter what, i will keep to. promise.

• i will not let any more than 2 meals a week come from sheetz, mcd's, bk....or the pizza place.
• 3 meals a day will be consumed, at appointed times. this is not Denny's i do not offer breakfast all day
• bedtime for the kids will be at least 4 hours prior to my usual wake up time...4 am is not an option this year
• sleeping will be done in beds...or at least bedrooms.
• NOONE will do ANYTHING if the job i asked them to do 3 days ago does not get done. even if it means i suffer too.
• sleepovers must be pre arranged. meaning i better not wake up to more children in my house than were here when i went to sleep.
• sleepovers will also be limited to 2 days. 48 hours and they must go, or come home, at least for the duration of a shower and a meal.
• i swear...the first time i am startled from sleep by someone skate boarding in the garage, or using the stairs for a purpose other than they are intended, EVERYONE will suffer.
• the living room is intended for the entire family, as is the tv.

keeping to these guidlines will hopefully keep scurvy at bay, keep me sane into week 7 of vacation, and stop my kids from groaning every time i go to open my mouth.

(brief) foray into pop culture

madonna crucifies herself and tommy hilfiger and axl rose duke it out? WTF? did i wake up in the twilight zone or what? you see...this i why i don't watch alot of tv. things like that, more like when things like that are considered "news" it angers me. i am not sure what madonna is trying to say by crucifying herself, but i think she may have lost me. i just read the review for her new tour and i have to say.."get over yourself". go on stage, dance and sing your songs and then go away. and ticket prices are...$380.00. ummm Metallica could reincarnate cliff burton and i wouldn't pay 380 bucks.

and the whole axl rose/tommy hilfiger...i cannot even imagine that one. it seems as though it was a slap fight. the image is just too much...i cannot comment any longer. my coffee is about to do the out the nose thing.

hey i'm no snob. i subscribe to People, and i look forward to it arriving. but if i click on the "news" link i expect to see something a little more substantial that that.

reality tv is another thing, i really don't like it. i like 2 reality shows. Little People, Big World, and Tuckerville. Little People is very real, in fact so real sometimes i wonder if they have secretly been watching my own family. watching that show is like reading someone's blog. it all goes in. i love it. and Tuckerville, well it isn't anything like my own family, obviously, as i have yet to make millions in country music. but it is outrageous, and for tanya tucker...that is very real. if you're gonna call it reality tv....make it real. it is not real to be unemployed and living in a home most people could never afford, nor is it real to be stranded on an island with nothing but your wits (and about 30 production people around) to survive.

i think this all goes back to me getting old....i'll be calling 20 somethings young people next.

not the sharpest tool in the shed..

i must really be tired. i mean last year was unusally stressful, and maybe thats why i feel like i do now. i didn't actually get my winter rest. but i am REALLY tired lately. and i don't mean in the sense like if i crash for 10 hours i'll feel better. more like if i were given a week with absolutely nothing to do, i would probably spend most of it in a coma.

it is starting to show...i got this great coffee maker from my dad for Christmas and if you look you can see that the coffee gets made in the tank in the front. my only complaint about this coffee maker has always been that you need to fill that whole big thing up with water and pour it in the back to make coffee. now i know what every single one of you is thinking...just give me a minute.

my sink is very small and if there is more than a couple dishes in it, the container wouldn't fit in the sink. which meant i would have to do the dishes first. this morning ( a full 5 months later) i realized i could just fill the back up using a cup. eliminating the need to do dishes before my coffee. no words can express how dumb i feel.....happy saturday.

can i get an abacus

the electronics in my house are getting a little big for their britches. it started with the fax machine earlier in the spring. then the phones got into it, the cable dsl (or whatever it's called) is always being snooty, and the grand finale now my computer.

i am not a techno kinda person. i have never really been one to spend hours of my free time on the computer. i didn't even know blogs existed until about 10 months ago. i honestly don't even like to talk on the phone. maybe it's because i have 3 kids, or maybe it's because i have no choice but to do these things for work. i don't know, but the thought of spending precious free time with something else beeping or yelling at me makes me cringe. give me a locked closet, a flash light and a book and i'll see you in 2 hours.

which is why when i go to buy something new i prefer to go middle of the road. i KNOW that in a year something is going to go wrong and i am not going to want to try to fix it. i'm disposable about these things ...i admit it. i will hold on to a pair of sweats for 8 years, but a computer..seee ya. now i am stuck, my fax i spent 80 bucks on..it's history. the phones hey i got 2 or 3 years out of them i'm happy.my computer is a different story.

as i mentioned earlier my husband always wants the biggest and the best. good for him, his choice. unfortunately last winter when my old computer died he came with me to buy a new one. out i walked with $2700 worth of computer. then a year ago he bought me this great printer and it was like $600. i didn't need a new printer but hey giving electronics is his way of showing love. now here i am 18 months later with a computer i have to chant gypsy curses to, and hope the wind is blowing NE, but no more than 8 mph. and a printer that shakes my entire house when it does its thing. gee thanks hun.

i am leaving the office supplies for the tv..hah

ps...COULD SOMEONE PLEASE TURN OFF THE RAIN???!!!

temptation

my oldest forgot his cell phone today...it was horrific. the temptation to snoop was so great, i was releived when i was notified i would be spending all afternoon and evening driving to ohio and back. it's not that i don't trust him...i do. but he's 16 and there was a text from "my love", who BETTER be his g/f. arrgggg. but i don't want to be that mom. i respect my kid's privacy, until they prove to me i can't.

i don't mean to sound naive, he is a handful at times, and i KNOW he is no angel. but he does well in school, and works hard at sports. and the few times he has done things i wouldn't have approved of, he's told me what has gone on. it is so hard though. next year he will be a junior...i know what i was doing then and it scares the bejeezus outta me.

in sept he will be driving, and in 2 years he will be graduating from hs. i guess it's time to realize i have done the best i can and pray for it all to work out. besides if i started snooping now, he'd catch on and hide everything ...which would leave me having to clean his room to find stuff. :)

blah blah blah

not a whole lot for me to talk about today, the rain is making me very lazy. the ideas are swirling , constantly. i am sooo creative after all. haha but the rain is really dampening my spirits. just 2 weeks ago i was thinking it was just like that heckel and jeckel cartoon when i was little. you know the one "it's never gonna rain again again" . and whammo....it rained. although it could be worse, i think maine is the only reason new hampshire hasn't washed off the map. we don't have anywhere near the issues they do. just makes you feel yucky.

then this morning i heard on the news they were attempting to locate jimmy hoffa's remains. a "new lead" has them looking in michigan. WHY? it's been 30 some odd years, it's very obvious he's dead. why waste federal time and money digging up yet another farm? i swear the money the government spends on nonsense sickens me...with all the problems that they could work on to actually make a difference to living people. i am not overly political, but common sense needs to rule our country again. (me for pres in 08)

hold on while i get down from my soapbox

i decided to rearrange my living room. now that i have the option. before the new tv, my options were very limited because the beast only fit on one wall. so i got everything switched and i like it. except now i seriously need to steam my carpet. i usually do it once a year, now i'm thinking that wasn't quite enough.

fianlly a great thing happened to me this morning. i was driving home after my morning rounds (school, gas, school etc..) and was miserable because it was raining. like a sunny day, "sweet home alabama" comes on...i love that song. it is the one song that no matter what i turn it up sing my lungs out, drum on the steering wheel, and dance in my seat. plus it always makes me think of my one brother...who actually air guitared to it at his wedding...while greeting guests. so i am in a better mood for now. and in a desperate ploy for interaction....what is your song that makes you feel that way? cmon you know you have one.....

ahhhhh

click this http://www.jmarco.com i think i found the cure to my doldrums. this catalog has the cutest things i have seen all in one place in awhile...if you're thinking how did i pull myself away from the tv. i didn't i'm on the kid's laptop :)

the redneck in me

if i seem alittle bleary eyed and out of sorts this morning, it is for good reason. we added a new family member last night, and quite honestly it is exhausting me. we did it, i didn't think the day would ever come. we have finally went and got ourselves a brand new teee veee. and in true redneck fashion, and my husband's inability to do anything on a small scale, it is almost as big as my living room.

not that i am any stranger to large tv's, as anyone who has ever been to my home will tell you. the one being replaced is a 70" monster that actually had to be moved in using a skid loader and required removing a sliding glass door. unfortunately we now have no clue how to rid ourselves of what we affectionately call "the beast".

if you go into circuit city and walk straight back to the "we got you sucker" aisle, you'll probably see my new tv. but i love it, it's a sony hdtv deal we downgraded to 60", and it came with hometheater and i believe an hd dvd player. while i may not watch alot of tv, i do love new gadgets. this one takes the cake. i think it senses when i'm having a bad day and even tells me how pretty i am when neccesary.

funny too, my horoscope told me to just relax and take it easy today. so you know what i'm going to go do......

friends

the school year is coming to a close, and i'm ready. of course i will swear i didn't say this in aug, when i am counting the hours until school starts again. the way our schools are set up the kids go to elem until 6th grade, then to the high school for jr/sr high. after 8th grade my kids go to a private school, that usually only 1 or 2 of their classmates will also attend.

yesterday was the field trip for my middle sons 6th grade class, and on the bus ride home i got a little sad. i really like the moms in this group. we are all close in age, have a similar sense of humor, and just get along well. i am going to miss them. some of them i'll continue to see at other functions, but alot of them will become the people i see in wal mart in 5 years and we barely have anything to say to each other.

my 2 closest friends here, are in this group. the 3 of us get along so well, because we are all busy. we know if one didn't call for a month it wasn't because she was mad, it was because she was busy. so many times the only time we would see each other was at the kids events, in 2 years we won't have that bond any longer. i know it may sound silly to some people, but when you move, making good friends is hard. there are alot of acquaintances, but friends are few and far between. i hope the 3 of us don't lose each other.

Doug Flutie

Doug Flutie announced his retirement yesterday, and it makes me happy. not because i didn't like him, just the opposite. i thought he was great. for the 2 or 3 people who will read this who are not related to me or haven't known me for 20 years...i lovelovelovelove me some football. specially the 'Skins...and i really like Doug Flutie.

in fact it's a little ironic, there was another NFL story gong around yesterday too...marcus vick (he does not deserve capitalized) will be playing for Miami next year. marcus vick is a reason why i like Doug Flutie. marcus vick has to get his older brother to call in a favor so he can even have a chance to play, because he feels "bad press" has put him in the situation he's in. ummm no..it's because you are a jerk who feels entitled to something that in all honesty he probably isn't.

Doug Flutie in 21 years of pro football, in the usfl, cfl and nfl, never once said he was entitled to anything, he knew what he was...a guy with a talent, who was lucky enough to be able to provide for his family by playing a game. there should be more athletes just like him.

teen angst

something has gone terribly wrong. my 16 yr old "hates me". hmmm i would hate me too, after all i probably only shelled out $50 to him this week, did his laundry, drove his ass every where it needed to be....and made him go to school on weds..even though he was tired.

i thought this drama thing was reserved for girls. so now here i am, i not only didn't get to dress anybody up in pink, and was forced to watch baseball. not to mention spend half my life freezing/sweating/getting rained on, at outdoor sporting events (as opposed to indoor dance recitals and gymnastics). now we have DRAMA.

how do i deal with said drama, as we speak i am working my way through a pepperoni hot pocket and 7 jalapeno poppers that were left from God only knows when. i have 10 more years of this????...which will leave me first ...my sanity or my ability to see my feet?

Happy Mothers Day

because i generally do not get time to do this during the weekend i want to wish all the mothers, and mothers to be a very happy mothers day. take a break and put your feet up... we deserve it.

my relationship with my own mother is a little strained and i am sure she did what she could at the time. i think it must have been hard on alot of moms when i was younger. when they were young they were taught to be a good mom and a good wife and everything would be ok. then things changed and people got divorced for any number of reasons. some of them handled it well and rose to the challenge, and some handled it like my mom. but even with all that went on when i was younger i can still be thankful. the trials my brothers and sisters and i had then, helped us all to become the people we are today, and i wouldn't want any one of us to be any different.

by the time i got home yesterday...

today has got to be better

there is no title to explain my frustration

i am posting as i sit here waiting. i really do not like to wait, i can handle sitting around doing nothing, but waiting when i know i have places to go and things to do really burns my butt. why am i waiting? you ask...humph because after getting everyone and myself out the door by 7:45, (not a feat for the faint of heart) i head out 40 minutes away to the only place this side of the moon where i can take care of apportioned registration maters. to find out ...of course...something was wrong. i needed one more piece of notarized paper before i can do what i need to. and as you all are aware, this needs to be done today.

of course last week when i went 2 hours in the absolute opposite direction of where i was today, we (hubby) weren't sure what we were doing with this truck. just get the title signed over and we'll decide later. a mere 5 days later it was urgent to take care of this immediately. i could have had this all done a week ago...but nooooo. so now today i wait for the woman who i have to see, because she forgot to notarize this paper. and they are not sure when she will be around today. if she cannot handle the apportioned matter when i am there i may just run away...the outlets are only like 15 min from there. no one would ever think to look for me there.

anyway, as i am driving home this morning so i could wait, i am behind someone in a green buick. there was a line of stuffed animals in the back window, she (i assume it was a she) was driving precisely 10 miles below the speed limit (see earlier post), and had 3 bumper stickers on the back of the car. "ask me about my grand dog"' , "i brake for garage sales", and "goin to bingo"...God help her if we are ever stuck in an elevator together.

and i thought today was gonna go smooth.........

12 steps

a funny thing happened to me yesterday, i realized i may have become my mother. and i don't mean that in the "i'm losing my mind turning into a crazy person" way. i mean i realized i am getting older. i don't know why it would come as a surprise, it's not like i have been asleep the last 10 years or anything. i guess it just kinda creeps up on you.

i realized this at the baseball game, i stood up and my darling firend very classily notified me i was advertising. to which i said huh? and she said your fly is open you jerk (least she's honest). now i could not think of any reason this would have happened but i fixed the situation and moved on. throughout the course of the game. my back was killing me so i kept standing up/ sitting down, repeat. i had to fix my dam zipper like 5 times. it occured to me this had happened a couple times before when i had these jeans on last time. i came to the conclusion the zipper is broke. i was pissed, i mean cmon..i am an adult female, how does the zipper of my jeans break? well i guess because they are 4-5 years old and i have worn them probably 1-2 times a week...at least.

i have owned and wore a pair of jeans for almost 5 years? holy crap!!! then i started to think, i have worn the same sneakers for 2 years. my entire wardrobe is jeans and v neck t shirts, sweatshirts for winter. i can't eat anything with more taste than cardboard without suffering in some gastrointestinal way. and i don't drive anywhere hear as fast as i used to, but in my defense i do still drive fast. i own a pair of sweatpants that i bought when i was pregnant the last time. he's almost 8! getting up at 6 is no longer getting up early,it's just getting up. and i seem to stop the radio scan on what is considered a lite hits channel more and more.

i fear i am becoming stodgy, hopefully recognition is the first step to recovery.

the unvolunteers

before i start on my tirade i want to say first i had a very nice time yestereday. we went on a cruise aroud pittsburgh and to the zoo. it was lot of fun and our kids had the boat all to themselves, making it even more enjoyable. if you are ever in pittsburgh with kids, i highly reccomend the zoo, it's not too huge. you can see everything in 3 hours, but it's fun and there are alot of interactive things for the kids to do. i always find zoos a tiny bit depressing, but seeing the kids who may not ever venture far from home experience animals they only saw on tv is priceless. they surprised me too, we walked into the aquarium and there was a tank of sea dragons, i had no clue what they were. they look like sea horses only way cooler, the one little boy starts telling me all about them, he had seen them on animal planet. he was so cute telling me everything he knew.

now i know what you're thinking "pto mom bliss" ....YEAH right, on the way home our bus was in a small accident, forcing all of us onto 1 school bus, 3 to a seat for over 2 hours. which brings me to something i have been stewing over since this past weekend. unvolunteers.

i know alot of people do not have the option to drop everything for a day and go on a field trip, i was one of them for a while. however, even when i couldn't do alot, i still managed to do a little. and that is all that those of us who do alot ask for...just a little. what i really can't stand is the people who complain about how i did something or planned something or whatever...guess what folks...the position is open, come to a meeting, offer to make some phone calls, do it yourself!!! i am not getting paid, and i am doing this to help YOUR kids.

i am not heavy into everything my kids do, i don't have the time either. but i give whatever i can where i can. i am team mom for 12 yr olds baseball team. each team has 1 week they are responsible for the concession stand. i am getting people to sign up to work. it's 2 hours and you can even do it while your kid is playing if you want. so chances are you will be there anyway, the excuses i get...so i say fine if noone works these days that are still open there won't be concession that night. i'm not going to work 4 games because i offered to handle our week.. i even have my neice and oldest each work a night. who do you think willl be the first ones bitching that they can't get thier kid a powerade? you know...

they are the same people who complained yesterday that the bus was 45 minutes late, umm becuase we wanted an accident, and the added bonus of telling your kid to sit down and stop hitting/spitting/poking/screaming/crying/ tormenting for 2 hours, on a bus with 70 tired 2nd graders for volunteering my time, paying my own way, and trying to help your child figure out the best way to spend his/her last $3 in the gift shop.

i really had to struggle over whether or not to let people know i was doing this. i'm weird. it's not like i'm smoking crack or beating my kids, but anyway i let you guys know and as soon as i sent an email i started to try to figure out how to unsend it. but thats just me i guess. when i started to do this i wasn't sure where i was going with it, journal or rants, private things i didn't want anyone to know? haha i chose not to do the last, i guess it's more like a journal so what the hey...i'll let total strangers read it, but struggle to let oldest friends and my siblings know. so i guess i can be more personal from here on out. i really got to run this am, but i couldn't forget today is someone's b day . Happy B day Lis..wow you're getting old.

tired

whoa what weekend? Friday turned into a marathon in my car, 2 hours to a meeting for work, an hour at the meeting, 2 hours home. just in time to meet the youngest off the bus, which was just in time for me to get to the bank. while at the bank oldest called because he needed to be picked up from track prac. dropped off the 2 of them and went to the other high school to pick up the middle guy. brought him home so he could get ready for a sleep over, drop him off at the sleepover, drive oldest to his g/f's house. head over to help make food for the concession stand for baseball games this weekend. finish up with that at 10 pm, pick up oldest at g/f's, come home. do payroll and send the figures to hubby. crawl into bed.

up at 7 to baseball field by 9, set up stand, watch a game. FREEZE it was chilly. then because i was already up and moving i decided to get everything done. all the chillins and i went to Sam's...finally gave in and purchased the x box 360, they had wanted it for Christmas but i couldn't find one. also bulked up on gatorades, cups, laundry stuff, all the stuff i run out of constantly. then still had to go regular shopping, and buy gifts for middle son's elem graduation class.

got all that done and sat down to work on a project for the graduation, we got a baby pic of each kid (50 of them), and planned to put them onto paper cut out graduation caps. so i was printing the pics, but my printer wasn't cooperating. so i went back to wal mart to try to use the machine. except the machine was out of order. i spent an hour trying to fix the printer (which i did!!!!!) and then began to print up the 50 pics and glue them onto the caps. crawled into bed at like midnight.

up at 7, dropped off oldest at track, and spent the rest of the day doing laundry and finishing grad project. up this morning with a ton of paperwork, becuase i was doing other things all weekend, got that done. down to the elem school to decorate the bulletin board with the baby pics and that took 3 hours!!! tommorrow is the 2nd grade field trip so that will be a long day too. i remeber thinking when my kids were older i would have so much free time. hahahahahaha..that is hysterical laughter.

breakfast

i know it's a litle hard to see but i don't think this is the purpose for which this was intended. it's a raccoon sitting at the bird feeder this morning. i was looking for my "other" digital camera, the one that pretty much is a toy, but had to settle for my son's cell phone to take it. how cute...my hubby tells me they must be rabid if they don't run from us and we should shoot them..nice. but i don't think they're rabid, i just think they have adapted to people.

nostalgia

thanks to my renewed love affair with sugar free red bull i am finding myself needing a little less sleep. so between that and someone leaving one of the cats in last night, who of course had to be let back out at 4:45, i found myself up a bit earlier than usual. because absolutely NOTHING was on tv i put on vh1, "we are the 80's" was on, and i realized i have been bombarded with things from the past lately. there was s how on about Metallica the other night, got an email from my brother, who attached a link to our childhood home for sale, then this morning.....sigh.

i really loved the 80's....i did. i was cool, could wear the latest styles and have them look good...knew all the songs and videos. went to all the best concerts, worked and spent all my money on magazines i actually had time to read, music and clothes. could it get any better? the 2nd to last video that i saw was Duran Duran, ok i graduated HS in 88...so if you're my age you already know where this is going :)

I still think John Taylor has got to be one of the hottest men God ever graced the earth with..mmmmmmmmm. remeber that u2 video, on the rooftop and how cool we all thought they were? now i see bono and i'm like ughh whats he gonna bitch about now. i guess just like anyone i miss the innocence that i had then and the guilt free fun. but no matter when you grew up you feel that way.

really don't like

i actually don't like the word hate, in fact i will let my kids say any variety of words that are somewhat foul, but hate is a word i do not allow. i really feel like hate is just so strong a word. which brings me to a list of people i really dislike, and the fact that someone was just a few short minutes ago, added to that list.

umm ok..the AP woman who is in charge of my account at the one nursery i deal with is a real pain. in an ideal world the site sends a po to me, my hubby goes to work, fills po and ships to the site. i send paperwork with the proper po# plastered all over it and get paid in 15 days. anyone who has ever dealt with nursery people in the northeast, in the spring, are right now hysterical with laughter. everyone needed everything yesterday, niceities like po's fall to the wayside..just get it to them asap. the rest will fall into place.

the woman who handled my account for the last 5 years left the company this past Jan, leaving me with the charmer i have now. the previous lady would match my invoices to the ones the site sent her and help put the pieces together. it sounds like alot, but it really isn't that bad. as soon as the site receives my invoice to their "system" (i despise that word) it immediately gets a po# whether it had one before or not. I was informed today (for the 4th time, she added), that she can not even receive my invoice without a po# on them. and that i am bascilly wasting her time by even faxing them sans said po, because they are meaningless to her. and there is no way such a huge corporation could cut corners just because i couldn't be bothered to go through the proper channels before shipping "product" (they are trees lady..puhlease).

she is lucky she is in charge of my money.

one persons trash...

as i mentioned in a previous post, spring cleanup is this week. last night was the big night and all trash was hauled up the driveway and placed along the road. because my immediate neighbors are all older, we always have a considerable amount of garbage in comparison. this is a very enticing sight to those who go out searching on the big day. therefore our little stretch of road receives quite a few visitors.

this is the list of things that i can see has been removed so far...
1)a rug that i bought at wal mart for $19 and sat under my dining room table for 1 1/2 years (keep in mind i have 3 kids),
2) a 2 drawer metal file cabinet that is probably 20 years old (i knew that would go quick),
3) a boom box that has only 1 of it's 2 speakers, and no cover over the tape door,
4) 2 cracked flower pots,
5) the pool table top to one of those 7 in 1 game tables for kids, unfortunately i guess they didn't need the air hockey top to complete their collection.
6) several rubbermaid/sterlite container tops, that the containers have been long since destroyed and
7) a compaq all in one printer/fax that was at one point in it's life rained on when the boys bathroom sink overflowed (you do NOT want the details, believe me)

i am a bit disappointed that the vaccuum is still there, that is usually a big ticket item. oh well as i write this the truck is approaching to take it all away...you snooze you lose.

who needs spelling anyway?

i needed to take a break....aarrrggghhhhh. my youngest son, he's 7, is the apple of moms eye. was the greatest gift i ever received. he came especially for me, my gram died when he was 6 days old, and i knew thats why i had him. but the kid cannot spell. not only can he not spell, he really doesn't care one way or another on the matter. he brings home a 40% like he would say an 85%. i do not understand him. i was anal in school, i lived in fear of forgetting homework, or doing bad on a test. my older 2 boys always did well, and wanted to be prepared. NOT this guy. he simply does not give a hoot. he will never have a heart attack or stress.

i have told him no less than 15 times in the last 10 minutes to please sit down and study. now i know you're saying, "nice parenting, kids failing spelling and you are on the computer instead of working with him". you have no clue. we have been studying this weeks words since fri night. he knows the words he just will not pay attention long enough to finish the word. he wanders off in thought and starts to tell me a story, or sharpen his pencil, erase...go to the bathroom is his personal fav. he could be in there for 10-15 minutes during homework. this week is the last week of spelling for the year, i may have a party. i can feel the noose loosening already. and i am so depressed by the fact that no more spelling has become such an event in my life...

question

i just received the estimate to repair my camera and i am filled with awe. i have a digital canon rebel, it was a gift for christmas 2 years ago and i love it, i really do. i never thought i would part with my trusty nikon film, but the canon has filled a void in my life, you know the one, instant gratification?

anyway one day i walked in to my 12 year old son and 15 year old neice PLAYING (!!!!!!) with the camera. HELLO? they knew that camera was not a toy...hell the 7 yr old knows it's not to be touched. i swear those 2 had to be possessed or something to even think of touching it...but they did. fast fwd a week or so, i go to put the flash card back in and something is wrong. pull the flash card out and peer in. it appears as though a pin is bent inside. GRRRRR everyone i took it to suggested just sending it to canon for repair, no one wanted to risk doing further damage. well i sent it to canon and they just emailed me my repair estimate.

$206.00.....WHAT!!!!! it is broken down to be $180 labor and $26 parts. so my question is...how did they sell the entire camera for $900, if it costs $206 just to replace a pin or 2? they must be losing a ton of $$$$. those 2 kids are going to be slaves this summer!!

hawaii

i couldn't think of a better way to title this. it's so dreary here this morning, and i am not complaining. the weather has been incredible the last few weeks, esp for this neck of the woods. but i am daydreaming about summer and vaca. unfortunately this year we do not have time to go far or for long. but it's ok, really. last year we spent close to 6 weeks in Hawaii, mostly on big island. (poor me) but i wanna go baacck (whaaaaaa). so these are my thoughts today enjoy...

a small beach near Kona
I stayed here last Jan, our friends own the house and this was the view
thats diamond head crater
Pololu lookout on the NW tip of big island...the other side is an incredible
green valley
maui in the background

boys in the pool at hilton waikoloa

........

sometimes i look at my life and feel like there is no way i can actually go through another day, then i get a reality check and realize how lucky i am. my sister and i joke sometimes that we must have been hitler and judas in previous lives. it seems unthinkable that two people who, in all honesty, are good caring, concerned people, could be dealt some of the crap we have had in our lives.

then to escape my testosterone fueled morning, i decide to go hide at my friends salon and grease up and lay in the tanning bed for a few. come out share some conversation with women, amen, and try to laugh some of the lsat couple of days off. when i walk in there is a basket of orange bands to help support a local family who has a child suffering leukemia. OK....how can i be such a selfish jerk? my kids are healthy, my husband is healthy, and just sunday night we were discussing our family vacation this year. i have money in the bank, and food on the table. i think we all forget sometimes there is always someone who would love to be in our shoes, grief, messy house and attitude throwing men included.

thank God I am not a man...

and i don't mean that in a new agey, "i am so happy to bear life and be the nuturer" blah blah blah stuff. (not that there is anything wrong with people who feel that way) i mean i am so glad i do not have to be that way. i would hate myself if i had to get all worked up with every little thing that didn't work the way you wanted it to. i would not like knowing people despised the fact that my mantra for life should be "hurry up and wait". I would be unbearable if i was completely lacking in patience and tolerance, and i do not honestly think i could ever tell my wife at 7:30 am that this certain thing NEEDED to be taken care of immediately and that there was no compromise allowed what so ever. then when unfortunately it wasn't going to happen exactly the way you wanted, you were entitled to throw a hissy fit, then say well you work it out and call me as soon as you know something. after all this at 10:30 am (THREE full hours later, a far cry from immediately) said wife would get nothing but the nextel chic telling me he was trying to be located.

i love my sons, and i love my husband, but i would LOVE to be surrounded by estrogen just once in a while. even if noone ever reads this i feel better already. i guess it's working.

Monday

do i really need to say any more? why is it monday's , no matter what your position or job in life may be, are always sucky? ( i think i may have spent too much time with the kids this weekend)

i overslept by a mere 10 minutes and am still suffering the aftershocks. my youngest had an unfortunate accident last night, which meant all 3 boys needed showers this am. i had 4 trucks sitting along the east coast waiting for paperwork to be faxed so they could get unloaded early and get back to hubby to get loaded today. so of course the fax machine decides to be finicky. after 20 minutes of playing with that, while fielding questions about breakfast, and listening to darling hubby tell me no less than 15 times it was urgent that these trucks get back today (DUH i have been doing this for 15 years I know the reprecussions of a missed truck). at the same time he is wondering out loud why i didn't do this last night, um because it was 10 o'clock until you got home and gave me the lists, AND you wanted dinner AND you wanted company because you hadn't seen me all week. not to mention the fact that Big Love was on and he messed that up too.

anyway got the fax machine to work, got the most urgent lists where they needed to be, had to get the oldest up, who was in no mood for morning. as hubby is asking me why he doesn't want to get up. HOW THE HECK DO I KNOW? he's your kid, he gets it from you, why don't you go bitch at him for not wanting to wake up. all this as birds (we have 3 parrotts) are screaming because they love hubby and go nuts when they see or hear him, youngest is complaining that he does not want cereal this morning, and middle is looking for his cell phone on the one day I really need him to have it, so i can save myself some grief later today. which of course he couldn't find.

hubby leaves and then comes back in to yell that something is outside that shouldn't be, i said the oldest was supposed to put it away yesterday. he reminds me how much he spent on this (in my humble opinion) useless piece of crap, that has been collecting dust in the garage for 4 years. but did he put it where i said i wanted it? noooo, when i left with the kids it was still where it was. WTF???? i remind oldest it has to be put away after school or else. to which i receive the eyeroll. my personal fav is the sigh with the eyeroll, but more on that later. go to pick up my niece, who half way to school remebers she forgot her cleats and has a softball game today. back to get the cleats and finally to drop them off.

my sobriety is a testament to my strength.