3 to get ready

Well Hellllllooooo!

2011-04-21T16:29:00.003-04:00

My goodness, it's hard to believe it's been almost a year since I've written anything. It's not that nothing is going on, quite the contrary at the moment. I guess sometimes, life just throws us down, rolls us around and it take a moment to get back up. Nothing bad has happened, just that rough wave of life!

So, I started a new job. I work twice a week at the preschool where Rachel and Riley go to school. I love it! I think the kids are super cool AND I love the other teachers AND it gives me just enough structure to my week that I'm not spending all day in pajamas.

March sucked for me though. Rachel got sick, then I got sick, then Rachel got sick again, then Riley got sick...and she was sick for a long time. I managed to make it to work 1 day out of my scheduled 6. To top it off, sometime over the long cold winter, I managed to get a herniated disk in my lower back. No real reason for it that I can figure out. But now I'm in pain constantly and I can't do half the stuff I want to do and the stuff I can do, I have to do at a much slower pace. Ugh. I'm not making a great patient either! But I am in Physical Therapy and I like my therapist a lot. So, we'll have to see how that goes.

When the kids aren't sick, they are really great. Just for a little catch up, Rena is in 1st grade and the twins are in pre Kindergarten. Life has gotten a lot easier in some ways and more difficult in other. But all in all, it's good.

I'm embarking on some new and challenging adventures that I have really strong feelings about. I've spent the past year starting an initiative at the elementary school to get parents more involved. I've also been nominated to be co-Vice Pres on our PTA and today I found out that I've been chosen to be on a board for our local parenting magazine. Those are really big mouthfuls to take. And I'm not the most organized person. Although I always managed to get the job done. Hopefully these will all overlap quite a bit. I'm excited, nervous and determined. Wish me luck.

North Carolina keeps calling me

2010-05-27T08:22:00.003-04:00

Fr. Hale, the former headmaster of the school I attended and later worked at, turned 90 on April 15th. They threw a party for him and I thought it was as good a reason as any to return to NC, yet again. It just so happened that my nephew was also starring in his high school play that weekend too. Lucky me!

So, of course, I packed up the family and headed to Wilmington and then on to Raleigh. It was a busy weekend, to say the least, but it was alot of fun too.

First, we headed to Wilmington...about 8 hours from home. We got there in time to eat dinner and head off to the play. Rena was my date for the night and Blair stayed at my brothers with the twins.

My brother, father, other nephew, daughter, sister in law and her parents were all there for my nephew's play. It was awesome! I'm so impressed with what high-schoolers can do. The play was a lot of fun and you could tell that they all put so much work into it! Rena made it almost to then end.

My brother cracks me up. A little post-play entertainment! Too funny.

We got up the next morning and headed to Raleigh for Fr. Hale's birthday. I was really hoping to stop and see one of my Aunt's in Wallace AND to pick strawberries, but there just wasn't enough time. We got to the party just in time. I look like crap in this picture, but it's the only one I had of Fr. and Mrs. Hale. There were lots of old teacher, parents and students there. I actually expected to see a lot more people, but it was still fun and I got to see some people I haven't seen in a really long time.

My best friends mother was there. She happens to be my Godmother.

Beverly. Hasn't changed a bit. I've know this woman my whole life. She's quite a character. She and my mother used to work together and then I worked with her for years. I'm not sure what she's saying out of the corner of her mouth, but my guess would be that it's something obscene. I hope my children will have people with this much character in their lives.

Rachel and Riley practicing for their future in the music business. This was at my brother's house, where there's always something cultural to keep us entertained.

The last shot. I tried really hard to get a good picture with all 3 girls. They were done, though and in no mood to cooperate. I really can't blame them. We'd drug them all over the state by this point!

So the play was on Friday night, the birthday party was on Saturday afternoon and we had decided to stay in Raleigh that night instead of heading back to the ATL. We drove out to our old neighborhood and stopped by our backdoor neighbors house. It was so great to visit with them and catch up on everything.

The next day, we tried to find a strawberry patch to go picking but they weren't opened yet. So we headed out to the cemetery to visit my mother's grave and the graves of friends and family. Sounds fun, doesn't it. I always feel like my mother would be pissed if I didn't stop by. hahahaha! I know, it's kinda morbid, but what are you gonna do?

From there, Blair and I parted ways and I headed back home...he headed off to work. Monday morning, the girls were e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d! I woke Rena up for school and she just burst into tears and was sobbing while she got dressed for school. I decided she could play hooky and she went back to sleep for 2 more hours. Poor thing, totally partied out!

As usually, it was great to be back in NC. The whole weekend was so much fun and my girls, well they are troopers!

Here, fishy fishy!

2010-05-03T13:31:00.004-04:00

My next door neighbor is a wonderful lady. Her daughter has cerebral palsy and they have found a wonderful school for her. That school had a fundraising festival this weekend, so we went to show our support for our neighbor, Ms. Ruth and her daughter Hannah.

The festival was small, but fun. I was quite impressed with all they had going on, especially since it's a small school. And I was really impressed by the teachers! Amazing people.

Anywho, at one of the festival games, Rena won a goldfish. Then Rachel and Riley won goldfish. Whhooo-hooo. NOT! I didn't need any more pets! But what is one to do with, now 6 goldfish in bags? On the way home, we stopped by PetCo to get the setup for the fish. I'm thinking classic fishbowl...pretty colorful rocks...the end. But NOOOOOooooo. Seems you need 1 gallon of water per inch of fish. 6 gallons! So we picked out a 10 gallon tank. (I'm sure you are familiar with the size. Most people probably have at least one, long forgotten, on a garage or attic shelf) Lights, a filter...each girl got to choose their own colored rocks, fish food. $80 later we are prepared to be good fish parent.

I should have offered the school $80 not to show the fish to the girls. ;) just kidding.

We got everyone home and all set up. We only lost 2, which I think was pretty good odds. The girls love them and check on them often during the day. The best part....I told the girls that if they stayed in their beds ALL night long, then they got to feed the fish. 2 nights of peaceful sleep. Maybe it was all worth it.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-03-23T19:32:00.002-04:00

That has become the story of my life. How can one 'non-working' person be so freaking busy. Right now, all of my children are avoiding me. That is very good for them. The youngest has just pissed me off completely and I truly don't think I have been this mad at any of them, much less just one.

What happened? you ask.

Well, the elementary school had and Art night, followed by a brief PTA meeting, followed by a performance from the Chorus. All of that went great.

Then, I got up to go speak to the Principal. Rachel proceeded to pull napkins out of the dispenser and throw them at her sister. Then she mounted the stage and refused to leave. I managed to get her out of the building - literally kicking and screaming - only to have her dart back into the building, disappearing into the CROWD. Rena and Riley found her on the stage, yet again, where she was given a good old fashioned swat on the ass for her behavior. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I gave my 4 year old a good ass-popping on the stage of the elementary school in front of, God only knows who was watching. By this point I had tunnel vision. I also had Rachel's attention for a brief moment. THEN she and her 2 sisters ran back out into the parking lot, across the street and to the car. I was still in the lunchroom. By this point, my embarrassment had turned to pure anger...an emotion I rarely feel. As I walked out of the building, into the crowd of people leaving the school, they crossed BACK across the street and headed toward me.

There was no talking on the 5 minute drive home. Once here, Rachel got a true ass-whooping. And was sent to bed. I'm still mad.

All of this madness while I am trying to speak to the Principal of the school and the PTA president, and the few parents that I know. I am mortified. Also an emotion I rarely feel.

I feel slightly better just getting this off my chest. What I'd really like, is the ability to carry on an adult conversation without constantly being on guard for a misbehaving child. Oh to be able to complete a sentence (I said put that back and get up off the floor) without having to insert an instructional sentence in the middle. People probably think I'm crazy.

Sad News

2010-02-24T08:32:00.002-05:00

You know. You just know. No words really need to be spoken, although they always are. Because even though you know, it still needs to be said and it needs to be heard. The first step in making it real.

I got a call this morning from the school where I once taught. Before I even answered, I knew what it was about. A girl....well really a woman, I used to work with lost her battle with cancer. Mean old unfair cancer. She has 3 daughters. Now they have no mother. She has a husband. Now he has no wife. They do have a wonderful support system, and that's something. And she's no longer in pain.

I first met Lisa when she was hired to take over our Afterschool Care program. She was a little bit younger than me, but had grown up in the same area and she had that rare 'Old Raleigh' feel about her. She was smart and confident and she got things done. She became part of that St. Timothy's family and she brought her children into the family too.

I'm so very glad I got to know Lisa and her family. In some small ways, she's had a big impact on me. I know she will be missed and that she has left a big hole to be filled. I wish I could be there to show my support of both the Ham family and the St. Timothy's family. My heart breaks with yours.

Rest in peace, Lisa Ham.

2010-01-25T16:09:00.005-05:00

Hello long lost blog. So much has been happening...nothing exciting, just the whirlwind of life.

So, a little catch up.

Fall is the most hectic time of the year for me. Between school starting back and 3 birthdays back to back, then Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas. No wonder my head is spinning. Add to that the economy and then pflttt! swamped I tell ya.

Well, here's a quick synopsis.

August:

Rena started Kindergarten. She loves is. I'm not a big fan. There will be a whole, independent post about that one day. I take her to school everyday and the bus brings her home. I wasn't going to let her ride the bus to start with, but the closer the beginning of school got, the more brave she got. I figured I'd let her do it if she wanted too. Why hold her back?

We went back to NC for our Family Reunion. It's the first one we've done in a really long time. I planned it and was pretty much in charge of it. My Aunt and my Dad helped out some too. It was alot of fun seeing everyone, but if we do it again, I want to enjoy it more. It was hard to just relax because I wanted it to go well for everyone. It did!

September:

The twins start preschool AND the have their 4th birthday all in the same week. They LOVE their preschool and so do I. The only go 2 days a week which gives me a little break. They would love to go everyday.

The volunteer bug evidently bit me hard. I am the co-president of the preschool parent association. It was lots of work to start with, but I think (well, I hope) it's going well. I love the other mother that is doing it with me. We've got a ying-yang thing going on.

The twins' birthday party was a water party. To hell with the water restrictions, it was all taps open for this. We had a baby pool, a slip n slide and just a regular old sprinkler. The cake was a cool little mermaid. They loved it. I was going to do water balloons too, but completely forgot! Oh well, maybe that's how we'll celebrate the first day of summer!

Next up was Rena's birthday. I did a camping party for her and made a cute little 'tent' cake. We had hamburgers and hotdogs, roasted marshmallows and beaded necklaces. It ran way over, but it was fun.

Then it was time for Halloween. A cold wet rainy Halloween. But we got our candy and we were happy.

November:

This year we decided to go to the Outer Bank for Thanksgiving. Grandmom and Grandpop's house. Blair was furloughed and then had vacation, so it worked out great. Unfortunately they had just had a big Nor'easter, so the beach was a bit of a mess. But quite honestly, I'm happy any time I'm near the ocean. It was a great week.

December:

Christmas. Need I say more. Of course you couple Christmas + small children + 'economic downturn' and it leads to a VERY stressful month.

As you can see, my Christmas pictures ended up at the top of this post. I'll fix it later. Right now, I've gotta get to girls off to preschool. You'll notice there aren't any other pictures. I lost alot of them in the big computer crash of the Fall of 09. Dammit. Luckily I have some on snapfish and some on facebook, so they're not gone forever. I'll try to get them over here later too.

So, There you go, see how busy I am! I'll be back and hopefully make a little more sense later.

Blogging before blogging was cool

2009-08-20T10:01:00.004-04:00

In preparation for our recent family reunion, I asked people to bring pictures if they had any. I know that Shannon scanned some in for us. They are really old and grainy. I'll continue to look for pictures on my end too. If you have some you would like to post here, let me know and I will give you authorship for this blog, or you can mail or email them to me and I will post them.

So, that's Jim Bob and Rena in the picture above. I don't have a date for that picture.

I don't know if many of you know it or not, but Granny (Rena) used to write little articles for The Enterprise in Wallace. Aunt Devilla made some copies for me and I thought I would share them on here. I hope you enjoy this slice of life from the early '60's as much as I do. Unfortunately, the dates have been deleted from the article, so we can only guess as to the true date.

MY TRIP TO RALEIGH...

by Mrs. Rena Williams

Wallace, N. C.

I arrived home recently from my trip to Raleigh. I was gone a week but it was nice to get back home again, where I can see the sun rise and get a drink of water that doesn't taste like it has quinine in it. I always like a drink of water when I get up in the morning but I don't like bitter water. I know why people in Raleigh drink so much coffee - the water is so bad they have to flavor it up with something and coffee is about the only thing they can use and stay on their jobs.

I can't say I enjoyed my trip to Raleigh because my son stopped outside of the town limits and picked up two men who said they were trying to get to Greensboro. By the time they got in the car and shut the door, I felt like I was in a beer joint. The odor they had was so strong it almost made me dizzy. I wanted to open a window but it was too cold. I almost had a "crink" in my neck by the time I got to Raleigh from trying to look both backwards and forwards. I felt like I had to see what they might do and I wanted to see where I was going - and that was hard to do at the same time.

We got to my son's house about four o'clock and was his wife tired! She had been house cleaning and washing and trying to please their two-and-a-half-year-old son, who had been sick and wanted her to do everthying for him and wouldn't let her do anything else. I tried to be helpful and give her a hand, but I soon got out for the way, beause he wouldn't even let me look at him straight.

I used to have a remedy that would cure such spells but you can't use it now days for it will make the child nervous and it is so much better to be nervous yourself. He is a sweet child when he is well.

I didn't get lonesome for music or noise while I was in Raleigh as they have a TV, hi-fi radio and a boy - and if one wasn't running, the other was!

Another thing, you don't have to wear sun glasses to keep the light out of your eyes because the blinds are always pulled. If people used green shades like they used to they would sleep themselves to death, for they wouldn't know day from night. I really had to blink my eyes for three mornings up there for when I peeped out, there was a snow on the ground.

My son brought his movie camera home Christmas and took pictures of all the family and grandchildren opening their presents and I didn't have any idea everyone was moving around so much. It looked like you had thrown a brick in a wasps nest. Children were running this way and that way. I had often wondered what I would look like to myself, if I could see myself walking or sitting around, and now I know - terrible! But we did enjoy the movies even though they were more like comedies than anything else.

I enjoyed my visit and I didn't have anything to do but sit around and think about the day I would go home and thus I got to thinking that sometimes people go up there and don't come back home, so that makes me even happier that I am back home.

When I was up there over a year ago, I came home with the coffee habit and now I almost have the coffee nerves!

2009-08-17T21:06:00.007-04:00

On to Grandmom's house. Ok, there's a Grandpa too, but he doesn't get referenced in the travel lingo.

Grandma's house is a pretty laid back place where we get to hang out with Grandmom, Grandpop and the dogs. And if that wasn't great enough, it's walking distance to the beach. Rachel actually managed to stay awake...at least for a little while.

Believe it or not, this is all 3 girls. Sound asleep. On the beach. And me, without anything to read.

Grandmom and Riley enjoyed some together time.

Rachel in her normal 'day at the beach' pose.

The water at Grandmom's is a little cooler that it is farther south. I won't go in at all.

A new form of catching waves.

We had some rain while we were at Grandmom's. Rena took full advantage of it by riding her bike through it....again and again and again.

Grandmom also hooked us up with some cool tickets to see Charlotte's Web down in Manteo. A live, outdoor play. Very cool.

See. There is a Grandpop. And he read us stories.

Rena was not deterred by cold water. Not at all.

Luckily Daddy's blood has a few Northern drops in it, so he doesn't mind the cold water so much.

Pure beach joy!

This one. Well, she's got attitude.

This is one of those picture that I wish I could reach into and adjust the subjects. If Rena was just a little further to the right, this picture would be perfect. But if there's one thing I've learned about THESE subjects, it's that they are not at all cooperative. I still like this picture. and I love the subjects!

This one! She cracks me up too.

On to Wilmington

2009-08-04T09:18:00.010-04:00

The next stop on the vacation tour '09 was to my brother's house where we were able to settle in for the week. Ok, settle in is probably a misnomer. We hit the ground running with 3 boat trips and a couple of runs to Topsail Island where my best friend and her family were staying. I don't even remember the order of events, so I'll just comment on the pictures. Vacation's supposed to be one big blur, isn't it?

Riley and Rena enjoyed playing in the driveway, practicing their art skills with sidewalk chalk. I was mighty impressed that Rena wrote dog and cat all by herself. When I asked her what A-N-E-R spelled she looked at me funny and said, 'Rena'. Ah! How did I miss that?

This was a sandbar that had formed in the marsh near an inlet. HUGE sandbar. We came here twice. What a great place to hang out for the day. Of course, you have to be outta there by high tide! But in the mean time, there were lots of sand dollars to find sand to play with and water to splash around in.

Rachel contemplating the boat ride.

Rena enjoys the breeze.

My brother looking fit and fab as he approaches the big 5-0.

Miss Riley, always the fashionista.

Rena sorting through her bounty of shells.

A little post beach yogurt break.

Some bubbly fun.

This is how Rachel spent most of her beach days. My brother was worried that she was missing the party. I had to inform him the she is the party.

Soaring high. Seagulls seem to be able to spot small children as an excellant source of food from miles away.

This is the life.

Running with the gulls.

The sisters go exploring.

Next was my favorite island. We anchor on the sound side up in the marsh and then we can hang out there, or traipse across the little island to the ocean. I choose ocean! Great beach, warm water, calm ocean, blue skies. What more could one hope for.

Everyone brings their kids and dogs. Lots of friends show up. At first, I thought that it was cruel for the kids to be burying this dog. Poor dog. Then I realized that the dogs were lining up for their turn!

This was one BIG dog. And he's just a puppy. He wanted to play, but I think his size freaked the other dogs out.

Blair spent a little quality time in the waves with his girls.

I'm trying to feed my 'gluten-free-you-eat-too-much-crap-you-can-eat-that' spouting brother a nutter-butter. Maybe that'll shut him up.

This little boy hit the jackpot. 3 beautiful girls AND cookies!

Cousin Ryan snuggling with Rena.

a little game time on the beach.

This is Riley. But it looks like Rachel to me...since she's the one who's usually asleep.

I took the girls up to Topsail one day to see my friend an her family. She was here from Boston, so it was a perfect opportunity to see each other. Plus, I hadn't met her son. What a fat little cutie he is. I was dissappointed that I didn't get to hold him, but I think he was a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of people around him. We got to hang out on the beach for awhile and catch up. One day, I'll get to go to Boston again, and then I'm gonna give him a big squeeze!

Vacation 2009

2009-07-05T07:05:00.011-04:00

So here were are starting our third day of vacation and I'm exhausted already! I would love to say I'm kidding, but I'm not.

It started with the house. I tried to get the house cleaned and everyone packed before we left. The harder I cleaned, the more the girls messed up. Plus it's just a big house with alot of stuff. I swear I don't know how people keep a clean house. I would have to strap the girls in the car and work for hours to get it the way I really want it. Not gonna happen. But hopefully we didn't leave any trash inside (uh,oh, now I'm starting to have doubts) or food laying around to rot and get stinky. Nice thought, huh?

Then I had to make sure the dogs were taken care of. The labs didn't get to go on this trip. It's just not nice to bring 200 pound of dog to someone else's house. Max however, did get to come. My dad and I figured he's about 98 years old and with age come privilege. Max got to come with us as far as my Dad's. Daddy will keep him for me while I'm at my brothers, which makes me happier than leaving him at home and quite honestly, it's easier than taking him to my brothers, where he's not welcomed.

So, house taken care of, then dogs, now it's time to pack. This seems to be a never ending task! How much stuff do we need. Good googly-moogly! Clothes, shoes, toys, sunscreen, lifejackets, bathing suits, food, towels, computer :) phones, cords, bikes...lets just say except for the labs and some pictures, we have no reason to return to Georgia.

So now we're off. We left at 12 after planning to leave at 10. And we got here at 8. That's a long trip, especially with 3 little girls and one old dog. Oh, and we were in 2 vehicles. I drove with the twins and the dog, and Blair drove with Rena.

So once we got here, we ate dinner at my dad's. My brother, his wife and one of their sons met us at Daddy's. Then we checked into a hotel and went to sleep.

the girls love their cousin, Mason.

July 4

This is one of my favorite days for a couple of reasons. One, it's my birthday!

(we're all laughing because I said whoever sings the best gets the biggest piece of cake. My brother misunderstood and thought I meant the loudest, so he won, if I'd really said the loudest.)

Two, I love fireworks. Three, I get to spend it with my family. We usually go the the 4th of July festival in Southport, NC where they have a big parade, festival and fireworks.

Well, this year, we weren't really into the whole parade thing. Rachel and Riley complained and whined so much while I was trying to watch the parade, that I finally took them and left and let Rena and her daddy enjoy the rest of it. We ate a little festival food...seriously? $4.00 for a hotdog?...drank a little lemonade, made a quick run through the arts and crafts festival and then headed back to my dad's - Grandaddy's. We swam in the pool for a very short while, ate plums from his plum tree,

my brother and his family came over, we all ate dinner and then my family headed back down to the waterfront for the fireworks display. I actually tried to talk the girls out of going because I was seriously tired by this point, but I'm so glad we went. I really do love sitting on the bow of my Dad's boat watching the fireworks over the ocean. Then, we had a very short, but very long drive back to the hotel. Traffic is a nightmare and it's really hard to believe all those people were down there watching the fireworks too!

Today's agenda? Heading up the beach to my brother's and out on the boat for a little sand and water time.

Hopefully I'll be able to upload some pictures to share soon.

Hope you all had a nice relaxing 4th.

Preschool Graduation

2009-06-22T02:13:00.003-04:00

Rena was in the 4 year old program at Preschool this year. And since they are the oldest, they get to graduate. How sweet is this. I love our Preschool! They did it in the chapel, at night. It was a special event for the children...and one of the stepping stones of childhood. (sniff, sniffl..I'm tearing up just thinking about it!) This was only our second year there, but we made good friends and had a great time. I'm really excited that Rachel and Riley will have been there for the whole time by the time they graduate.

The classes performed handbells for us.

Rena wants to be a tennis girl when she grows up. :)

The sisters enjoy some post-graduation cake.

Rena was really proud of herself...and I'm proud of her too.

Just Another Manic Monday

2009-06-22T01:38:00.004-04:00

Mondays this past year turned out to be a rather stressful day for me. I would get Rena ready for school, drop the twins off at my neighbor's house, pick her son up and take Rena and her son to preschool. Then, I'd head back home, pick up the twins and try to get things accomplished like laundry and dishes. Before I would know it, it would be time to feed Rachel and Riley and get out the door again to take Riley to ballet. Another friend picked Rena up at preschool and brought her to ballet since Riley's class started at 1 and Rena's school got out at 1. It's hard to be in 2 places at one time! And since I always had at least 2 kids waiting with me, I needed to pack things for them to do. Poor Rachel had to hang out and wait for an hour and a half. (Of course, she could have been in ballet.) I did have some fun in that hour and a half wait. I met a new friend, who's daughter was in the class with Rena, and I got to spend time with my friend from preschool. We didn't solve the world's problems, but we did have fun discussing our own, while my children entertained themselves, and sometime us.

The stress of those hectic Modays was all worth it when it came down to recital time. Last year, Rena was in the recital by herself, but this year, I had 2 little ballerina's in there. And it was great! Both girls did such a fantastic job. Their teacher did such a fantastic job! It was a little hectic...like on dress rehearsal day when it dawned on me that we were supposed to START rehearsal at 12:30, not BE THERE at 12:30. I was a little frantic then. But the big day went off without a hitch.

Rena's the second from the left.

Riley's the one on the right.

The big ballerina's are always a hit and have rock-star appeal for the little girls. My girls were so excited to have their picture taken with her.

It wasn't completely without it's own drama, though. Riley realized that the other ballerina's were getting flowers...and she wasn't...and she wanted flower! In true diva fashion, she was demanding flowers. And, she deserved them. She really did. So I frantically borrowed money from anyone willing to share, and sent Blair after some flowers. They were happy. And so was I!

driving me crazy

2009-06-04T12:46:00.003-04:00

I have other posts in the works, talking about all the wonderful things we did at the end of May. It's no wonder I'm behind on posting when things like this pop up.

The other night as I was laying in bed, I began to realize that the air conditioner was still running. So I asked hubby what it was set on. 71. Too low for my taste, he knew, so he raised it without question. The next day, on my way back from the mailbox, this is what I spotted.

Jeez a lou!

Then, today, after chasing the dog around the house and prying inappropriate things out of his mouth for a half hour, I decided to save my sanity and just put them all outside, even though it's raining. Little did I know that there will be no salvation for my sanity.

Toy hairballs and the trip to the ER

2009-05-21T08:49:00.005-04:00

Monday was our first official day of Summer vacation. I decided that we really need to have some sort of framework for our day, otherwise it will be complete chaos all summer. The only problem is I'm not really all that good with structure. So I started small. Lunch, all together. Then story time. Then 10 minute tidy. OK, this was a good start and I was happy with that. I figure as the summer goes on, we can add a little more structure until school starts and it will be structured enough for us.

Monday and Tuesday were great. The girls played peacefully in the house or outside until lunch. They LOVE story time and they were actually quite cooperative when it came to the 10 minute tidy. The rule, by the way, is you either clean for 10 minutes and then you can go outside and play, or you stay in for 30 minutes.

Day 3. I'm busy cutting coupons, procrastinating about going to the grocery story (as I was proofreading this, I realized that I had written story instead of store. But that's what my girls call it, so I'm leaving it like that!) and trying to get organized. Oh and I'm also throwing in some laundry every now and again. The girls are busy playing inside...although not always peacefully. Rachel falls asleep...of course. Rena and Riley are playing upstair in their bedroom. Lunch is postponed due to an overconsumption of frozen gogurts and early nap. So already, my structured day is failing. So anyway, I walk upstairs to change a load of laundry and this is what greets me at the top of the steps.

It looks like the girls bedroom has coughed out a giant toy hairball! All this random stuff hawked up from the depths of the bedroom floor. Oh, the humanity!

But the fun doesn't stop there on this first Wednesday. Eventually, I give up on any hope of the grocery store and/or a 10 minute tidy...although by this point, the kitchen needs a 60 minute tidy. One of my neighbors calls and says "are you busy?" ehhh, NO. So we go sit outside for about an hour or so and socialize. These have become known as happy hours. And other neighbors join in.

But now it's dinnertime and I have porkchops that have to be cooked. So I bid my neighbors goodnight....they have other stuff they need to do too...and head inside to Shake and Bake. The twins are watching TV and Rena was sitting outside coloring with sidewalk chalk when I walked in. Well, not 5 minutes later, Rena comes in crying. And I know immediately that we will be taking a trip to the ER tonight.

Rena has fallen off her bike and split her chin open. OUCH. Poor things. She's really hurt. So, I slap a wad of paper towels on her chin to stop the bleeding. I tell the twins "Go to Miss Cheryl's house" (this is not something I need to say twice. They LOVE going to Miss Cheryl's house and playing with her and her 2 children. So, off they went without another word.) I start trying to call the pediatrician. Of course it's after hours so I have to wade through voice mail hell. I finally leave a callback number. Then I call the Children's Immediate healthcare center....and also get stuck in voice mail hell. But I need to start heading that way, because it will take me at least 25 minutes to get to the emergency room, which is my closest option. Then I call Miss Cheryl. She doesn't answer the house phone. Doesn't answer her cell phone. By this point I am cussing all phones in general.

So, I load Rena into the car with a red washcloth now controlling the bleeding (fyi, I picked a red washcloth so the blood wouldn't show and freak her out even more than she was already.) and head over to Miss Cheryl's. I park and go to the front door and knock. Eventually, I see my girls upstairs where the playroom is. They scream 'Mommy!' and head downstairs to let me in, the family dog in tandem. They unlock the door and the first thing they say is "nobody's here!" "What do you mean no one is here?" Turns out, my neighbors aren't home! The twins had crawled under the garage door and let themselves in! Yikes! 'Alright, come on', I tell them and shuffle them off to the car. But now I can't lock my neighbor's house back and I really don't have time to explain to the twins all that was wrong with what they did.

Luckily, one of the neighbors that had been at my house earlier had been watching the whole scene unfold, so she took the twins without question and fed them dinner. I have GREAT neighbors. And now Rena and I are off. We immediately pass my neighbor who's house the twins just broke into. So I flag him down and explain the situation. Turns out he doesn't get what I'm saying and thinks I've left the twins at his house (his wife was suppose to be watching them for me a little later this day). So he gets home, their bikes are their, but he can't find them OR his wife and he's totally confused! Poor guy.

Finally the doctor's office calls me back and directs me to the emergency room instead of the Immediate care center. Of course, I've already passed the exit, so I have to backtrack and head back to the ER. So an hour after Rena fell off the bike, we finally arrive at the ER. Rena was a real trooper. She was scared, but she did great. The PA comes in and says 'we can glue that'. Let me just say, Dermabond ROCKS! It's quick and painless and we were out of there in no time.

Back home. Picked up the girls who were back at Miss Cheryl's house. Everyone was tired. Especially Riley, who fell asleep in this position watching Southpark.

Fear not. I don't really let the kids watch Southpark. That's why I have the TV positioned so that I can see it.

Rachel just pretended to be asleep so that I would take a picture of her too.

Rena wasn't in the mood to mug for the camera last night, but she's feeling better this morning and is willing to show off her battle scar.

She had been talking about what she did wrong on her bike that caused the accident, so I'm glad she learned from her mistake. I'm just so sorry it hurt so much.

One eventful day of summer behind us already. And now we're off to the Georgia Aquarium!

Trike-a-thon and the IRS

2009-05-09T08:08:00.005-04:00

Ok, those two don't really have anything to do with each other. But I'll get to both.

Our preschool does a fund-raiser called a Trike-a-Thon. How cute is that? The parents bring the tricycles and bikes to school and the kids ride them around in a circle until they get bored and then they go get their faces painted

and then jump in a bouncy.

Ok, I probably shouldn't be the one writing the advertisement for the event, but it is really fun...and funny to watch. The day of Rachel and Riley's event, I was one of the volunteers. We said GO and they all started off. 2 little boys (also twins) headed straight...to the road! Everyone else made the turn and were furiously pedaling in a circle, but these two! They were on a mission. Volunteers and teachers alike took off running after them and finally caught them at what I can only imagine that they thought was the finish line! Too funny.

These kids take if very seriously. They ride with a mission. It's really interesting to me to see the difference in the ability level of these kids. Some are naturals, zooming around and weaving in and out of the less confident. Some seem like they have never been on a bike before. I must admit, that made me a little sad for them. My girls are out on their bikes almost every day. And Rena's been riding a two-wheeler for about a year. Some of these 4 and 5 year olds were just not very coordinated. Come on parents! Get your kids OUTSIDE!

It was interesting to watch my own kids too. In keeping with their personalities, Riley rode very carefully and deliberately.

Rachel rode with complete abandon. She also waved at me each time she passed!

And Rena did what was expected...rode in a circle and didn't interfer with anyone else.

Rachel and Riley got to watch Rena's race because they weren't in school that day. It's so nice that they support each other.

I'm glad that the twins have 2 more years here. Such a great preschool. I love it and so do they!

Now, on to the IRS. Thanks to the crappy economy, we are getting a big fat refund this year. The lion's share is coming from the federal government. I'm really looking forward to getting this return, because it will allow me to plan out the rest of this year financially. But of course, there was a glitch. Somehow we got Rena's social security number wrong on the form. I called and fixed that over the phone and was told I could expect my return within 30 days. Yippie! So, a week or so later, there's an envelop waiting for me in the mailbox from the IRS. Silly me thinks it's the return. Nope. It's a bill for $67,000+ dollars. Not kidding. According to them, we failed to pay and/or file in 2006. What?! How come Kroger can keep up with what I buy sporatically at their store and send me coupons to match, but the IRS can't keep up with my 2006 taxes that were filed and were paid. Good googley-moogley. Not only that, but they're keeping my 2008 return. Oh, they GOT that one. Idiots. Now I know it's some minor thing. Maybe they filed it under N not M, or got OUR ss# off by a digit...but seriously people, I don't remember much about 2006. I had two 1year olds and a 3 year old. Taxes schmaxes.

So, I started digging though my well-maintained records...ok, they're really just all stuffed in a really big purple box. And lo and behold, I found a cancelled check to the IRS for 2006 taxes. Now we do have a little problem because our taxes were done on my computer which just so happened to get a really nasty virus this winter. So I took my computer to the local high school computer teacher where he used it as an example of what not to do. He had to take EVERTHING off my computer. And despite the fact that I told him the only important things on it were pictures and quicken, he saved everything. I love you Mr. Decker!!!! So once we download the software...again...and open the tax return, we should be able to get this thing resolved. But what a pain in the ass. Seriously, I think I'm the only one who's not stressing about it. I'm just pissed that the government can do things like this. It's THEIR fault, not mine. And trying to talk to someone about it IS frustrating. I know they have it and they won't even look. Arghh. Ok, maybe I'm a little frustrated. Anyway, I'll keep you posted...or blog from the pauper's jail!

I will leave you with this lovely sign of spring.

April 30, 1982

2009-04-29T21:46:00.002-04:00

That date doesn’t have quite as much meaning as it did to me 27 years ago. Wow. 27 years. It’s hard for me to believe that that much time has really passed. So, what happened? It’s not pretty. Really.

I was 16. I was on the soccer team, a junior in high school. And little did I know that a major, life changing event was about to take place. I was about to lose a friend forever.

That afternoon, my soccer team had played a game in a town about an hour away. We lost. 2-0. Up until that point, we’d been undefeated. It was a good game against intense rivals. The van ride home was uneventful. The Sugar Hill Gang booming out of the boom box in its rightful place on the back seat. My friend, Leigh, talked about her date for the night. She was going to be late. When we got back to school, I let Leigh climb over me to get out so she could, perhaps, make her date on time. I knew who she was going out with. I had a major crush on him. A relationship, really. He was 17. But still, I let her go.

I headed home with vague plans for the night with another friend, including meeting up with Leigh and her date. Those plans never materialized. Too tired. Staying home.

But just hours later, around 10:00, I heard emergency vehicles on my street. There was a sharp curve and it wasn’t all that uncommon for people to misjudge it and lose control. 4 houses down from mine, there was quite a bit of commotion. Ambulance, fire trucks, I’m sure there were probably police too, but time has worn away that part of the memories. So, being a curious teenager, I joined the other neighbors who had come out to see what was going on. And then, there was a sick realization. Even though the car was wrapped around the tree and difficult to identify, I knew the license plate. I knew who was in the car. The boy, Kipp, had already been removed and taken to the hospital. The girl, Leigh, was still in there. As they removed her, I saw her lifeless body on the stretcher, her fashionable add-a-beads tangled over her blood-soaked polo shirt. My shock was just beginning.

I ran home and called Martha, the friend I had earlier cancelled plans with. Leigh’s been in a wreck. Come. She and her father picked me up at a local convenience store, since my street had been blocked off by the police. We headed to the hospital to await news. At one point, they wheeled Kipp by us and he wasn’t doing so well. All we knew was that Leigh was in worse shape.

Finally her parents arrived. Panicked, her mother grabbed me and shook me and asked where Leigh was. All I could do was point to the doors that we weren’t allowed beyond.

Minutes passed, feeling like hours, as Martha and I waited to hear something. Finally, we were called into a very small room, where Leigh’s mother told us she was dead. Dead. He father could only sit there and sob. Martha and I were in shock. The wind knocked out of us, I don’t think either of us really knew what to do. As we left the hospital, we saw her little brother sitting on the curb crying. It was all quite surreal. Eventually, we went back to Martha’s house and started calling friends to tell them the horrible news. They, too, couldn’t believe the news.

The next few days were a blur. I think this event secretly bonded our small school all together. Our teachers had no idea how to handle it, our parents had no idea how to handle it, and we had no idea how to handle it. So, we all handled it together the best we could. Because I was so close to what had happened, and knew both Kipp and Leigh well, I always thought that I was one of the ones most affected by it. I never gave much thought to how the others handled it. Years later, I ran into one of our teacher, Mr. Andrews. He apologized to me for making me take him to the scene of the accident…a place I had to pass every day for the next year or more. I have no recollection of taking him there. Trauma will do that to you, I have learned. Or maybe it wasn’t any big deal compare to what I’d already been through. Either way, I didn’t remember.

There are other details I do remember. Too many to go into. The thing I do know is that this one event shaped my life more than any other event to date. I’ve lost my mother, I’ve been married, divorce, married again and have 3 wonderful children. And while all of those events are memorable, none has shaped me quite as much as that warm April night. Not necessarily for the better. Not necessarily for the worse. It just changed who I was.

So, to Leigh, may she continue to rest in peace.

Easter happenings

2009-04-14T10:51:00.007-04:00

Busy, busy, busy. We have been busy. Hubby's birthday was the middle of March. He happened to be home, so I made lasagna (his favorite) and yellow cake with chocolate icing.

He was surrounded by his girls on his 'big' day. Nothing says love like cake.

Next up was picture day at school. Luckily all 3 girls didn't have pictures on the same day. I know some of you think that would be easier, but it's alot of work getting 3 little ones picture-ready. I was excited when our preschool director asked me to help on the second day, because that means I get my pictures for 1/2 price. Sweet deal!!! I still haven't ordered the fall pics. Come on tax refund! I got a few shots myself on the twins picture day.

How cute are they? Riley doesn't think she looks 'pwetty' because she's not wearing a dress. Diva. I told her she was going to have to get over it for that day. She managed surprisingly well.

Next up, we dyed Easter eggs. So what if it was a week early, it just cut down on badgering time. The girls had fun and then we mixed color...so we got a little art/science lesson in there too.

Since the weather's been so wacky here lately, it's hard to decide what to wear. Rachel made sure she covered all the bases.

We've had tornado watches, warning, high wind advisories and even a little snow. Here in the south, when it snows, you have to take advantage of it. This snow storm was short-lived, but cool nonetheless. I realize in this picture it just looks like it's foggy down in the woods across the street, but I promise you it was snow. Why else would the girls be out in their gowns with such happy smiles on their faces?

The nice weather, when it shows itself, makes it nice to sit outside while the girls play. Daddy joined us and I'm not really sure why now, but he and Riley got into an argument about money. He told her she needed money for something and she told him HE had her money. No I don't. Yes you do. No I don't. Yes you do. Well, you get the idea. This little girl is going to be a tough one.

In the meantime, I got a little snuggle time with Rachel, who's going through a phase of being on her best behavior. I'm sure it's just a phase.

Rena took this picture, by the way. Not bad. I almost didn't post it because, my God, do I really look that bad? The sad truth is 'yes'. But hey, it's the truth, so there it is.

Of course the big event for this month was Easter. And the bunny didn't disappoint. The girls were oddly calm Easter morning. I'm still not really sure why. Rena spend a lot of time divvying up the loose eggs. I think they were excited, though. After breakfast, we headed off to the church where we go to preschool. After a very nice service there was an Easter egg hunt and then we headed off for lunch. It was a really nice family day. After lunch, we drove around and looked at houses. We have no intentions of moving, but it's nice to see what else is out there. We used to do that alot.

Last but not least ( for this post anyway) is ballet. Our ballet studio has visitors day where all the parents get to come see what the girls have been doing all year. They run through the recital and then they get their recital costumes and get to go through it again. Rena and Riley are not in the same class, so I get to sit there for an hour and a half... with Rachel. At least they are both in the same recital. yeah!

Riley went first. Even though she looks a little nervous in this picture, she did great. She really pays attention and you can tell she LOVES it

.

Here she is in her costume...striking a not-so-polished pose.

The 'ballet school dropout' watched from the sidelines. I think she missed it a little.

Next up was Rena. An old pro at it this year.

Rena in costume....a little 'brothel' for my taste, but I'm sure she'll look great on stages.

A post-rehersal moment with the sisters. How sweet are they?

Last but not least, a moment between sisters. Love it.

Animal Control

2009-04-08T22:55:00.005-04:00

I put up with alot. Probably more than I really should. I've been complaining about one dog or another for quite awhile now. Here's the back story. When we moved into this house, we had Max and Trouble. Trouble got killed in our backyard in a freak accident the first summer we were here. (As if I needed more reason not to like it here.) He was a really great dog...part Golden, part Lab. Beautiful, smart, calm. No really, he was.

this is max

We had always talked about getting another dog before Max and Trouble were gone, because dogs (usually) learn from each other.

So Blair wanted another dog. And I toyed with the idea. But Max was so easy. He knew all the rules, and despite his bad reputation, he's a really good dog. So I said NO. And then our 'friends' (you know who you are!) sent us a picture of Nixie that they wanted to get for us. That they already had. How could I say no...again.

this is Nixie....and Rena.

Nixie likes to stick her nose in your crotch and she's a little needy. She did manage to disembowel all the BIG stuffed animals we had sitting around, so that actually won her some points in my book. She's big and she wants to wrestle. Not me. So we decided that getting another dog for Nixie would be a good idea. That way they could get alot of energy out together.

So, those same 'friends' offered us a puppy from one of their dogs. We named him Jake, and he's has come to be know as 'that damn dog'. Jake is smart...or stupid. The jury is really still out. I do know that he needs a job. He needs to retrieve. Fetch. One day, I feel, he and I will be good friends. One day.

this is Jake...sleeping on the spoils.

Since we've been having alot of rain lately the dog issue has kinda come to a head. Jake is only contained by a 'doggie' gate if I'm in there with him. Not helpful. So I went and bought a dog crate. Works like a charm. I was still trying to let him sleep upstairs with the rest of us, but he was pooping on the floor and peeing on the floor. Finally one of my neighbors said, "Jake doesn't have house privileges." And just like that a lightbulb went off. He doesn't have house privileges. Soooo, Jake's either been spending the night outside, by himself, or downstair in the crate. And you know what...I'm finally getting some sleep. Halleluia!

So, a big shout out to my neighbor Cheryl for the eye-opening statement. Thanks!!!

Relief!

2009-03-30T18:01:00.003-04:00

I've been without my computer for about a week now and I finally got it back Monday. Yippie!!!! I'm so happy. I've felt so out of touch. I don't know what's been going on anywhere. It's truly amazing to me how dependent we get on these little things. I had a really nasty virus attack my computer and since I actually know very little about computers in general, I had to find someone who could fix it for me. Luckily, the local High School computer teacher took a shot at it. He had to take everything off, clean it down to the basics and now I have to put everything back on it. Yikes. A learning experience for sure.

So, what have I been up to this week? Well, my husband took all 3 girls to the beach to see his parents. And my girls couldn't have been more excited. The love, love, love their Grandparents. As an added bonus, they got to see their Aunt Marti too. The didn't get back until Sunday afternoon...and I have to say, that was just a little bit too long for me to be away from them. I really missed them. However, I took the opportunity to do nothing. And lay things down and come back to them. Whatever I put away, stayed put away. Nice.

I also took myself to downtown Atlanta to the High Museum of Art to see China's Terracotta Army. Very cool. I don't go down to Atlanta very often because I don't know my way around and I don't like that. It wasn't so bad when I was by myself though, because I could concentrate on what I was doing. Plus, I didn't have to be anywhere at anytime, so no pressure. The exhibit was really cool. I'm glad I went. I actually wish I would have spend a little more time there.

This summer, I plan to take the girls down there for some different things...the aquarium, the zoo...that kind of thing.

But now it's back to the daily grindstone!

Rockin' the spending freeze

2009-03-20T07:57:00.002-04:00

The girls were in preschool for only 2 hours yesterday and I had alot of errands to run. And no money to spend. My panic induced spending freeze really paid off yesterday.

First, I dropped the girls off at preschool and headed to the bank where I cashed in rolled change. $80.00.

Next, I headed to Hallmark to get a card for hubby's birthday next week. I had a $4.00 gift rebate and the card cost $4.27. Whoo hoo.

Next, I headed to Belk. I had about $11.00 on a very old gift card and Rena really needs some spring clothes. I bought her 2 mix and match outfits. Original price - $77.00. On sale for 30% off. Opened a Belks credit card for 20% and 15% more off (note to salesclerk: a 20% discount then a 15% discount does not add up to a 35% discount. That's not the way it works) Final cost to me - $23.00. Whoo hoo!

Passed by the county 'free' woodchips pile. (I don't know why they put quotes around free. They really are free.) Fresh pile! I go hook up my trailor, discover that my garden fork broke the last time I got mulch. Stop by Home Depot and use my 'free' gift card to purchase new garden fork. Load trailor with free mulch. Whooooo hooooo!

So, I got a birthday card, a pair of cropped pants, a skirt, 2 shirts, a garden fork (and it wasn't cheap) and a trailor for of mulch all for $23.27. Whoooo hooooo!

Oh, oh! And the tax accountant called and says she thinks we'll be getting a refund!

The recession can kiss my ass!

Never Ending

2009-03-17T09:46:00.003-04:00

It's been raining here for day, as it has been in much of the south. While I really am happy that we are getting rain, and Lake Lanier is filling up, I'm really hating my backyard in a big way.

Believe it or not, this is the sodded part of the backyard. Our builder told us we don't have a drainage problem. asshole.

Here's the problem. My backyard is divided into 2 parts: kids' yard, dogs' yard. The kids yard is sodded, the dogs yard is not. As you may have noticed, I hate my builder and blame most things on him. The fact that we have NO grass in the dogs yard is his fault. If it weren't for the sod, we wouldn't have grass in the kids yard either. Now, at the height of the drought, this didn't cause any problems. But because I don't want wet muddy dogs in the house, I let the dogs go into the kids yard when it rains. And they poop there. Alot. And the only real way for that to get 'cleaned up' is to pick up the poop and let the rain wash away the rest. But when it's raining, the dogs are in that yard...pooping. See the vicious cycle? This time around the dogs have access to the whole yard. So they are sopping wet and muddy. And when they come in, they come into the kitchen, which is now sopping wet and muddy. There's no other place for them to go. And I hate it.

The dogs are already on my shit-list. At least Jake is. Here's that story. Sunday, I went upstairs to do some laundry (never ending). When I headed down the hall to put clothes away for Rena, I discovered a big pile of poop. Great. I hadn't noticed it earlier because Rena doesn't actually sleep in her bedroom. Her bed got moved to the twins room, so the only reason to go to her room is for clothes. When I walked into her room, I discovered another pile of poop! CRAP! That pile had been there since Saturday. Gross! So, as I'm finishing the laundry, Rena comes and asks me why I'm not cleaning it up! Well, 'cause I'm finishing the laundry! Then I drag the vacuum cleaner upstairs and go back for my new friend the carpet steam clean, which has already paid for itself! I clean up just the spot in the hall since I'd already cleaned the whole hall last week. Then I picked up all the toys in Rena's room, vacuumed and steam clean that whole room. As I'm backing out of that room, Rena comes and tells me that Jake just peed under the dining room table. WHAT! Damn dog! At least the steam cleaner was still plugged in. So I drag it back downstairs and clean up the dining room. So it feels like all I did was clean up pee and poop all day Sunday. That and pick up those infernal beads.

Then on Monday, just when I might just get a step ahead, Riley helped me unload groceries. She dropped a glass jar of salsa in the driveway, which broke into a million piece IN a puddle of water. (God forbid the builder know how to make water drain away from a house) Do you know how impossible it is to see shards of glass in a puddle of water? Well, it is.

It's been kinda tense around here. I'm in serious need of a vacation. A little 'me' time that isn't interrupted by anyone or anythings bathroom habits. Some quiet, still time.

Mommy, don't you argue me!

2009-03-04T12:33:00.004-05:00

That is what Rachel has been telling me lately. In her best Mommy voice. And no, I didn't accidently leave a word out. That's how she says it. Just like Riley asks for a peanut butter and sandwich. God, they crack me up.

This morning on the way to preschool, Rena was trying to get her sisters to say her name the right way. I know it was rather cruel to give my children names that start with R and they can't really be expected to pronounce it correctly until they're about 6, but what's a mother to do? Rachel pronounces it 'Wena' and Riley say either 'Glena or Lena'. So the conversation on Rena's part went something like this. "Wiley, say Wena, not Lena. With an Awwr. Wena. Twy again. Wena." Oh, how I wish I had a recording of that.

This day got off to a rough start. It's a good thing I'm adaptable. And that I showered last night after tennis practice. First off, I'd like you to meet my new best friend.

That's right. My new carpet steam cleaner. He's getting lots of use already. Yesterday, as I mentioned, while the girls were in school I cleaned my bedroom and the hall. Last night, one of the dogs threw up in the hall. For no apparent reason. Then, this morning, poor Max didn't make it, again. Started peeing in the bedroom, down the steps, well, you get the idea. Poor guy. Luckily, Stanley the Steam cleaner was still plugged in! Problem solved.

Of course, I'd like to wake up a little slower than that. My eyes weren't even really open as I cleaned the floor. Next task was to get Rena bathed before my neighbor came to pick her up for school. While Rena was in the tub, my neighbor called and said her son was sick and they weren't going to school. Crap. It's only a half day today, which in preschool, means a 2 hour day. Since it takes me almost half an hour to get to school, there no sense in coming home. So, I had 45 minutes to get not 1 but 3 kids ready and out the door. Kinda stressful. I must say a big Thank You to my hubby who made coffee for me!

I dropped Rena off, took the little girls to IHOP for breakfast. They played. I ate. Way too expensive. Off to Home Depot, no, not here, Lowe's to find a hanging clothes weekly organizer. Hopefully this will quell some of the clothing battles I've been having with Riley. The outfit will have to be approved and stored the day before, so come morning time we can just get dressed in our PRETTY outfit with our PRETTY shoes. This kid's killing me.!

Back to pick up Rena and home. Then they wanted to finger paint. It was almost 12:30 before things settled down. I'm sure I don't even want to see the aftermath of the painting. It might be time to go back to bed and try to start over on a smoother day!

March!

2009-03-03T15:27:00.002-05:00

Where did that come from?!? February seemed to be over in a flash. A slow, monotonous flash. We have been inside wayyyyy to long and I can't wait for Spring to really get here so that we can go outside and play! It has been a cold, warm, wet, dry winter! Make up your mind already. One day, I had the girls play in the closet...we were under a tornado warning and we've had some serious wind around these parts. One storm moved through at 45mph. Then one came through at 75mph. That is a seriously fast moving storm. Luckily, we managed to make it through with no damage.

Other than that, it's just been the same old, same old.

I did get Rena registered for Kindergarten. I have seriously mixed emotions about the whole thing. I'm excited for her that she's getting ready to start this journey. I'm sad for me that my oldest is starting school. Real school... that will dictate our lives and schedules for the next 13 years. I don't know much about public school and what I do know I don't necessarily agree with. I think schools are too big and classes are too big, and teachers' don't have enough power over how children behave. I worry that someone will tarnish the world my sweet innocent child lives in. And she is. Sweet and innocent. There's always one kid that is wize beyond their years that spoils it for the group. And I wonder why that child's parent's didn't help them hold on to their innocence for just a little while longer. Once it's gone, it's gone. So I worry. And mourn. And I'll miss her. Im not ready to be away from her for that long.

However, she's ready. And I'm sure she's going to love it. She thrives on the whole social scene. She's smart, and articulate and happy. So, come August, I will have to let her go just a little bit more.

The battles with Riley have subsided just a little. She still insists on being pretty all the time. Did I tell ya'll she sleeps in a headband - everynight! Gosh, she cracks me up.

Rachel continues to march to the beat of her own drum. Such a cool kid. She's been so sweet singing the theme song to Sleeping Beauty. She's watched it a million time.

I've been sick. A stubborn head cold that finally put me in bed for a day and a half. Not an easy task to accomplish. I finally called Blair to see if he could come home early Friday. He made it here about 11:30 and I spent the rest of the day in bed. Which put me seriously behind.

Today I've been playing a little bit of catch up. A couple of weeks ago, I bought a steam cleaner...an executive decision I made after our geriatric dog, with an incontinent bladder and a pendulus penis walked down the step, through the entry, through the living room and through the kitchen. There was no way to clean that up! I'm so happy I got it, though. But I'm completely disgusted by how much dirt was on my floors. I think this things going to get a work out in this house. I did the living room last week, Blair did the dining room, I did the affected stairs, the hallway and my bedroom today. Much better!

Well, that's it for now. I'm rambling anyway. Have a good day!

fishing buddies

2009-02-20T08:22:00.003-05:00

We love hanging out outside. Playing in the sand box.

Fishing in the neighbors yard.

Gratuitous picture of the damn dog, Jake. In a rare moment, he was caught with something dog proof in his mouth.

Randomosity

2009-02-19T11:12:00.002-05:00

No pictures this time, so if that's all you're here for, move along.

Riley has been driving me crazy. For sometime now. And I imagine well into the future. This week in particular she has been a whiney little thing. And demanding. The clothing battles continue to rage on. In fact, I think it was last week, maybe the week before, I dropped her off at school with her dress on backwards and no shoes on. ..both days. Luckily, the preschool is prepared for these kind of days. And she's much more compliant with them. Interestingly enough, Rachel is being the perfect angel. I say 'get dressed' and she gets dressed. Even donning socks and shoes without being asked. As long as the ying/yang of that relationship continues, I just might be able to survive. Rena is moving right along. I know I'm prejudiced, but she is turning out to be a delightful little girls. All of them, really, but Rena has developed self-awareness that the twins haven't necessarily found yet.

It's not all battles. Yesterday, for example, Riley sat down and read the entire Green Eggs and Ham book to herself. Now, she wasn't actually reading the words, but the pictures. She was reading outloud and it was adorable. She was totally engrossed in what she was doing. I got video tape of her. Unfortuantely, it's not digital.

Rachel has always been good at entertaining herself. She's a little obsessive about watching TV. I'm well aware that I shouldn't let her watch so much. She walks around quoting whole scenes from Nemo and Sleeping Beauty. Interesting kid. I love watching her grow. She's got a great imagination too. Probably better than both her sisters.

Rena is definitely growing more independant. I love it. And not just because it has some benefit to me. I love seeing the sense of accomplishment she gets when she gets herself a bowl of cereal or makes a snack for herself and her sisters. She made lunch for them all last week. Peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches. How cool is she?

I may have said this before, but when the twins were born, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't make Rena the 'little mother' that sometimes happens with older siblings. Rachel and Riley were not her responsibility. I didn't ask her to get me diapers or wipes or bottles or a million other things that she could have done to help me. So, I find it interesting that she still seems to be exhibiting those 'oldest child' traits of being a caretaker. Like I said before, she's a neat kid.

Of course, there's more to my life than the girls. Ok, not really. I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday that also has a 5 year old and we seem to be on the same page...boring. I think since it was rainy all day yesterday and we were stuck inside all day, it just made things feel worse. I used to have a sense of accomplishment. I had a job. I got up and went to work everyday, accomplished things, talked to other adults, came home tired. Now I get up and (aside from the undeniable joys of being a mother) do the same things over and over. Laundry, dished, picking things up off the floor, vacuuming, making and/or cleaning up from some meal. At the end of the day, there is no sense of accomplishment. And it's frustrating.

It's also frustrating that actually trying to do something for myself is almost not worth the effort. One of the things I do for myself (really the only thing) is play tennis. I love it. I love the girls, I love the game, I love the physical and mental challenge. The problem is I have to rely on someone else to be able to go play. Blair's never here, so it's a babysitter. And they can be unreliable. This week is a perfect example. I've started using a 15 year old neighbor (Carly)to babysit. The girls love her. They are usually playing some sort of dressup whenever I get home...a big hit with Riley. I haven't played in weeks, but 'my' team just started their spring season practices tuesday night. We've added some new people and I was looking forward to seeing all my old friends and meeting the new ladies. So I had called Carly monday and asked if she could be here at 6:15. Sure! So 6:15 comes and goes. At 6:20, still no sign of her (and I can see up the street, almost to her house) so I call her. busy. call the cell number. no answer. call again. busy. Now it's 6:25. Practice starts in 5 minutes. I'm dressed and ready and in the middle of preparing dinner. So I call one of my 'grandma' neighbors. She's already in bed, sick. Then I see 'the guys' from across the street. So I call out to the mother (who hasn't talked to me in about a year and a half) and ask if Sabra can babysit for an hour and a half. Now, she's only 12, but, really, she's very mature and better than most teenagers at manipulating small children. She really does have the knack! She can! Send her over. I run back inside to check on dinner. 6:30 there's a knock on the door. It's Carly. She thought she was supposed to be there at 6:30. Then Sabra showed up. I decided to let both of them stay and now I am frantically trying to get to my tennis lesson which has already started.

So even when I try to do something for myself, it takes so much effort and planning and drama, it's almost not worth it. Then to add even more frustration to my situation, at the end of my lesson, the team I played with this winter (a much higher level team) called me over and wanted me to practice with them. I couldn't, because I had babysitters at my house. So frustrating.

Alright, back to a positive note. Once I pick the girls up from preschool, I'm off to register Rena for kindergarten. I can hardly believe it. So, I'd better run for now, there's vacuuming and laundry to be done!

raffle house

2009-02-06T16:48:00.005-05:00

You know what sucks? There's a house that's being raffled off about 3 miles from my house for $5 a ticket. The house is valued at over 400,000 dollars. I was just taking a virtual tour of this house and it would be perfect for us. Master on the main with a guest room on the main. Large mudroom. Deck and covered porch. 2 bedroom/bonus rooms upstairs that would be perfect for the girls bedrooms and playroom. Secluded lot. And that's where the problem comes in. As great as that sounds, my girls (and me, for that matter) wouldn't be happy there. Forget about me. They love to go visit their neighbors and play with the other kids in the neighborhood. When it's not cold, we spend alot of time outside and alot of that time is spent visiting with our neighbors. Rena's best friends lives directly across the street. And even though she's only 5, she has a bond with those children. Yes, I know if we were to move away tomorrow, she probably wouldn't even really remember those kids. But now, they are her best friends. My girls ride their bikes in the streets and run up and down the sidewalks blowing bubbles and playing with their friends. What would they do secluded in the woods?

Now, I'm acting like we've won this house. We haven't and chances are pretty slim that we would. But if we did, we would have to make a decision. And a tough one. I don't know why I grow so attached to the places I live, but I do. As much as I hate this house....and I do...it would be hard to move away because I love my neighbors. People say you can't stay because of your neighbors, but I'm not entirely sure that's true. Would you trade a really good 'known' for an unsure 'unknown'?

Either way, I'm stuck here. For better (and there has been some better here) or worse(which seems to be mostly over). It may not be my 'dream' house, but it's where my children will spend their childhood and grow their memories.

2009-01-29T12:07:00.006-05:00

Well, well. January shaped up to be a really busy month. I have continued putting the girls to sleep in their room and I love it. Because Rena and Riley have pretty much given up napping, they are usually asleep by 8:00. This, to me, is miraculous. If Rachel doesn't nap, she's asleep then too, but she's much more likely to nap in the afternoons still. That's ok, though. She's getting a little one on one time at night that she had been missing out on with 2 more aggressive sisters. All in all this has made for a much calmer, more relaxed bedtime routine. Once all of the girls are in bed, I've been reading to them. I love this part! I started reading the Tales of Desperaux but it was starting to get a little gory and dark...I'm sure Disney fixed that in their movie. So, I switched over to the Ramona stories by Beverly Cleary. When I was teaching Kindergarten, my assistant and friend Brenda would read these stories at naptime and I fell in love with them. Life is simpler, family is important, kids are safer and the world is an exciting place to be. I'm thrilled to be reading these stories to my girls and I'm really looking forward to all the wonderful stories out there that I can share with them.

We've been getting lots of rain this month too, which is really good. We are still WAY behind on the whole rain thing. The lake is beginning to fill up again. Can I get a big 'YEA!' We've been in a drought the whole time we've lived here...to the point I feel like a criminal if I waste any water. And the poor girls are constantly being told to turn the water off. If it keeps up, hopefully we will be able to water outside again. Our landscaping could certainly use some attention.

One of the bad things about the rain is that there's no where for our dogs to go when it rains. Oh, yes, they have a dog house, but why use that when you can come in sopping wet. Our backyard is divided into the 'kids' yard' and the 'dogs' yard'. We sodded the kids yard awhile back, but we haven't done anything to the dogs' yard. And despite being here for 3 years, there is NO grass growing in the dogs' yard (I'd like to thank the shitty builder and the drought for that.). It's all red clay. And when it rains, it's all red muddy clay. Yuck. Which then gets tracked into the house. Yuck. Which I then have to clean up. Yuck, yuck, yuck. So, I'm actually having a love/hate relationship with the rain right now. We are going to have to find a way to solve this problem, but of course, short of getting rid of the dogs all together (not gonna happen) it's going to cost money.

this is Max and Nixie

How sweet is this picture.

That brings me to another thing that has been keeping me busy this January. At Christmastime, I had a major freak out over money. Seriously stressed. The poor economy has had it's effect on my family too and unfortunately, the last 5 years, I've had my head buried in diapers, wipes and sippy cups. Financial planning really wasn't even on the radar. But then I had my little freak out and put our family on a spending freeze, as my brother calls it. No presents for anyone but the kids, no cards, no cutesy decorations. If we didn't NEED it, we weren't getting it. I just said NO. And I've gotta tell you, it was liberating. All of a sudden, the very grey matter of spending began to divide into black and white. Saving money and/or not spending money became a game. How little could I spend. Where WAS it all going. I was back in control. And it felt good.

I was doing great on my spending freeze. Blair even called me and told me that he was getting an unexpected end of the year bonus and he thought we should replace our washing machine since it was starting to go. I decided that that money should be used elsewhere and the washing machine would have to wait. After all, it still mostly worked. I just had to re-adjust the load twice during every cycle. And that odd noise that it had started to make, well, it wasn't effecting the actual washing. THEN, 3 hours after I started what would be it's last load, I heard an odd, high pitched awful scream of death. I went to investigate and the laundry room was filled with SMOKE! And an awful stench of burning rubber. So, guess where the bonus money ended up going? That's right. A new washer. And since we're at it, a new matching dryer. Because I really have no self control. And the pair was on sale with rebates and all. My rational is that I do ALOT of laundry...and my largest laundry days are still ahead of me. So, I need a workhorse of a washer and dryer. Plus, I got $240.00 of free Tide. Whooo-hooo. It's actually quite startling to realize that I am excited to be getting a new washer and dryer. Not a gold necklace, a diamond ring, a trip to the Bahamas, but a front load, large capacity, quiet running washer and dryer. I'm so old.

So, in the week, yes week, between the death of my old washer and the arrival and installation of my new one, the laundry really piled up.

Add to that the fact that Riley and Rena both threw up in the middle of the night and Max peed on the floor in the girls room during that week, I had some really serious laundry issues. Lucky for me, the new washer and dryer came with a sanitizing cycle. The down side... it takes 2 hours!! BUT the laundry came out clean and springtime fresh! Oh yes it did. And we continue to test the capabilities of the machines in ways only toddlers, puppies and geriatric dogs can do.

Speaking of testing, Riley has really been testing my patience. God love this child, she is one of those kids that is deceptively strong-willed. It's been interesting to watch and I've commented on it before, but she always manages to get her way...but you can't really figure out why. One example is the 'middle' seat in the car. This doesn't actually mean the one in the middle, but the specific car seat that was occupying that space. (I didn't realize that until I moved the 'middle' seat to a diffent spot, but they still fought over the middle seat.) At first, everyone wanted to sit in the middle seat, so, we rotated who got to sit there. But eventually, it was just Riley and the other two stopped fighting her on it. The same thing happens with certain toys. If I buy something for all the girls and Riley decides she wants it, it ends up being just hers. I'm not even sure that Rachel and Rena realize they are giving in to her. Fascinating. Anyway, this child has decided she MUST be pretty. At all times. I'm beginning to think that she really thinks she's a princess. She wears 'the' princess dress all the time. She even sleeps in it. She has started rotating it with a Snow White dress that one of my neighbors made for her. She knows she can't wear it to preschool, but she always wants to be pretty. So, this past Thursday, when it wasn't going to be out of the 30's, I picked out 3, weather appropriate outfits for the twins to choose from. They weren't pretty enough for Riley and the battle began. Well, I'm not a morning person to begin with, so if you plan to argue with me....and win....might I suggest a later time in the day. Rena chose her outfit and so did Rachel. Riley was down to 2 choices. But she wanted to wear this cute little sundress.

Um, no. Now I was officially in a power struggle with my 3 year old. Now I have to say, I'm really good about giving the girls choices. I know it's all about power and personal control. But here's the bottom line: I'm the Mama and you'll do what I say. So after many failed attempts at rationalizing with this child, she displayed flat out defiance. She threw a brand new(spring) outfit on the kitchen floor and when I told her to pick it up, she kicked it. Jeez a lou. What are the teen years going to be like with this one. Well, Mama had to pull the trump card...and a spanking followed by an ultimatum. So this is how Riley went off to school Thursday morning.

The other 2 were uneffected by their outfit choices OR their sisters distress about being dressed like a commoner.

Of course, it's not all battles and broken machines around here. We've spent alot of time inside this winter because it's either been warm and rainy or cold and sunny. I can't get the girls to go outside anymore! So, we've danced and cuddled and bonded.

9:01, January 5, 2009

2009-01-05T21:27:00.002-05:00

Oh, yeah, mark that date on the calendar. All 3 girls went to sleep in their own bed without crying or fighting it. Now, I know it might just be a fluke, but that's ok. I'll take it! I decided that Jan 1 was going to be the day. The day I moved the girls out of my bed and into theirs. I have to admit I have mixed emotions about it. I really love cuddling with my girls, but I'm not really happy about being run out of my bed time and time again. So, into their own beds they went. Rena has been great about it. She was definitely ready. And she's done the best. Rachel is all about sleep, so it hasn't been a great stretch for her. She goes and puts herself down for naps as it it. Riley's had a much more difficult time. She is VERY attached to me. But tonight, she went to sleep in her bed without a fight. And she was even still awake when I left the room! I don't know what I did to deserve this, but it's great!

Christmas

2008-12-27T09:42:00.007-05:00

For everyone, it seems Christmas has been a busy time this year. Rachel started us out with her cute self in a Santa hat. That is our Christmas tree in the background. Poor thing barely got decorated. The girls hung lots of beaded bells around the bottom. Then they'd take them off again. What they didn't take off got knocked off by either them or the dogs.

Somehow in all the craziness, we ended up in two different church productions. We don't really go to either church! How did that happen. The pastor's wife at a 'start-up' church close to our home asked if Rena could be an Angel in their Christmas musical. We'd been to this church a couple of times and the pastor and his wife are super nice. How could I say no. They wanted the twins to be in the musical too, but that just didn't happen.

Rena looked beautiful and she did a fantastic job, despite only being able to attend one rehersal. Little did I know when I said yes that she was THE angel. Ah, the pressure!

Rachel and Riley hung out in the audience with me. They enjoyed a little snack before things settled down. It had been a busy afternoon with no time for dinner. Rena and I had to go to a birthday party and I had to hire a babysitter to watch Ray and Riley because Blair had to fly to Chicago. We got back from the party, changed clothes, woke the girls up and headed to church.

The weekend before we had to be at the church where we go to preschool. The 4 year olds were playing the handbell in the service. It was great! (That's Rena on the far left) I also really liked the church.

Then Rena's class and the twins class had their Christmas parties. Rena's class put on a little play. Rena got to be the Innkeeper. I LOVE their preschool. She was very excited about me coming. I was excited too, because I didn't have to divided my time between her class and Rachel and Riley's class. Unfortunately, I forgot I would actually have the twins with me. And then, my wonderful neighbor Cheryl stepped up and offered to watch the twins and bring them to school with her when she came for her son's party and hour later. It worked out perfectly for me and I owe her bigtime!

Once school got out we had to find ways to entertain ourselves. Rachel was the only one up and she was playing and I was on the computer. She came up to me looking like this. God this kid cracks me up. She has a great sense of humor and she's sooooo full of life. She's going to be the one that keeps me on my toes.

Riley has dug this princess dress out of the dirty clothes more than once. This dress, that was Rena's Halloween costume when she was 2, is Riley's favorite. I'm sure in her eyes, it is the most beautiful dress in the world. In reality, this dress is well past its prime. The seams are splitting, the tulle has shrunk and the hem is frayed. But you know what, I think she's beautiful in it. Most times. In the picture below, she's kinda sporting the bag-lady look. The dress, of course is on. Then there's a blue jacket....you can kinda see the hood. Then her winter coat. There is a blue and red scarf poking out the back. The hat is quite fetching, especially the way she has it pulled down almost over her eyes. The pink striped mittens are a nice addition. And no outfit would be complete in our house without inappropriate footware. I made her wear socks since it was so cold and then let her chose shoes. Yes, those are purple flipflops. I thought I had put all of those shoes away. Guess not. I think what gives it the whole baglady feel, though, is the umbrella stroller and the need to be wheeled around the neighborhood.

No one will ever be able to say I didn't give my children creative freedom.

What blogpost would be complete without a DAMN DOG update. This was a bag of trash I had hanging off the cabinets where I had been preparing dinner. Jake decided to explore just what was in the bag.

As the mother of so many dependant children, it's necessary sometimes for me to call in reinforcements. Thank goodness I've made some good friends here in podunk Georgia. My friend Betsy offered to watch the girls at the Mall, no less, while I ran to pick up a present I'd forgotten. What a saint she is. and she even managed to capture this image of all three girls in the same frame and all looking happy. Not an easy feat.

We pulled Christmas off without a hitch, really. Here's the aftermath.

Riley got a Cinderella barbie.

Rachel got the bike she wanted!

Rena finally got the fingernail kit she'd been asking for.

The flower fairies watched it all from the tree.

Rachel, sporting her new sunglasses.

Riley, dressed as a fairy princess, complete with wings and tierra.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving and beyond

2008-12-12T14:30:00.007-05:00

This Thanksgiving, we stayed home. Usually we go to Biltmore and I really missed going this year. Nobody came to be with us either. So, we celebrated Thankgiving with just our family. It kinda took all the fun out of it, but it also took ALL the pressure off. I still cooked a big meal and we ate in the formal dining room, which completely baffled the girls.

I dyed some pasta and had the girls make Native American necklaces.

They had a great time and it turns out that Blair is pretty good at it too! He and Rena had some bonding time over their beading.

The day after Thanksgiving we did head to the mountains of North Carolina to cut a Christmas tree.

It was a brief, overnight trip to Dillsboro and then cut our tree in Waynesville.

It was nice to get away, if only for the night. And it was beautiful! The girls had fun running from tree to tree trying to decide which one would be ours.

After we finally decided, we got to watch them cut it for us.

How exciting.

This place was really beautiful and next year, I'll know that I should have the girls ready for a Christmas picture.

This year, well, I'm just behind.

After that, my Father and Brother came to visit. I was really excited to have them here. My brother only came when we moved in 3 years ago. My father's been here a couple of times. We had a great time together and their visit was over too soon. The first night, my brother and I stayed up well past midnight drinking wine and talking and laughing. I'm still behind because of it! My brother spent most of his time in my kitchen. It was great! However, cleaning in this house is futile.

My dad and I got to spend some time together too. It's always so easy being with them.

And fun. My family is just funny. My Dad and brother were both confused by the Pampered Chef can opener. After I showed them how to open a can with it, my father was determined to figure out HOW it worked. I'd like to know that too.

The girls had fun too.

Grandaddy read to them...

and they helped him put together a play kitchen for the playhouse outside.

I loved hearing him telling them how to build it. Rena and Riley were interested.

Rachel just wanted to watch tv. All the excitement was too much for Rena and even though she didn't want to go to bed, the Sandman found her anyway, right in mid-sentence.

Now, the downhill to Christmas!

Sticking together

2008-11-26T10:27:00.005-05:00

This week all of my children have been sick. Rena and Riley both have ear infections and Rachel has a cold. Thursday, Riley stayed with me while Rachel and Rena went to school. Honestly, at the time, I didn't think twice about Rachel going to school without Riley. I was swamped at the time, and still unsure whether Riley was going to go or not even in the drop off line. Then this Tuesday, they all piled out for their last day before Thanksgiving. I headed off for a little 'me' time and to get some things done. Well, about 11:45 I get a call from the Preschool. Slight panic. Don't we all panic when we see that school number show up in the caller ID? It was the twins' teacher. Nobody sick, she said, but Rachel was asleep. She had fallen asleep while they were having indoor recess. What did I want her to do? Let her sleep I said. No problem. This child can sleep anywhere, and I've learned the hard way, it's best to just let her sleep!

So I went to pick them all up a little early and the teacher told me that it was a good thing that it was Rachel that went to sleep and not Riley because Rachel is lost without Riley. WHAT? Are you sure? Rachel is Little Miss Independant. Rachel the Brave! Riley is Little Miss Clingon! Are you sure. Yeah, she say. Riley's fine without Rachel around. I peeked in the classroom and sure enough she looked happy as a clam. Never in a million years would I have thought it was that way. I was sure Riley was more dependant on Rachel then the other way around. Just goes to show what we parents know.

My girls are close. They play well together and get along pretty well most of the time. Oh, they have their fights like all siblings do, but boy are they willing to defend each other. Take last night for example.

Blair was home, so we were all seated for dinner. Riley was playing and not really interested in eating. Blair had told her a number of times to sit down or she was done. Well, he finally took her plate and put it in the sink. This caused her to dissolve into tears and run from the room (oh, yeah, the teenage years are going to be grand!) and for her sister to jump to her defense. "Da-day! Yook what you did! You made Wiley cwy!"

(Rena tries to recreat the look for me, but now she just thinks her daddy's funny.)

Rena AND Rachel both jumped on him.

Poor Daddy. So outnumbered!

Thursday

2008-11-22T19:25:00.004-05:00

Thursday was one of those days. It was such a hectic day, that it started Wednesday night! I had volunteered to bring a fruit tray to Rena AND Rachel and Riley's class for their Thanksgiving feast. I was also supposed to bring dessert for the little girls' class. So I got started after dinner Wednesday night getting everything ready. Not great planning. I put a movie on for the girls so, hopefully, they would settle in and watch and not be running around destroying the house. No such luck. Even my little TV head Rachel wasn't interested. But they all wanted to help. Well, I was cutting fruit with a sharp knife and trying to get cookies into and out of the oven as quickly as possible. Not really things they could help with, although that did not deter them. By the time I got all the fruit cut up and all the cookies done, then 3 girls and myself ready for bed and 3 dogs fed and in for the night, I was exhausted. Of course, the dogs went out twice during the night and then Riley woke up about 4 complaining of an earache. Finally back up about 6, I started getting my little indian princesses ready for school. I had everyone dressed in the closest thing to Indian clothes that we had, fixed everyones hair, brushed everyone's teeth....I think....packed the car with fruit trays, fruit tray refills, cookie trays, change of clothes, 3 small children and a travel mug of coffee. Oh yeah, I did all of this while Riley followed me around crying and telling me her ear hurt. She was literally clinging to me as I dashed around trying to make sure I had everything I needed for the day. So off we went. I dropped Rena and Rachel off. Riley decided she didn't want to go to school. (She has an ear infection.) so I took Riley with me to tennis practice. I didn't want to cancel my lesson for a number of reasons, but really I was hoping that Riley would decide to go to school so I could do what I needed to do. However, she sat in the car and watched a video the whole time I had my lesson. She was great. After tennis, we grabbed something to eat and then headed back to school.

Rena has been so excited about this Thanksgiving Feast. She has asked me everyday if I can come, and on Thursday she was so worried that I would be late. (I wasn't!) I did have cling-on Riley with me, though.

So the little indians met in the hall and sang a few songs and then we all went into the classroom for lunch. (Riley's teacher rescued me and took Riley to class) It was great. Rena was so excited for me to be there.

The lunch spread was great too. Unfortunately, I had to split my time between the two classes, so I ran down the hall to see what was going on in the twins room.

They were attempting to sing a song. When the girls saw me, the yelled Mommy! and headed straight for me. I felt bad. Poor teachers. There was, of course, lunch going on in their room too. So, I ate a little there and then just kind of bobbed back and forth between the two rooms for the rest of the time.

In the meantime, I had called the pediatricians office to make an appointment for Riley. I hate that they close for lunch from 1-2. We get out of school at 1 and are literally 5 minutes from the office. So we either have the last appointment of the morning and have to leave school early (not a problem) or one of the first appointments for the afternoon. Our appointment was at 2:50. So I either kill almost an hour and and a half, or I go home...25 minutes to get there...30 minutes back to the peds office...give me about 55 minutes at home. Pointless. But that's what I did anyway. Riley does have an ear infection, so of course on the way home we have to stop for a prescription. By the time the day was over, I was exhausted!

Then Friday night, Rena ended up waking in the middle of the night with, what has turned out to be a double ear infection. Poor little things. I'm sorry they all feel so bad. Rachel, so far, has managed to avoid the infection....although she was the first one to complain of her ear hurting. I'm hoping we can make it through the night with not interuptions. hahahahaha. Wish me luck!

One of the things I love most about Rachel is she marches to the beat of her own drum. She's always so carefree. Here's a picture of her watching tv in her flannel pajamas, her flip flops and her ladybug hat....which she is also wearing right now, as she stands beside me waiting for me to finish up this post. So there!

Why my life is chaotic

2008-11-19T10:35:00.005-05:00

I run nothing, if not a chaotic household! It's no wonder I can't get anything accomplished. This morning as I was trying to get Rena ready for school...well, let me start with this.

Since Rena is the only one that goes to school today, I figured I'd wait 'til the morning to give her a bath since the little girls could take one later. I was really hoping that she'd take a shower...quicker and easier...then Riley wanted to take a shower....then Rachel wanted to take a bath....then Rena decided she'd take a bath instead....then we started to run out of hot water (go figure) so Riley got in the bath too. In the meantime, I'm trying to keep my coffee cup full, pick out clothes for the day, start laundry...etc. Then, I hear laughing and squealing coming from the bathroom. And this is what I find.....

Yep! That's Jake. He had 'retrieved' the stuffed Winnie the Pooh from the tub. What are you gonna do? He is a retriever after all. And on a side note, who needs a tub that big?

The rest of the day has proved to be just as chaotic. While Rena was in school, Riley and Rachel were playing with an aquadoodle in the foyer. You use water to write on it. When it dries out you start again. Well, if you are three, then you start thinking if a little water is good then alot of water would be great! So Riley filled up a tea kettle and poored it all over the entry. Flood! So I made the girls clean it up and then it was time to head to the grocery store. Then to pick up Rena.

On the way home from picking up Rena I decided to stop and pick pecans from this tree that I had noticed earlier. It's right off the highway and kind of behind a warehouse type thing. By the time I got there the twins were asleep so Rena and I picked them up. I got a whole grocery bag full. Let me tell you, if you haven't eaten fresh pecans, you don't know what you're missing. Yummy! We had alot of fun picking them up too. As I was walking back to the car the guy that works there and owns the house next door came out and talked to me. He didn't care that we picked them up and he even showed me their chestnut tree. Have you ever seen one of these things? It looks like a mini porcupine and feels like one too. Youch! We got a few of them just for the novelty of it. Are they even edible? Or do you just roast them on open fires? I'll have to google it.

When I got back to the car with Rena, I discovered that the twins were awake and crying! I felt so bad. I was sure they would sleep the whole time we were gone. (By the way, I could see the car the whole time and if they had looked to their left, the would have seen us too.) But the upside is that they didn't nap for very long so hopefully everyone will go to sleep early tonight.

On the way into the neighborhood, a deer crossed the road infront of us! It was big too and just strolled across the street and back into the woods that back up to my house. Who knows, maybe he's still back there. It was really cool and that's the first one I've seen in the 'hood.

Then I tried to get the girls to go outside and play. But nobody wanted to. Too bad. I guess it's too cold for them. Now everyone is whiny and driving me crazy. I'd feed them dinner and put them to bed now if I didn't think I'd pay for it about 4:00am!

God Bless America

2008-11-14T11:37:00.002-05:00

I tend to have a pretty tough exterior. It's not necessarily and act, there just isn't alot that gets to me. I can see both side of most situations and I tend to not be that emotional. I run on an even keel.

HOWEVER, my achilles heel is when I hear children sing. I don't know why, but get a group of kindergarteners together singing the ABC's and I become and emotional basket case. And I taught Kindergarten for YEARS. (Sidenote: I can't read the Polar Express without crying either and I usually had to have my assistant finish reading it everytime I read it to my class. One year she was busy and didn't realize I was circling the drain. I did finish reading it, but I was a mess. It was awful!) Anyway, I was mopping the kitchen this morning and the girls were sitting on the back of the couch watching me. What? You didn't know that mopping is a spectator sport. So Rena starts singing God Bless America. I didn't even know that she knew this song, but she didn't miss a word or a note. Her sweet little sincere voice got to me. I had to turn my back to them so they wouldn't see me. And when she finished she said..."Mommy, did you like my song?" Bwahaha. I was bawling! Beautiful.

Happy Halloween 2008 style

2008-11-06T14:12:00.004-05:00

I sent my computer off to Dell on Monday. The whole thing was falling apart...literally. I'm kinda hard on things. So all week without a computer. Yikes! Except I did have one. My old computer which actually works just fine except the power adaptor only works if you hold it just right against the back of the computer. And even then you have to move it around alot to get a connection. Oh and the battery won't hold a charge. Anyhoo I could at least go online and check email, etc. While I was there I checked out some old pictures that are still on that computers.

3 years ago. God, aren't they just delicious? Rachel is in front and Riley's in the back.

Halloween 2005.

What a cutie little fairy this one was. Recognize the dress? It's the same one that Riley is wearing in the majority of pictures of her on this blog.

2 cool cats.

Halloween 2005.

My front porch in Wake Forest. Rachel on the left. Riley on the right. Ray wasn't too happy about something. Riley did alot of sleeping in the early months. So they were about 7 weeks old in this picture. Wow. where has the time gone?

The BIG sister. And what a great big sister she has been.

My how time flies. Now the twins are older than Rena was in these pictures and we live 2 states away.

So Halloween 2008

We had a GREAT time carving pumpkins.

Trick or Treating was fun.

Can you say Sugar Overload?

Rena turns 5!

2008-11-02T07:50:00.008-05:00

So we had Rena's 5th birthday party in October. For the longest time I couldn't decide what I wanted to do for her party. My sister in law suggested a treasure hunt. That sounded like a lot of work at first but the more I thought about it the better I liked it. So that is what we did. I did a treasure hunt where everyone had to find clues to find the next clue.

The last 'clue' was a ticket for the hayride to the pumpkin patch where everyone got to pick a pumpkin to take with them.

So it was a bit of a 'redneck' hayride.

But I think everyone had fun.

Rena had decided that she wanted an all girl party. That was fine with me. It has started getting more difficult trying to decide who to invite and who not to. Rena has LOTS of friends. So a couple of the neighborhood boys had been left out of the party plans. But that didn't deter them. Once they found out it was 'girls only' they decided to take matter into their own hands.

It cracked me up! I gave them cupcakes and sent them on their merry, crossdressing way. I'm not sure some of our guests knew exactly what to think.

There was a kind of Fall/Halloween theme to the party so I made a black cat for the birthday cake. One of the guests informed me that it was brown not black. No cake for YOU!

The kids always seem to end up sitting in the foyer eating cake at every party. Too funny.

The birthday girl got a little clingy with Daddy around.

So another birthday party down. I really can't believe that she is 5. And she is such a great kid. Everyone loves her. She's smart and funny and sweet and generous. She is everything that I hoped she would be and more. I taught this age for many many years. And I had some really great kindergarteners in that time. Rena would rank #1! I love her more than words could ever express and I'm so lucky to be her Mom. Happy birthday Rena.

THE PARADE

Our preschool does a Halloween parade of sorts. The children get to dress up in their costumes and then they parade around the carpool lanes while happy parents and grandparents snap pictures. It is very cute.

RANDOM THINGS

On the nights I play tennis one of the neighborhood girls comes to watch the girls for me. She loves to have them dress up and do fashion shows for me when I get home. It is hysterical. They love it.

Riley in particular!

Now the babysitter is kinda young and shy and quiet. So it surprised me when I showed her this picture of Rachel

and she said "Well now you know how she's going to be looking at you from the time she's 12 until she's about 17."

Turns out she's funny too!

And because I'm constantly amazed at where and how this child can sleep, here you go. She's asleep with her finger stuck in her hair.

And now for the truly amazing. THIS is my side of the bed. That right. That's where I sleep. Just moments before I took this picture Riley had her arm slung over Rachel's waist. Rachel wants her space when she sleeps. She always has. So a few minutes later I ran into Rachel in the hall headed to her room. "I'm going to sleep in my woom." she said in her most groggy voice.

That's rude

2008-10-22T11:03:00.003-04:00

Rachel's favorite thing to say lately is "That's wooed" She hears that alot "close your mouth when you chew" "Put your dress down" "don't spit" All followed by "That's rude"

So last night the puppy I was bragging about earlier peed on the kitchen floor. Ack! Rachel came to inspect and said "Mommy, That's wooed"

Ah so true

Rub-a-dub-dub

2008-10-15T05:02:00.005-04:00

Wellllll. Evidently if you want to get comments on your blog you just need to post random pictures and tell people there's a story behind them. hahahahaha!

This past week has been extra busy. What can I say. I've descended from messy disorganization to complete and utter chaos. I've been off balance ever since school started. I'm not quite sure why but I've never managed to catch up. I my defense we did start school, where I seem to have volunteered for every event this fall, I've thrown 2 big birthday parties in the back yard, I've had a yard sale, taken a roadtrip to Raleigh, what else? I'm sure there's something else. Oh. We added yet another dog to the pack, bringing the grand total to 3. So a better more anal person could have handled it all AND cleaned the house, but that person is not me. So right now there are dishes stacked up, laundry lined up down the hall and my car looks like grocery bags have exploded in there. BUT, I'm taking tomorrow OFF. Kinda. OK, I'm just not taking the girls to school. What? Don't looked so shocked. It's not a big deal, really. It's a half day. Yep, they do that in preschool. So that means I would have to drive for an hour for Rena to go to school for 2. (The little girls don't have school.) Ain't gonna happen tomorrow.,,,,,,,

So a few picture to perhaps explain some of the craziness that makes it's way into my life. This little cherub is Riley. Evidently she is part squirrel. See that grocery bag in her hands? There
are about 6 more downstairs on the toyshelf. She's been 'organizin' '. Helping. All this helping is going to kill me.

So I had her empty the contents of her bag so we could see what all was in there. She's not happy about it. Suspicious comes to mind. So let's see. We have a box top to a game that came with 54 pieces...none of the pieces are located in the picture. A writing board. A coloring book. A game piece from a clown juggling game, a pretend vase from a plastic dressing table, a baby toy piano and a large bag of baby wipes. Now remember, there are 6 more bags just like this and I know for a fact that some of them contain small cans of tomato juice taken from the pantry.

And see this next picture. Those are the cards that belong in the gamebox above. This is not all of the card, of course. They have been unequally distributed throughout the 10+ rooms of this house, the garage and the car. And those tiny little things? Those are pony beads. You can make necklaces out of them or if you're really talented you can use them to decorate your hair. If you are of preschool age evidently the thing to do with them is gather them up and then sling them across a room. No need to collect them a second time because there are PLENTY of them. I'm convinced that they are able to multiply on their own....like tribbles, maybe. I like to think of them as seeds from hell. Especially when I walk around barefoot.

I have finally taken a serious stand on the little beads and those that appear when I vacuum are sucked into eternity. The luckier ones have been (re)contained in a rubbermaid cannister where they will live until the girls learn to really pick up after themselves...or the stone bruises on my feet heal.

Next up we have our trip to Raleigh to pick up this little guy from our 'friends'. I have to put friends in quotes because they are the people who gave us Nixie who is a big fat pain in my ass. But I still love her. Kinda. Anyway this is Jake. We got him so Nixie would have someone to play with. So far it's working out great and this little guy is pretty cool so far. Nixie's happy. I'm happy. Max is happy. All the dogs are happy. Great. Really. It is really hard to get a good picture of a black lab puppy. First off,, he's black. Second he's a puppy so he wasn't slowing down much as I tried to take his picture. And he was curious about the camera. So he's actually cuter in dogperson.

At least a trip to Raleigh enabled me to visit some of my favorite haunts. I got my haircut from my most favorite hairdresser. She's fabulous and I've managed to have her continue to cut my hair even though I'm 6+hours away. I haven't made a special trip to Raleigh just for that but I would! Then I did a little shopping at NOFO at the pig. Really very quickly. They had these cool cups for the girls and I wanted more. Then I drove past my Grandparents' house. They don't live there anymore. They've been dead for over 22 years. Wow. And I'm still driving by their house. hmmm. Well they lived in what is now a hot real estate market. I really wish I had bought their house when they died. It's worth a fortune now....seriously. It was on the market for about $260,000.00. It's about 800 square feet on 1/8th of an acre. But it's not the fortune I'm after. I just think it would be a really cool place to live. Of course I would have to do a little renovation I'm sure. That's what's happening to all the houses on that street. They are being torn down and replaced with 4000sqft homes. There are lots of complaints about it but I think they are doing a nice job. And those original houses have run their course.

Next stop was the State Farmer's Market. I was hoping to see some really cool jack o lanterns since they had just had a decorating contest, but most of those were gone. We did get to see some really beautiful pumpkins. I LOVE pumpkins! This one was bigger than my whole family!

I love the textures...

and colors....

and patterns on all these beautiful gourds.

I also love the way they are all lined up ready for Halloween! I'm talking about the pumpkins, not the girls.

And now for a picture that I just think if funny. The girls usually take a bath together although they are about to outgrow the tub. I call this our indoor pool. Why is the water super cloudy? 'Cause it has a whole bottle of soap in there.

Rain

2008-10-08T06:14:00.005-04:00

I'm up way too early this morning. I don't know why. I've actually had almost 30 whole minutes to myself but as I type this I hear the first one thumping down the steps. It's Rachel. She wakes up happy and has come to join me in the dark in the chair. She just wants to sit beside me and suck her thumb. I think she's getting a cold. Probably the one Rena has given me.

Outside it's raining. I really can't remember the last time it rained. It's sad and a little scary. While most people down in Atlanta have probably forgotten the water restrictions that have been in place and tightened for the last 2 1/2 years, I drive over Lake Lanier almost everyday and I see our water supply quickly diminishing. I watch this one boat that has been neglected and left to rest on the shoreline by the receeding waters. One corner clings hopelessly to the water's edge, waiting for the day it can be launched again and set free from the muddy bank. Sometimes I wonder if that's truly going to happen. The vegetation optimistically sprouts on the new shoreline, taking over where waders used to tread. Hopefully it's days are numbered. But not by this rainshower. Simply a drop in the bucket that will quickly be siphoned off and processed and pushed through a hoseline in some upscale neighborhood to make sure their grass stays green and the HOA stays happy.

Well the days have been busy here. This fall caught me a little offguard...lolling in the last days of summer. Unstructured days and late nights sitting outside watching my children play barefoot in the street, riding bikes and chasing frogs by the light of the streetlight. The sound of children's laughter coming up from the darkness as they squeeze in one last minute with their friends. But now here it is October. My favorite month. And there's so much I want to do. Many things pass me in a blur. But it won't be those things I've missed that I'll look back on. It will be the things we managed to get done.

Last friday I took the girls to pick apples up in Ellijay.

The weather was beautiful and the apples were plentiful! I was going to take them the week before but I couldn't find gas and I didn't want to use any extra if I didn't have to. So the girls had a full week to get excited about it. We've actually been every fall since we've been here. The first year we went with a playgroup. Last year we went as a whole family. This year it was just me and the girls. The apple house has added a petting farm. It's only open on weekends but the girl at the counter told me we could go in as long as we didn't let any of them out. So we did.

Rachel is a natural around animals. Completely in control.

Rena likes them too.

Riley, not so much.

It was great. I must have been a farmer in a past life. The girls were pretty much done after we saw the goats and they were ready to go! I wasn't and I made them pick more apples as they complained bitterly about how tired they were. Oh well.

Little girls can pick a lot of apples in a short period of time. So now I have a bushel and a half of apples sitting in my garage. So far I've made an apple pie and apple bread. I'm making apple jelly today. It's been a long time since I've canned anything. I figured I'd start with something simple and work my way up from there. I'm hoping to do some applesauce and apple pie filling. Because I have so much free time. I sent some apples to school with the little girls. If I get really inspired I might bake something to send in for their classes to eat and some for the teachers too. We'll just have to see how much I can get done in a day.

35 Things

2008-09-27T12:21:00.002-04:00

My friend Mer shared this on her blog. I love those things so I decided to play along...instead of emailing to all my friends who really don't care! ;)

35 Odd Things About Me

1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing? Not really
2. Do you own a gun? Yes
3. What's your favorite drink at Starbucks? grande latte
4. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? coffee coffee coffee
5. Do you do pushups? not if I can avoid it. That must be my weakest muscle.
6. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? a heart necklace that Rena drew and my mother in law had it made into a necklace.
7. Favorite hobby? tennis
8. Do you have A.D.D? probably
9. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? procrastination
10. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I should get the laundry going...is Rena really asleep?...the computer is a horrible thing for procrastinators.
11. Name 4 drinks you regularly drink. coffee, water, wine, coke
12. Current worry right now? that Ill never get my 'office' organized
13. Current hate right now? politics
14. Favorite place to be? the beach any beach
15. Do you like to travel? not really but I like the final destination usually
16. What color shirt are you wearing? red
17. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? no. too cold. give me flannel
18. Can you whistle? of course. I can even use my fingers to whistle
19. Favorite color? blue...no, green...no, blue. Actually I LOVE blue and green together.
20. If you could would you be a pirate? I am a pirate. ;)
21. What song do you sing in the shower? I'm usually too busy shouting orders to sing (don't hit your sister, leave the dog alone, turn that down....)
22. Favorite girl's name? Lauren. But I didn't name any of my girls that.
23. Favorite boy's name? Scott
24. What's in your pocket right now? Don't have pockets. But usually it's a receipt from somewhere or a hair clip
25. Favorite bedsheets as a child? Didn't have any
26. Worst injury? Hmmm. I have lots of them. The worst was probably when I dislocated my knee because it's been a constant source of problems ever since.
27. Do you love where you live? NO
28. How many TVs do you have in your house? 3
29. Who is your loudest friend? If I can't think of anyone, it might be me, right?
30. How many pets do you have? 2 and counting
31. Does someone have a crush on you? I doubt it. Unless you count Riley.
32. What is your Favorite Book? To Kill a Mockingbird
33. What's your favorite candy? mini reese's cups
34. Favorite Sports Team? ECU pirates
35. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Damn dog!

If this looked like fun (and it was) do one on your own blog and let me know. Or email me with your answers. I really do love these things.

Recent happenings.

2008-09-27T06:38:00.004-04:00

Well the girls had a great time with their Dad at Grandmom and Grandpop's house. They got to go play on the beach sound side

and go to the aquarium. Blair was really good about sending me cellphone pics along the way.

I really missed them but I really enjoyed my freetime. At first I thought I was going to spend the whole time furiously scouring my house until it was spotless. But alas, that didn't happen and I was OK with that. Instead I just spend some quiet, calm time doing a little of this and that. I did clean and do ALOT of laundry. I played alot of tennis and napped some too. I went to the movies with a couple of friends and took myself out for lunch. Once I realized that the house was not going to get scrubbed from top to bottom I made a goal of getting all the toys back together, sorted out, and put out of reach of the children. The don't NEED that many toys at one time and they end up just stringing them all over the house instead of playing with them. My girls would rather be outside playing with their friends than inside playing with puzzles. And because we NEVER have a rainy day, our indoor toys aren't really getting that much real use. So I managed to get that job done. What I really enjoyed most about them being gone was that I got to do things on my time table. I slept when I wanted and ate when I wanted and watch tv when I wanted. Things moved at a much slower calmer pace.

They got home Sunday but I wasn't here! I had to go play a tennis match and I didn't get home until after they did. I was so happy to see them! Even though they had only been gone 4 days they all looked like they had grown to me. And then it was business as usual.

Well the good thing about not having rainy days to play inside is that we have beautiful weather EVERYDAY. Really. The weather is gorgeous right now. Because we've been in a drought for sooooo long it's really changed my thinking about the outdoor activities. Whenever planning an outdoor event, a rain date doesn't even cross my mind. We've also been rewarded with some amazing sunsets.

And beautiful blue skies.

And if you pay close attention to the sky you might see something a little out of the ordinary.

What's that in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No, it's the goodyear blimp. Really.

So this week I've been trying to get ready for a yardsale. I've been cleaning out the twins clothes and some of the toys. What a monumental task this is. It's amazing how many clothes we end up with. And shoes. Good lord. I don't even have that many shoes. And of course I can't get rid of anything until the last person has 'for sure' outgrown it. But now I'm to the point that it has GOT to go! All this clutter is making me a little crazy. So next weekend is the big sale. I'm both dreading it and looking forward to it at the same time. It'll be nice to get a little cash for some of our stuff, but I always feel seriously ripped off. And I LOVE some of these little clothes that I'm selling. It's a good thing I'm not a hoarder or I would keep all of their little clothes. (Stop growing!) It'll be nice to have a little room in the garage again...not that we park in there, but it would be nice to have that option...just in case it rains.

Time for a break!

2008-09-16T15:15:00.005-04:00

Just in case you wonder why I might need a break: Exhibit A - 6:29pm

6:30 pm

Mood swings are exhausting. Hers and mine.

On the way home from preschool today we stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner. The ‘bag boy’ is about 70-some years old…seriously…and he was talking to me while the girls were waiting to get balloons. He made some comment about me being their mother….or grandmother. What! Grandmother! Ok I should have been really pissed, but I knew when my pregnancy was deemed ‘geriatric’ I was doomed. How old am I? 43. My children haven’t even started ‘real’ school. My college roommate (also 43) just sent her youngest to college. I think I need to go take a nap! I definitely need a break.

And I'm going to get one. I think I’m going to nominate my husband for sainthood. ‘Why?’ you ask? Because he’s agreed to take all 3 girls to the beach to see his mother for her birthday. I get to stay home all by myself for 5 whole days. I can’t wait!!! And I miss them already and they haven’t even left. It will only be the second time in their short little lives that I've been away from them. Months ago I got to fly to Boston for the weekend. That was great too but this is going to be even better. I'll actually get to accomplish something here at the house. There's so much to do I don't even know where to start!

And now for something completely different.

This weekend we went to a local animal sanctuary. It's actually kind of sad. I'm sure the animal are well taken care of but how happy can a lion be, cage up all the time? I'm not sure where all these animals came from, some were rescues. They seemed to have one of everythings. Let's see they had an emu,a horse,a variety of monkeys,2 wolves, servals, bobcats, peacocks, lions, tigers, maccaws, donkeys, panthers, elk(I think), ostriches, and a boa that they fed while we were there.

This was not a happy cat, poor thing.

This wolf came up and licked Rachel. The wolves are only 5 months old. Beautiful!

This guy doesn't even look real, but he is.

What are YOU looking at?

The feathers on this thing had a really cool pattern to them.

One of the ostriches was acting kinda funny. We were all noticing it. Too bad none of us spoke ostrich or we would have know that we'd overstayed our welcome and they needed a little privacy!

Yep, they're doing what you think they're doing.

After a lovely weekend spent together as a family, we were rewarded with this beautiful sunset last night. Stunning.

Rachel and Riley turn 3!

2008-09-10T21:29:00.005-04:00

So the birthday party went off without a hitch. The bouncy was supposed to be delivered Saturday morning but they called Friday and asked if they could set it up early. Absolutely! I was a little worried that the ‘surprise’ of it might be ruined, but no! They were really excited.

The day of the party we were all ready. Our guest showed up, including a few kids that weren’t invited! Just because they weren’t invited didn’t mean I wasn’t prepared for them. I imagined that I’d have few party crashers. This is the first time I haven’t invited all the neighborhood kids. It was just supposed to be for the little kids but that’s ok. They are all friend. To give you an idea of the make-up of the kids from my house down to the cul-de-sac and back around we have 2-1 year olds, a 2 year old 3-3 year olds, 3-5 year olds a 6 year old, a 7 year old a 9 year old and an 11 year old. That’s a lot of little kids!

So the kids bounced and bounced some more. They left and then came back later to bounce.

We bounced as a family…and that was actually my favorite part. I had tried to take a nap after the first round of party, but it just wasn’t happening. So I went outside where the girls were still at it and Blair had joined them. We weren’t in there for a really long time but it was a lot of fun and the girls were loving it.

Riley and Rachel enjoyed helping make the cupcakes for their party.

And here's the finished product. Cinderella in her carriage. I thought these were the cutest thing! And they were so easy to make. Really, they were.

I'm convinced that this child REALLY was a princess in a past life. Ever since she was little we have said that. When she got old enough to move around she would always find a 'throne' to sit on. And if you've seen lots of pictures of her on here, you are familiar with the ever-present princess dress. (not currently pictured although she does have on a crown.)

I think Ray is casting a spell with her wand.

Freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom....

2008-09-02T09:47:00.003-04:00

Ok I probably shouldn't be rejoicing quite that much, but I did just drop the girls off for their first day of preschool! And in keeping with their personalities, this is how it went:

-Rachel broke from the crowd and headed inside like she owned the place. She went straight to her classroom from last year and started pushing a stroller around. It took a few minutes to convince her that her classroom was down the hall. Once we turned the corner she left me again and turned left in to the classroom. Her classroom, however is on the right. Finally headed her into the room without a goodbye, hug or kiss. Nothing. Oh well, bye Ray.

-Riley pretty much clammed up. She knew we weren't going into the old class but she was none too happy about going into a new class. However, she sucked it up and stoically walked into her class by herself.

-Rena. Somewhat slow to warm, she wanted to take bunny (aka bud-a) and me into the classroom. She agreed with whatever anyone said to her without actually accomplishing anything that was being asked. Bunny will spend the day waiting for her in the bookbag. I gave her a kiss at the door and headed out. Once she's throught the door she'll be fine. She actually makes friends really easily and the teachers already love her.

So, what I'm I going to do for the next 3 hours? First of all I'll just be enjoying the quiet. Then laundry and general cleaning up. There will be plenty of time for mindless tv and other quiet activities later, but for now I need to get moving on cleaning the downstairs, at least. We have the girls' birthday party coming up this weekend and it's got me a little stressed out. Damn hurricanes. Which way are they going and where are they bringing rain. I've got an outdoor party planned.

A princess party in fact. It's been fun getting this party (sponsored by Disney) together. We're having a big jumpy in the backyard and food. That's pretty much it. If it rains I'm screwed. Not completely. The teacher in me always keeps a few tricks up my sleeve.

These are the cupcakes for the party. Aren't they the cutest damn things you've ever seen!

By the way, I don't know why the pictures look fuzzy. Click on the picture to make it bigger and clearer.

Little ballerinas

2008-08-28T09:40:00.005-04:00

The day finally arrive. The first day of ballet. Rena started last January and she really enjoyed it. It was all I could do to keep Riley out of class. She wanted to do it so badly. Rachel just wanted to run around the ballet studio.

So all 3 are signed up for this year. It's schedule runs the same as a school year. Actually, the twins aren't quite old enough to be in class...they miss it by 5 days...but for the most part you'd never know.

Rena's class has added tap and I think she really likes that. The twins are strictly ballet. Riley loves it and just glows when she's there. Rachel hasn't made it through a whole class yet. No surprise. She tends to be a little more free spirited.

The cleaning frenzy continues.

2008-08-28T09:37:00.001-04:00

It only makes since that since I’m about 6 months behind on everything I do, I’d be spring cleaning now. And boy have I been cleaning. I actually vacuumed my bedroom and hall this morning. It sounds easy, but if you knew how much crap had to be picked up before the vacuuming could occur you’d be amazed. The girls scattered like feral cats as the vacuum closed in on them. I think they think I could suck them up. Some days I would if I could. Perhaps if I could contain them in that little vacuum bag the rest of the house cleaning could be done much faster.

Nixie is making the whole culling of the toys a little easier. A few weeks ago she eviscerated Shrek and yesterday while I was trying to get a few quiet moments to read the latest David Sedaris book, Spongebob met his maker. Both times it looked as if it had snowed in my living room and entry.

This morning the girls are playing doctor. So far I haven’t had to explain anything. It’s so nice to watch them play together. I’m sure we’ll be spending lots of time outside today. We’ve been ‘rained’ in for days now. Trust me, that’s not a complaint. Bring on the rain…just not on the 6th. That’s the girls’ outdoor birthday party. Strange that when you’re in a serious drought you don’t have to give any thought to things like that…or muddy dogs.

Back to cleaning.

Cleaning frenzy

2008-08-27T15:13:00.005-04:00

I have been in a cleaning frenzy lately. You'd never know it to look at my house though. A clean space around here last about 2.7 seconds and that's it. For example, 2.7 seconds after I mopped the kitchen floor, Riley spilled her entire cup of milk on it. 2.7 seconds after I cleaned the bathroom floor, Rachel peed on it. yea!

So I've spent allllllll morning cleaning my upstairs. Not the whole upstairs either. Just the bathroom and I've been doing laundry. It's 3:00! My word. Of course most of the time I've been cleaning, the girls have been un-cleaning. I did put them to work cleaning some stuff up here. It's not been a fun day for them. They've kinda been left on their own while I've been knee deep in all this crap.

Of course I haven't even thought about the downstairs.

But now, it's naptime. Nice quiet peaceful naptime. Shhhhh!

The tooth fairy strikes again!

2008-08-26T08:13:00.004-04:00

Well, Rena lost another tooth last week....or was it the week before? Man, all my days are running together. Anyway she lost it outside last Sunday night while we were hanging out outside with some friends. The toothfairy did not dissappoint! I can't believe this kid is only 4 and has lost 2 teeth already!

Here she is with the first tooth gone.

And the first visit from the tooth fairy at Uncle Randy's house.

A warning for dog owners

2008-08-23T16:44:00.002-04:00

I love my dogs. Anyone who knows me knows that. Right now we have 2. Just a few years ago we had 4. 4 dogs is alot. (side note... as I typed that last sentence I kept hitting 'shift' and the number 4 which gave me this...$. I did this 4 times before I got it right. Then after the word alot, I typed money. Subliminal mind at work!) Anywho...I just came across this story. Please go check it out and be careful with your animals. For all the softies who are afraid to go read that, the dog lives. But I didn't watch any of the videos.

http://thechaistory.blogspot.com/2008/08/chai-story.html

Bowlin' ,Bowlin',Bowlin'

2008-08-14T09:46:00.003-04:00

I got together with one of the mother's from preschool and we decided to take the girls bowling. It was the first time we had been and the girls had fun. All together there were 3 of us from Rena's class. I have to say I love the bowling shoes. I can't believe I didn't get them in this picture.

Rena really enjoyed bowling and she was pretty good at it.

Riley enjoyed it for awhile...then she changed back into her regular shoes

Rachel started off excited.

But naptime quickly prevailed.

Rena was the ball.

Mystery Solved

2008-08-09T07:21:00.003-04:00

And so quickly! I found the dress. Yea! Kind of. If you could see this thing, you'd wonder why I don't just throw it away. Riley was very happy to see it and wore it to dinner last night. Funny little fart. She was STILL blaming Nixie. I wonder just how it got lost in the first place. I'm not naming any names, now, but maybe, just maybe, it was a male who lives in our house...no, not Max. Oh, you want to know where I found it? Short answer....in a box.

Here's the long answer. A few days ago...ok, really it was months...I packed up ALL of the girls toys and put them in those clear storage boxes. Then I left them in the dining room to marinate. There were over 8 boxes worth of toys and things. Ridiculous. I would have sold them all right then...if I was having a yard sale...but I wasn't. So there they sat. The problem is there are some really good toys packed up. Most of them are age appropriate, so I don't want to get rid of them. So then I had my carpet cleaned and I moved the boxes to the entryway. Perfectly acceptable place. No one comes to visit us anyway. Anywhoo, that kind of 'organization' was bothering Blair, so he moved them all into the formal living room a.k.a. former playroom. Well, they haven't been bothering anyone in there because we never use that room. But one day, that room will be mine.

So, Thursday I drug a rocking chair down from my bedroom so I could sit in there all by myself. And I did. And I noticed in the bottom of one of the boxes on the bottom was the pwincess dwess. I was so excited!

Unfortunately, that's not all I noticed. We were having a thunderstorm with lots of rain and as I sat in the never-used-room in the rare quiet moment, I realized it sounded like it was raining inside. And so it was.

I would love to say that I was shocked the window was leaking. Surprised even. But I'm not. We must have gotten the crappiest house builder in all of Georgie. His name is Alex Tetterton and he's with Northridge Homes, just in case you are wondering. My problems with this builder and this house,would more than fill up a book, so I won't go into it. But suffice it to say I REALLY think I could have done a better job myself.

Anyway, all's well that ends well and my girl is happy to have her dress back!

She Can Swim!

2008-08-08T09:57:00.002-04:00

Riley is going to be a natural swimmer. When Rena was taking swimming lessons a year and a half ago, Riley got in the pool, grabbed a noodled and swam away. In our neighborhood pool LAST summer, she would take off her swimmy and jump in. No fear,I tell ya! So, we've been doing alot of swimming lately and we let the girls practice without their swimmies. At first, they were both hesitant, but it didn't take them long to enjoy the experience. While both Rachel and Riley could keep their heads above it was Riley that really could do it with ease. Once she realized that we weren't going to 'catch' her, she'd stick her face in the water, her butt would come up and off she'd go. She is FAST too. It's fun to watch her swim because it comes so naturally to her.

Smarties

2008-08-06T18:36:00.004-04:00

Rachel, who will be 3 a month from today, knows ALL of her capital letter and these lowercase letters: w e y u o i p s j k x v m
I am amazed.

Rena know's all of her uppercase letter too and these lowercase letters: a s f j k w e r y o i z x c v . She'll be 4 in October.

Riley, who will also be 3 in a month, knows these uppercase letters: H P O I U Y R E W B M and these lowercase letters: w r y i o k p(knows sound)

Those letter and sounds came very easily for Rachel. Rena had to work on it. Riley has alot of pressure on her to learn them. I'm so proud of them all.

Big Mystery

2008-08-06T11:24:00.002-04:00

Notice anything similar in these pictures?

The dress. 'my pwincess dwess'. It's missing. It's been gone a month. Where could it be? I haven't a clue, but she wants another one. This was her version of a lovey...aside from me. If she wasn't wearing it, she was sleeping with it. Maybe it'll turn up. Rena's 'buda' did after a period of MIA. It's a mystery to me.

Summer Trip - Third and Last Stop - Wilmington

2008-08-04T06:29:00.009-04:00

So, we headed back down the coast of North Carolina for our final stop on the summer trip - my brother's house. This is a busy household. Randy and Carlyn have 2 teenage boys, Ryan and Mason. Plus they have tons of friends that are always stopping by. I love being here. I know lots of their friends and I always feel welcomed here. They live near the marina where they keep their boat and going 'over to the island' is my all time favorite summer thing to do.

Blair and I parted ways about 2 hours into this trip because, really, it's a workweek for him. So I have the 3 girls and the 2 dogs. My father met us at my brother's so he could take the dogs for me. He wanted the dogs bathed before he took them to his house. I offered to pay my nephews a few bucks to bathe them and they jumped on the opportunity for easy money! I couldn't keep my dogs at my brother because there isn't anywhere to keep them and my brother and Max don't get along....long story but really it just comes down to the fact that my brother has trouble following instructions...that whole problem with authority thing. So, imagine my surprise at this little scene.

That's right, that's my brother brushing Max after bathing him! Evidently the boys weren't doing it right, so Randy had to step in. I'm so glad I had my camera with me! Doesn't Max look like he's having a great time? LOL

The dogs enjoyed the freedom of the backyard while they could. They're not going anywhere. They both want to be wherever I am. The girls enjoyed playing with their cousins, Aunt, Uncle and Grandaddy.

(My Dad's shirt cracks me up. On the front it says 'We're all here because... ' and on the back it says 'we're not all there.' Oh my God, boat people crack me up!)

At some point, we realized that both of my Dad's children (that would be me and my brother) and all of his grandchildren were in the same place, so we decided to take advantage of the photo op. Now, none of us are great at following directions and my girls aren't exactly the easiest to get a group picture of, but thank God for digital. The series of shots cracks me up. We are obviously having fun trying to get the shot, dogs are wandering in and out of the picture, everyone is talking and my dear sister-in-law graciously agreed to be the photographer. Nice shot Carlyn! (click on the picture to make it bigger)

After dinner, Daddy headed back to his house with my dogs and we settled in for a little wine and conversation. Randy engaged the girls with a game of, oh, I don't know, let's call it "People in the Mirror". The object of the game is to see if 'those' people are still in the mirror. You do this by crouching down on the couch and then popping up to look. It was great entertainment for everyone involved!

(They're still there!)

So, this was Tuesday the 15th, and Rena tells me her tooth is loose. What! She's only 4! Are you kidding me? Nope, it's loose. Really loose. I check her other teeth to make sure they are all in place. Fine. She ends up loosing it on Saturday! It all happened so fast. Good thing the tooth fairy didn't have any trouble finding us. (Picture coming soon!)

Now because we aren't in North Carolina often, we have to make the most of the trip. I have an Aunt who lives about an hour away so we decided to go to Wallace to see her on Wednesday. I love going here and I hope my girls do too. Aunt Jewrell's house is this tiny little thing that she's lived in for as long as I can remember. She has a really nice little yard that the girls can play in and this is small town living at it's best. We went out for lunch and then we hung out with Aunt Jewrell on the backyard swing, while she told stories about what it was like growing up in Duplin county. I could listen to these stories all day. I stayed as long as I possible could, but I had promised to make dinner, so we did have to get going.

Thursday, I decided to go back down to my Dad's, check on the dogs and then take the ferry over to the aquarium at Ft. Fisher. Daddy went with us, brave soul that he is. I thought this was a great way for the girls to spend a little more time with their Grandfather. We could have driven to the aquarium from the north, but I wanted the girls to have the ferry experience. It was fun! Miffi (my father's wife) had given us crackers to feed the seagulls. (Thanks so much Miffi. That was great!) Obviously the gull know the complete ferry schedule.

(You see that bottle in Riley hands? It's a Sundrop we bought before we got on the ferry. She wouldn't share it. Do you know Sundrop is LOADED with caffeine? I didn't!)

Unfortunately, Riley, who needed a nap, had a complete meltdown (see Sundrop 'disclaimer above) about the time we got there. She HAD to be held or she pitched such a fit I was afraid they were going to ask us to leave. My dad was mortified. If I wasn't so damn tired, I probably would have been too. Rachel and Rena were having a good time though. Riley recuperated about half way through, thank goodness. Then we hit the gift shop and where my children evidently couldn't hear the words "Don't touch that" despite the fact we said it over and over. We managed to get out of there with a few souvenirs and then had a little snack before we headed back to the ferry.

(this alligator was eyeing Rena like she was going to be his lunch! She's just hot and sweaty in the tropical climate of down east NC)

The seagulls obvious knew that we were a good source of food. They followed us from the aquarium snack bar out into the parking lot. Rena had one last chip in her hand from the snack bar and THEY wanted it. They stalked her. She was weary of them. "Throw it Rena, throw it!" She did. They called in reinforcements and waited. Alas, they were out of luck. No more food.

We headed back to catch the ferry. We were the last ones on! How lucky for us that we caught it, because it was the last one out.

Friday we loaded up the boat and despite a brewing tropical storm, we headed to the island. It's not far at all from the marina. We anchor on the sound side and can walk across the island to the ocean. Perfect. The water was great. The girls had fun feeding the minnow and catching sandfiddlers. Carlyn's sister, brother in law and their 3 children were there too. Once the twins took a nap I walked over to the ocean with my brother. We had a nice little walk and we got to talk about some personal things. Later we cooked out and ate some burgers. Perfect I tell ya!

That night another friend showed up with his 4 year old daughter. So, there was my brother's family, my family, Carlyn's sister's family, Randy's friend and daughter...4+4+5+2. Wow. That's alot of people. But we had fun. Saturday, Blair joined us as did the tropical storm. It rained off and on all day, so none of our beach stuff got dried off before we had to pack up and head home. Yuck! Boy did I have my work cut out for me when we got back home.

We headed back to Georgia on Sunday. I was so thankful that Blair had come back and met us at Randy's. It sure makes traveling easier when there is another adult along.

All in all it was a great, albeit busy trip. So, until next summer. I'll be waiting

Summer Trip: Sidetrips

2008-07-31T07:34:00.004-04:00

While we were 'stationed' at Blair's parents, we decided to take a few side trips. My college roommate only lives about an hour from them in the village of Hatteras. I got to see her last year too, but I really miss her and wish we were closer. So, I packed up the girls and headed down the beach for lunch and a little visit. It took us 2 hours to get there because it was raining HARD for the first part of the trip...all the way to the Bonner bridge. After hearing all the latest controversy about this bridge, I was a little apprehensive in crossing it...especially in driving rain. Luckily the rain stopped right before we got there. But this is definitely a situation where ignorance is bliss!

Anyway I made it to her house with the use of my handy-dandy gps. The landscape has changed quite a bit since I was down there last, thanks to Hurricane Isabel. We grabbed a little lunch and then headed to the Hatteras light house. Unfortunately, it was thundering so they wouldn't let us go inside, but we did check out the keeper's house that's been set up as a museum. They were just ordinary looking houses, but Rachel had a rather unusual response when we walked in. She immediately pulled back and said "mommy, this is a scary place." I thought that was rather odd and I never did figure out what made her feel that way, but I found it fascinating. The lighthouse really is impressive up close and my girls were fascinated with the other lighthouses we saw along our trip.

When we left there, we headed over to Karla's mother's house. It's a good thing too, because they have moved since the last time I was there. I might just have stopped by the old house for a visit. What a shock that would have been! I loved the new house and it was so good to see her mother again (her father was at work). We had a nice visit, but it was time for us to head back to Southern Shores. It only took a little over an hour to get back.

Next up on the sidetrips was a family trip to Williamsburg. Really it was more of a trip to see our good friends Joe and Maureen, than to see any of the sights. They have 2 ADORABLE children...a 2 year old Joey and a 1 year old (almost) Nikki. We had our 2 dogs and they had one of their puppies with them. What a crowd we were! Luckily the hotel had a pool and that kept us entertained on Saturday. Everyone swam, then everyone napped. After a little pizza for lunch at ........5:00!......we headed for Colonial Williamsburg. I got to shop at my favorite kids store and get the girls some really, really cute fall outfits. Last year I got Rena a frog necklace from here because when we left home there were little frogs EVERYWHERE! She's worn that necklace all year, so this year I got her sisters their own. Rachel got one with a hummingbird on it. She loves birds and chases them all the time. I'm convienced she's going to catch one one day. Riley got a necklace with ballet slippers on them. She's starting ballet soon and she has been dying to go the whole time Rena's been going. I can't wait to see how she does.

Anyway, we just hung around outside in Williamsburg for awhile. The weather was great and there were lots of things to keep the attention of 2 year olds and a 4 year old. Rachel, who's never met a stranger, had a long indepth conversation with someone dressed in colonial attire sitting on the courthouse steps. They talked about the horses pulling the carriages and more importantly, the poop that was left behind. Fascinating. Then she introduced him to her sister Riley. Too funny. I wonder if she will always be that outgoing.

The next day we headed to the outlet mall. I showed great restraint in not buying anything. All the kids clothes are just toooooo cuuuuuteeeee. I can't stand it! But we don't need anything. Arghhh! Then it was time for us to head south and our friends to head north. I hate that we live so far apart because we really love hanging out with them.

And so ended our side trips. I didn't get any pictures in Williamsburg. Bummer. But back to Grandmom's for one more day and then on to my brother's . Stay tuned!

Summer Trip - Second Stop: Southern Shores

2008-07-24T08:54:00.006-04:00

Next up on our summer vacation is a trip to Grandmom and Grandpop's house. Even though they live at the beach, you don't really feel like you're at the beach unless you want to. You feel like you're at Grandmom's. Rena and Grandmom went to the big girl salon to get a haircut and a manicure. Rena had a great time. Riley helped Grandmom with nightly dinner

and Rachel spent her time relaxing on the beach or eating while hanging out with Grandpop.

Blair and I even squeezed in a date night which was long overdue. Thanks for watching the girls Grandmom and Grandpop! Our time here was very relaxing. Last year we walked to the beach everyday which was really great. This year, we only managed to do it once. We did get to go to the beach a couple of times, though. We just drove instead.

There is also a little playground in the neighborhood, so we went there one day. We took a couple of sidetrips from here also. All in all, the trip here was both relaxing and chopped up. I liked it better last year when we were there for a full week. Next year! Rest up Grandmom and

Grandpop!

Summer Trip - First stop: Southport

2008-07-23T10:19:00.004-04:00

While we were gone over the 4th of July weekend, our summer trip was really much longer - 2 and a half weeks, actually. We started off at my Dad's house in Southport because we wanted to be there for the 4th of July. We got there on Wednesday the 2nd and were busy the whole time. Thursday, we headed up the coast a ways to my brother's house for the day. His neighborhood was having a party with fireworks and a band. Who could resist! The girls enjoyed listening to and dancing with the band and watching the fireworks with their daddy. It got REALLY dark out in that field! It was hard to keep up with everyone. There were lots of people there that I knew, though, and it was fun to see everyone again.

We also celebrated my birthday with a little cake before all of the activity. Fun, fun!

We spend Friday in the little town of Southport and then on Saturday, we just hung out at my Dad's house. My brother and sister in law came for dinner. It was really nice to spend so much time with my family. My Dad and I got to take a little trip to Walmart before dinner in search of some Benedryl for the puppy. We ran into 2 different people that he knew so our trip ended up being really long and we were late for dinner! Whoops! One of the women we ran into worked there and was in the middle of a nasty divorce. Even thought she hadn't seen my Dad in years and she certainly didn't know me from Adam, she spent her entire dinner break telling us all the details of the last few months of her life including her husbands infidelity, her hatred for the woman he was sleeping with (including adjectives that included my least favorite word of all time) and her suicide attempt. But she's better now. I'm glad to hear it 'cause we've still got peanutbutter on the shopping list and we've gotta run! Nice to meet you, good luck with the new found mental health and all!

So, Daddy and I ended up back at the house in the middle of dinner. Rachel and Rena both managed to break crystal wine glasses, so I spent a good deal of my dinnertime cleaning up shards of glass.

It's really no secret the my father's wife doesn't really like me. It's a long story and one I won't blog about until after her death. But, this trip, she was really nice to me. We had some nice conversations and we actually kinda got along. It's too bad it hasn't been like this since the beginning. And the irony is this is probably the worst time we've given her. Our 75 lb. puppy threw up on her carpet twice, she also ate a flock of flamingos, my girls broke the 2 crystal wine glasses and later in the week Nixie (the puppy) chased her dog down like it was a rabbit and she was a greyhound. Her dog didn't get hurt. Nixie was having fun. But poor Denzel was petrified. I felt so bad.

Sunday we headed up the coast again. Next stop: Granmom and Grandpop's in Southern Shores.

Wrong side of the bed

2008-07-23T10:16:00.003-04:00

Rena, obviously suffering from travel fatigue, got up one morning in a really grumpy mood. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" I chided. To which she replied in a gruff, grumpy teenage voice, "No, I woke up sideways!"

Small town fireworks

2008-07-05T15:30:00.010-04:00

We headed to Southport for the North Carolina 4th of July festival. I love being here for the 4th. They have quite a few events going on and they take their festival seriously. On the 4th, they have a parade. It's changed somewhat over the last few years. There used to be alot of 'little miss' pageant winners. I loved that. There aren't so many of those anymore but you do have your regular parade fare. There's also a street festivals with food and crafts and such. There are always lots of people there too.

Donkeys Horses and Dogs were invited. I love that the guy leading this donkey has his face covered.

Little Dare-devil cars. I LOVE these. They crack me up.

Colorful characters.

Patriotic mobiles.

Real live floats like you'd expect to see in a parade.

Bands and band leaders...this guy was jammin'.

The best part is that it's walking distance to where my Dad keeps his boat, so when we've had enough festival fun, we head over to the boat and just hang out there.

This year, Grandaddy (my Dad) taught the girls how to fish. Rena was interested. She even got to use real hooks. By the time I was her age, I was really fishing in the yacht basin in Atlantic Beach and catching spots and pin fish. I loved to fish and used to be pretty good at it. I wish we lived closer to the beach so my girls could learn that too.

After all of the festivities of the day, we settled in on the bow of the boat to watch the fireworks out over the water. It's great. Perfect view. No crowd. When a really beautiful display goes off, everyone whistles and blows their boat horns. All in all, it's a very patriotic day..

Flowers

2008-06-30T07:29:00.005-04:00

rena

2008-06-26T07:33:00.003-04:00

When we were going over our plans for today, Rena suggested that after we clean the house, we go to the pool, come home and take a nap and then go pick up my car that's in the shop. I said, 'that sound like the chain of events'. To which she replied, 'they won't chain you to a fence!'.

Ah, the mind of a 4 year old. I love it.

When good potatoes go bad!

2008-06-24T16:21:00.003-04:00

When we got back from our Sanibel trip, I decided it was more important to clean out my pantry than to unpack. Evidently it was long overdue. This was a 'lost' potato that I found.

Thank God I have a green thumb.

Buckin' the Water Po-Po

2008-06-20T17:07:00.002-04:00

Here in Georgia, we are in the middle of a severe drought. It's been that way pretty much since we moved here. It is a big fat pain in the ass. We take water for granted. It's true. But, just like central and eastern North Carolina tend to go overboard on the news coverage for Hurricanes, the same thing has happened here with the drought. Now, it's not that I think they are hyping it (Ok, maybe a little). I drive over Lake Lanier everytime I need to go anywhere and it's obvious we are really low. However, we'll probably get a little rain between now and then, too. I'm all for water conservation and I think most of us could do a better job reducing the amount of water we use. But sometimes, you've just gotta run through the sprinklers!

Here are our latest guidelines for watering: Hand Watering As of April 1, each household, business or other institution/property owner can hand water existing landscaping using one garden hose for 25 minutes a day within the hours of midnight to 10 a.m. on designated days. The hose must be hand held during watering and equipped with a standard spray nozzle that automatically turns off when not hand held.

Now, on to the real point of this blog. My kitchen chairs have been caked in spaghetti/macaroni/yogurt/cereal/oatmeal/banana goo for quite some time now. I hate these chairs. They are almost impossible to clean. So, I told Blair that I was going to power wash them. That freaked him out. He didn't want us getting some hugh water fine...and neither did I. But a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. So, I took those nasty chairs out back today and power-washed them. Yes I did. All nice and sparkling clean. And in about 1/100th of the time it would have taken me to scrub them with Mr. Clean! Now that sad part is, my girls, and one of the neighbor girls thought this was the greatest thing. They got to run through the water spray and get wet. They were so excited. It really is sad that they are not getting to do the slip n slides and run through the sprinklers. They are just constantly being told to "TURN OFF THE WATER!"

So, all in all it was a good day for us. The girls got to play in the water...no matter how sad...and my kitchen chairs got cleaned. Yea!

sanibel

2008-06-18T22:56:00.003-04:00

Wish you were here!

2008-06-12T15:01:00.005-04:00

We are in Sanibel Island, Florida this week and it's been beautiful. I'm not sure, but I think we might have picked the hottest week to head to south Florida. Blair is working in the area, so he's not really on vacation, but I am! Kind of.

The pool is right out our back door and the beach is just a few short steps away. Who could ask for anything more? A bar close by, you say? Well, they have one right there at the pool! It's all very laid back and cool.

The expression on this womans face cracks me up. That's Rena jumping in, sans thloatie.

Despite the fact that we have access to a pool 7 days a week in Georgia, that's where my girls would rather spend their time. So, we've been in the pool everyday! Rena has learned to swim all by herself! I'm both petrified and excited all at the same time. She's quite proud of herself and I have to give her the freedom to test herself without turning back and relying on the floatie...or thloatie, as it's refered to in our household.

Rachel has been dubbed 'Rachel the Brave' this week. She is driving me absolutely CRAZY and I spend half the day yelling at her, despite all of my behavior management knowledge. However, her feisty little personality really pays off for her. At the pool, they had a log-rolling contest. Rena tried it first, and then Rachel decided to give it a try. You know what I'm talking about? You stand on a log, in this case a styrofoam blue 'log' and try not to fall off. Well, Rachel probably didn't last 2 seconds, but the whole pool cheered for her! They were all shouting "yea, Rachel". I'm not kidding. Earlier on the quest for bravery was the waterslide. Rena also had tackled this first and I finally talked Rachel and Riley into going down. They both ended up loving it.

Riley has turned into a scaredy cat this week. Poor thing. We were coming home from dinner one night and one of those lovely Japanese beetles landed on her. If 2 year olds regularly had heart attacks, Riley would have been on her way to meet her maker. Thank God he made her with a strong heart, if not a brave spirit! She completely freaked out and cried the rest of the way home. Now, don't get me wrong, I hate the little boogers too, but they are really nothing to freak out about. They do tend to get stuck in some odd places, but at least they seem to have a sense of direction, unlike those damn June bugs that bounce off your head in the summer. Can't wait til Riley sees one of those!

Then there are the ants. To my children, all ants are fire ants and evidently they have gone from being prey to predator. I've tried to tell my girls that the ants can't catch them, but they are having none of it. At least Rena has reason to fear ants. When she was 2, maybe 3, she was bitten by about 100 of the things at one time. Welcome to Georgia. So OF COURSE, she's scared of them. Riley might have been bitten by one at some point, but really one or two is no big deal. Rachel the Brave will step in to save her sisters from anything with an exoskeleton. One swift stomp of the foot, and that is that!

The next thing that has Riley freaked out are the holes in the walkway. I don't think this is a Steven King kind of fear. The fact is we went out to an old beach house and the boardwalk to it wasn't in the best shape. I'm really not sure how, but one of the boards came up and landed on Riley's foot, scaring her to death. Today, we were walking across another boardwalk when she noticed the holes. You know, the space between the board. That gave her yet another thing to fret about!

It is fun to watch her overcome her fears though. She did manage to overcome her fears of the waterslide. I really wish I had gotten it on video. When she started moving at the top, there were serious signs of fear on her face. Once she hit the water, it was all good and she had the biggest smile! It was great!

So only a few more short hours until we hit the road again. I'm going to miss it here. I NEED to be by the beach.

Where's mommy

2008-05-31T10:04:00.004-04:00

So, I was talking to my Dad on the phone the other day and the girls were watching SpongeBob. I wanted to talk to him about something that I really didn't want to girls to hear - nothing horrible, just not for little ears -so I walked out onto the front porch and continued my conversation. After a couple of minutes, I heard the girls call me, so I finished up my conversation and walked back inside. No girls. Where did they go? I called them. No answer. I checked the garage (which was open). No girls. I went back inside, thinking they might be hiding from me. Called them with that serious, 'you'd better answer me NOW!' voice. No answer. I looked out back. No girls. Checked Grandmom's room. No girls. Now where could they be? From the time they called me until I came back inside wasn't even a minute. Hmmm. What would they do? They'd go looking for me. So, back out the garage to start the search and here they come out of my next door neighbor's house.

Evidently, they called me once and headed straight to Ms. Ruth's house. The told them they couldn't find me! Luckily, Ms. Ruth's mother knows me better than that, and she was pretty sure I was home. The therapist they had there doesn't know me and she was alarmed! I was actually amused that they had left as a team to find me and they had the sense enough to go find an adult. What it really was, though, was an excuse to go see their favorite neighbor, Ms. Ruth!

naptime

2008-05-26T07:25:00.004-04:00

What could be more inviting than a love seat on a shady porch on a warm spring day. Doesn't she look so sweet? She wanted to go to Grandmom's room and take a nap (yes, she puts herself down for a nap in the afternoon) but I was outside and I wanted her to stay outside with me. I wish there had been room there for me!

Who Knew!

2008-05-24T20:58:00.004-04:00

So, we're sitting outside tonight after dinner, just hanging out. The girls are playing. Blair and I are talking. Then Rena says, "Can you take the training wheels off my bike. Daddy won't do it." "Why won't you do it?" I ask. "Because she's not ready. I'M not ready," is the answer. "I'll do it." I say.

Blair will have none of that. So he reluctantly takes the wheels off. I tell him I'll help her. Nope. He wants to do it. The look on his face says it all.

So, at 4 and a half, Rena decides she's ready to ride her bike without training wheels. The look on her face says it all.

And even though the pictures are blurry, you get the idea. Off she goes! Amazing!

ah, the irony

2008-05-22T10:00:00.002-04:00

Back in September, when the girls first started school, I was so excited that I was going to have SOOOO much time to myself and I was going to be able to get SOOOO many things done, like clean the house, organized the closets, clean out the garage, get the twins baby books started (so what if they're 2 1/2!), paint, heck, I might even have time to crosstich again.

Reality. Pretty much nothing got done. If I had anything to do 'in town' it took up most, if not all, of my free time. Then I got addicted to tennis. I managed to work in a private lesson right after preschool drop off, which was perfect! I LOVED it. But, now the girls are out of school and even though my coach is a good sport, I think 3 toddlers interupting our lesson constantly might wear him a little thin. Sometimes, I would come home and just enjoy the quiet and still until it was time to pick them up again.

So, now here we are on summer break and, ironically, I'm excited about not having anywhere to go! No 40 minute round trips to town twice a day. Think of how much I'll be able to get done! And I'm excited about having the girls with me all day. I did manage to get part of the garage cleaned up....again. It's quite the catch-all. Some reorganization and I might just have the problem solved. The list of things to get done is overwhelming. I've planted my garden which requires daily maintanence, the garage isn't quite done, the toys that I confiscated weeks ago and sequestered in the dining room are still waiting for their final resting place, there's a yard sale in my future, I haven't finished planting all the flowers and seeds I've bought, the now mostly empty playroom/formal living room is still waiting for it's new assignment, there are 40 bags of mulch waiting to be distributed, the dogs need a bath, the girls need a bath....wow, I'm tired just thinking about all that. Aren't you?

The girls have been asking since January (not kidding) when the pool is going to open. Well, it's open. And I'm sure it's cold. But we are heading there today. We may come home blue. I'm not getting in unless they are drowning and I can't reach them with that net/pole thingy. I'll let you know how it goes.

first day/last day

2008-05-18T17:48:00.005-04:00

bittersweet endings

2008-05-18T12:42:00.005-04:00

This week has been full of endings. It was the last week for the girls' preschool and also the last ballet class which culminated in a recital.

Thursday was the last day of preschool. I got the teachers' end of year gifts while we were in Raleigh, thank goodness. One thing checked off the list! The twins didn't have an end of year party (that I know about) but Rena's class did. Since I'm the roommom, I was in charge of organizing it. Never, in a million years, did I think I'd be roommom. But I did and it was fun. I painted sandpails with each child's name and we used those for their lunch. Their end of the year party consisted of eating, blowing bubbles and playing on the 'big kids' playground. Rena had a great class and a wonderful first experience in the classroom. I couldn't have asked for more. So that made it hard to leave. We'll be back at that school in the fall, but it was sad that the year was over. I know it's hard to believe, but I'm a complete mushpot when it comes to endings like this. I cried for weeks every time I thought about the last day. I avoided both teacher the whole time I was at school Thursday, but when it came time to say goodbye, Ms. Beth lost it and so did I. She won't be back next year, and I know that feeling. It also is a milestone, however small, in my childrens' lives. I love them so much and love the age they are at RIGHT NOW, no matter when that right now might be. Change is hard.

Rena started ballet in the middle of the season. It runs it's course on the school schedule. So Rena was late to the party, but she fit right in. Once a week, we have been going. Rena attends class and I hang out in the lobby with the other mothers, Rachel and Riley. Riley wants very badly to do ballet. Next year! But I've gotten to know these other mothers and have really enjoyed their company. In fact, this week we are all getting together for a playdate. Yeah. Hopefully it will go better than the last time we attemped a playgroup.

Anyway, we had the dress rehearsal Friday. Rena stood on stage and looked like she was wondering when the party was going to start. I had already seen another rehearsal during parents day. On that day, Rena also seemed to just watch the activity and would occasionally spin or plie. So, I really wasn't holding out much hope for the actual recital itself. I was sure that with all the strange people in the audience, we'd get nothing from her. Wrong! She was right on cue. Danced the whole time. Never missed a beat. It was great! We got no pictures of the actual recital! So sad. But it will live on (and get better) in my memory.

2008-05-14T06:02:00.003-04:00

So I went out with the girls from my tennis team last night and we ended up having a blast. I think that's the first time I have done anything like that since we moved here. We ended up going to the Melting Pot and I was excited because I had never been there before. Our group was early except for one person who we decided we wouldn't wait for. They ended up seating us in the bar. Not what I was expecting, but OK. We had been in the bar waiting for our table. Hmmm. Not only that, but the bartender had never gotten around to getting a drink for me and I was one of 4 people at the bar. OK. So they ended up seating us and then no one came to take our drink order. So one of us went and complained and finally the drinks were brought...except from the bar. Then we waited. Finally we flagged down the manager and complained. He took over the table for us. He did a pretty good job of waiting on us from that point on, although, when salads came, he didn't leave mine and actually took it back to the kitchen. I saw him walking away with it and once he came back I had to ask for it. So, the conversation was fun and it was nice to be out. The service sucked. I don't say that very often, especially since I worked in restaurants for so many years. But he comped our drinks which was very nice.

Next time we go out I think we'll choose something a little cheaper, but it was so much fun to be out with the girls.

Which leads me to the next part. Blair is out of town, so my babysitter was here with the girls. Rachel was still awake when I got home, but she actually fell asleep while the babysitter and I were talking. Babysitter leaves and I have to haul all three kids upstairs to their beds. I start with Rachel. Into her bed. Next is Riley. Into her bed. Last is Rena. Into her bed. This is a rarity that all three girls are in their respective beds and I get my bed to myself. It's late, I'm tired and I might have had just a little too much wine.

Then at about 5:30, Rena shows up and tells me she's had an accident (wet the bed). "Ok, go in the bathroom and take your clothes off and I'll get you new clothes." As I'm going to get clothes for her I check on the other 2. Riley is in my bed....of course. I peek in the girls bedroom. No Rachel. So I go into the room and look. No Rachel. Where is she? My heart picks up an extra few beats. So I think, maybe she came and got in my bed too and I just didn't hear her. It could happen. Back to my bed. No Rachel. Down to the playroom. No Rachel. Back to her room. Shake out all the covers. No Rachel. I'm actually starting to panic a little. Back to my room. Shake out the covers. All the lights are on at this point. Where could she be? Who do I call? I'm planning on checking downstairs since she was the first one I took up, she might have followed me back downstair and gotten in the bed down there with her sisters and in the dark I wouldn't have noticed. Then I'll check the window and the door. Parents who's children have dissappeared from their bedrooms at night flash through my mind. Poor Rena is standing in the bathroom, naked. I'm starting to breath a little rapid. Finally in my last moment of clarity, I decided to look one last place.

Busy, busy weekend

2008-05-07T21:06:00.003-04:00

Friday we spent the day at the museum of Life and Science in Durham. This is a really cool place. Here we are on the train. I'm not sure why Rachel is looking so afraid. She loves strangers and is sure to introduce herself to them as she runs for Mayor of the Butterfly house.
RayRay and Riley check out the butterflies welcoming us.
This is a flower in the butterfly house. They hang straight down and I thought it was really beautiful, especially the way the light was hitting it. It's my favorite picture from my trip.

This past weekend we went to Raleigh for a big event at the school where I used to teach. We made the most of the weekend and visited lots of places. We spent Friday at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time. We saw bear, lemurs, red wolves, farm animal and butterflies. Even though we didn't get to stay long, the butterfly house was the biggest hit. It's full of tropical butterflies, plants and birds.

After we left the museum, we met up with Grandmom and Grandpop who had made a special trip to Raleigh just to see us and watch the girls Saturday night. 2 of my Aunts met us at Kanki for dinner. The girls were surrounded by people who loved them and wanted just one big hug. They didn't dissappoint.

Saturday, we (accidentally) went to Pullen Park. I tried to send Blair to a little playground while his mother and I shopped at NOFO at the pig (nofo.com). He didn't quite understand what I was asking him to do (entertain the kiddies for 30 minutes) so he ended up at the biggest(?) park in Raleigh. The girls loved it. They got to do the regular playground things and then they rode the carousel and the little boats and the train. That night Blair and I got to go to a coat and tie affair put on by the school. It's really a fund raiser, but it was also a celebration for the schools 50th anniversary. I had a blast. I got to see old classmates, parents and teachers that I had worked with. I had so much fun and the night ended way too soon. There were 450 people there and I didn't get to talk to everyone!

Sunday, my brother and his wife were in town. We had a short visit and lunch. It was nice to see them. After lunch we went to the schools Open House and then we all headed out to our old neighborhood. We spend most of the evening with my backdoor neighbors whom I REALLY miss. I did get to go meet the people who are living in my house. They were super nice and invited us in. It was so nice to be 'home'. We stayed there for about 30 minutes and then I got to get a cutting from one of my bushes. Hopefully it will root. Back to Sharon and Bob's and we all went out to dinner. We got back to the hotel late, but it was worth it.

Monday, we headed back to GA. :( There's more to the trip and I'll try to post more pictures, but it's bath time and I think I hear them calling.....

Bumping in the Burbs

2008-04-15T07:43:00.001-04:00

This is hysterical. Bumping in the Burbs with Notorious D A D. This is what my life has become!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxj5EEksI1I

Chaos in the playroom

2008-04-14T08:04:00.004-04:00

Our formal living room was our play room. But it ALWAYS looked like this.

Not very inviting. And I really like this room and the light it gets. It's also on the front of the house. I like being able to see out front. Our family room is on the back of the house and we back up to woods, so it's very isolating. So, I've decided to do away with the chaos. How? Well, first I rounded up all the toys and their respective parts. This took 2 solid days. I put them all in ziploc bags and put the bags in plastic tubs. I've left the girls with about 3 toys...they still can't manage to clean them up. Now, I've got to decide what to do with my 'new' living room. I get to pick everything out. I'm so excited. But I have one, really big problem. No money. There is nothing in the budget for this room. So, it'll probably take awhile for me to actually furnish this room, but that's ok. I want all NEW stuff. Not the hand me down stuff that decorates the rest of my house. I know the feel I want in there, so, I'm looking forward to building this room. I'll keep you posted!

PS. That's a tantrum throwing Riley in the bottom corner. I don't remember what she was mad about!

Bedtime fun

2008-04-13T10:52:00.004-04:00

I was getting the girls ready for bed the other night and our puppy got a case of the 'Go,Dog,Go', as we like to call it. Nixie Would run down the hall, spin around and race back. She'd jump on the bed and just lay there like she'd been there the whole time. Then, with the slightest provocation, she'd leap off the bed and race down the hall again. This went on for a few minute and had the girls squealing with delight. Even though Nixie has an evil look in the pictures, you can tell by the look on the girls faces that it was all in fun. Even I was laughing instead of trying to get everyone to settle down and go to sleep.

Haircuts all around

2008-04-13T10:28:00.005-04:00

Rena's was from last summer. I took all the girls to get their haircut last week. It went really well and I love their new bobs. I got Rena's trimmed, so there wasn't a drastic difference in what she looked like. Plus, none of them were very cooperative in taking pictures of their new do's. So now everyone has had their first haircuts. Rachel in particular needed one. She had all this fine baby hair and her hair is really curly, so she always had bedhead. It does make them all look a little more grown up. :(

Shiner

2008-04-13T10:18:00.002-04:00

Check out this shiner! It was an accident prone afternoon here. Rena was out in the garage and she climbed through the back of the double stroller. It fell backwards and she caught herself with her forehead. I don't know why you can't see it in this picture, but she had a hugh knot on her forehead. I didn't realize until hours later that she had a black eye. Poor thing. Later that afternoon she fell, in the garage again, and raked her side down the tray on the easle. Youch!

I'm running away. Don't call the press.

2008-04-03T05:08:00.002-04:00

I'm running away. I'll be at the Holiday Inn if you need me. Now the only reason I tell you that, is because I don't want the Georgia police coming after me like they did that poor Runaway Bride (didja know they've made a musical out of her story!) Me being all bug eyed and somebody throwing a towel over my head. Throw a pillow my way if you want to, but that's it. Don't send out a search party looking for my ass either. All I need is somebody pounding on the door, waking my happy ass up! I'll be back home when I've had a good nights sleep.

Here's the problem. Rena, Rachel, Riley, Max and Nixie. 3 of them can open doors and I'm pretty sure one of them know how to unlock them. Rena is giving up naps. Yeah. Can you imagine how excited I am about loosing the only potential break I get alllllllll day? There are lots of problems with this. Aside from me not getting a break from all the kiddies at one time, it seems that Rena has some sort of , well, I'm not really sure what to call it. But this is what she does. About an hour after she falls asleep, and usually about 3 minute after I've finally called it a day, she wakes up kicking and crying in that plaintiff wail only a 4 year old has mastered. The last 2 times, she's complained of an earache. I don't know if this is true or not, but tylenol solves the problem....within seconds...which makes me think it might all be in her head. So, last night, everyone fell asleep at about 10:00 and I decided I was too worn out to drag all those tiny bodies to their respective beds, so I let them stay with me. Sure enough, about 11:00-11:30 Rena wakes up flailing about like a fish out of water, making enough racked to wake up the dead...or at least the sleeping toddlers...which she finally accomplishes. After some rather tense moments, I give her a shot of tylenol and send them all back to bed. Rena promptly goes back to sleep while the other 2 jockey for the best position in bed. And of course, Rachel falls off the bed. While they are figuring all of that out, I decided to take the dogs out to pee, so I don't have yet another interuption in my night. Down the stairs and out we go. Business accomplished. Back to bed. Now Riley's on Rachel's hair, boo, hoo, hoo. That problem solved and back to sleep we go. (A simple solution to the whole sister-on- your -hair dilema would be to sleep in your OWN bed!)

So off I drift, back to sleep, with the sound of Home Improvement playing softly in the background. Can I get a 'hell yeah' for the people at Nick at Night. I think I'm good 'til morning. Ha!

Next problem. The geriatric dog. He may be loosing his hearing and his eyesight, but the boy's still got a great nose on him. I know he can smell the stray black cat that I feed in the garage every night, within seconds of him coming in. Evidently, there are other little creatures he can smell also. I have the window open, so Max wakes me up about 4:20. There's something out there, he just knows it. I limp down stairs again and let the dogs out again. The search is on for the creature that has dared tresspass. I just hope he makes a clean getaway. Back upstair both Max and I hobble. Nixie trots on past us in search of something to destroy. I close the window and settle back into bed. Relax. And then the water drinking begins. Nixie chooses the toilet water, yum yum, while I can hear Max checking the doggie water dish. No water. but he checks back a few times before he comes to tell me. What the... I just filled it up yesterday. Back out of bed. Fill the water bowl. Back to bed. Relax. Now Nixie is tearing something up. Out of bed to find out what that is. Back to bed. Composing this post in my head. Now I can't sleep! It's 5:30 and now everyone is peacefully sleeping. I wish I had a picture, but Im not getting out of bed to go get the camera. Rena is sleeping in the middle of the bed, but slightly to my side. Riley is sleeping above her, head to head. Riley's feet are hanging off the head of the bed. Rachel is sleeping perpendicular to Rena with her feet pointing to Rena. Her head is hanging off the bed, so it's only a matter of time before she falls off the bed again. Geesh! Max is at Rena's feet and Nixie is breathing heavily beside me on the floor. I can't tell you how great the urge is to wake them ALL up!

So now you all know why I tend to get crabby. Especially around midafternoon. But like I said, I'm headed to the Holiday Inn. Don't come looking for me...and turn the lights off.

My take on the HOA

2008-03-31T15:42:00.000-04:00

When searching for a new house, I was impressed when entering some neighborhoods. The entrances were beautiful and announced the name of the subdivision. The flowers were blooming and freshly mulched. You usually pass the pool, tennis courts and neighborhood playground at the entrance. All beautifully maintained. And usually empty.

Trash cans aren’t visible. There are no lawn chairs out front. No toys. No cars. The yards look perfectly manicured. Not a ‘hair’ out of place. In fact, often it doesn’t look like anyone lives there. It allows you to imagine YOUR life there. Beautiful houses. Beautiful yards. Beautiful children (if you happen to catch a glimpse of one)

So you find the ‘for sale’ sign at the house of your dreams. You check it out and think “Yes, I could live here!” Where do I sign. 1500 pages later, signatures, initials and $ all in the right place, you move in.

Then the letters start. “Per covenant regulation 6B 1.42 ‘all trash cans will be place out of view, possibly within the confines of the interior of your house, lest passersby and nosey neighbors think you actually produce trash in your abode. Failure to store trash in your house will result in a fine of not less that $25.00 a day that will accumulate until we are able to take full possession of your house.”

“per covenant regulation 7A 2.45 ‘all children’s toys shall be put away immediately after use so that it appears that no children live in said neighborhood. Preferable, no toys of any kind will be used outside, so as not to offend your neighbors with the raising of your children.’

“per covenant regulation 4C 5.23 You shall keep your lawn emerald green only during the times the HOA has agreed upon. Your lawn should be green without consideration to the weather. Don’t think you can enjoy the yard work on your own, at your leisure. You will be expected to hire a ‘lawn maintenance company’ to ensure your yard looks like everyone elses. They will be responsible for seeding, fertilizing, mowing, mulching and planting HOA approved flowers in acceptable colors. Any flowers not meeting the required coloration will be yanked out under cover of darkness by the closest HOA board member. Please be sure to coordinate your landscaper days with the days your maid come as 2 ‘work’ vehicles are not allowed in your driveway at the same time.

Now when I drive into a neighborhood and I see the tale-tell signs of an HOA, I run the other way. In the meantime, I’m stuck with the one I’ve got. I didn’t have a choice as to whether I wanted to participate or not. If I wanted a neighborhood, I had to have an HOA. I have small children and I wanted them to grow up in a neighborhood.

What amazes me is that the same people who don’t trust their neighbors to take down their Christmas lights before the 4th of July and don’t trust their neighbors to not paint their house some atrocious color and don’t trust their neighbors to not pile up trash on their property until it’s condemned, give these SAME neighbors the power to make decisions for everyone in the neighborhood. Why? How did these horrible HOA’s come into existence. More importantly, How do we get rid of them?

serial numbers

2008-03-31T15:41:00.002-04:00

My husband just came and asked me where the twins serial numbers are. Do you think he's a little too focused on work?

2008-03-24T06:05:00.002-04:00

So, it's 4:40am. Blair is in the shower and I'm drifting in and out of sleep. It's not unusual for him to be up so early getting ready for work. Rena has come to join Riley and me in bed. She's cold and she wants to sleep beside me, so she wedges in between Riley and me. I drift back to sleep and then awaken again. Blair is still in the shower. Now it's just irritating me. "Turn the water off" I want to yell. "I can't sleep!" Finally, the water is turned off and the strange, familiar sounds of drawers opening and closing comes from the bathroom. Riley stirs in her sleep, realizes she has come out of physical contact with me, and leapfrogs her sister to be beside me once again. I consider leapfrogging both of them to Blair's side of the bed, that is invitingly empty. Instead, I push Rena into that spot and then push Riley up against her. Ah, I stretch out and then curl back up against the cold. Blair has gone downstairs with his suitcase and computer case in tow. However, he's left the dogs. Nixie is stirring. She wants to go. It doesn't matter where. I hear the garage door open and Blair's truck roars to life. Crap. Now I'm going to have to get up and let the dogs out. But no, Blair returns, and 'quietly' calls Nixie, who willingly thumps down the stairs to the freedom of the backyard. Within minutes, she's back, as is Blair. He gathers up the rest of his stuff and stealthily kisses his girls goodbye.

The house is quiet once again. The girls breath in deep regular breaths beside me. Rachel has made no sound from her room. Sleep is good. It's 5:00ish. Am I really going back to sleep? Probably not. Oh well. At least I'll get a few moment to myself. I go in search of my computer. The girls were using it last night. It should be right beside them. It's not. Where is it! What would Blair have done with it. I'm trying desperately to search quietly for my computer, while the dogs lazily circle my legs wondering where I'll go ,and not wanting to be left behind. I finally turn on a light briefly and discover it on my dresser. Not where I would have expected it. Ok, I've got the computer. The girls are still asleep. The dogs are all moving in the same direction. The coffee pot is clean and waiting in the dishwasher for me. It's getting better. I go downstairs, make coffee and plug in the computer. Before coffee is even finished brewing I heard Rachel "Mommy, where are you?" Now, don't get me wrong. I love this child with all my heart. But are you FREAKING KIDDING ME! It's 5:40. Once she discovers my location, she slides backwards down the stairs to join me. And she's chatty. Luckily, she's also a TV head, so after a few minutes I send her off to watch Clifford with a sippy cup of milk. Peace at last. I start this post, to get my frustrations out about never getting a minute to myself, when all of a sudden, my computer screen goes black. What the f%$@! It takes me a minute to discover that our loverly Nixie has chewed throught the power cord...again. Damn dog! So, off to Dell.com I go. I order 2 power cords. They should be here by Friday. Back to the post. Rachel comes to me. She's wet the bed. Hmmm? How could that happen. She has on a diaper. Her pajamas aren't wet. Maybe she just means she's wet. I change her. Off to Grandma's room (grandmom doesn't actually live here, she just has a room named in her honor) and, yes the bed is a little wet! Still not sure how that happened, and really, I don't want to know. I strip the bed. Back to my, huh, hum, peaceful few minutes at the computer. I'm exhausted already! And it's not even 7:00 yet. I'm wondering if the marines REALLY do more than me by this time!

So, how do you start YOUR day?

Busted

2008-03-20T16:04:00.003-04:00

Pretty much everyday, I have to go into the bathroom and order someone out. It's amazing how much focus there is on this little room. I swear we have drained half of Lake Lanier right out of this tiny bathroom.

Well, they're busted. It's not the first time. They are repeat offenders.

Notice Riley in the reflection....in 'the' dress.

2008-03-15T20:58:00.001-04:00

I give my children lots of creative freedom. I used to teach elementary school and I believed in giving them creative freedom too. I though I would share what happens when creative freedom goes awry. Let me give you the rundown, since the picture may not tell the whole story.

Daughter #1 is sporting a winter snowflake shirt with ruffled hem paired with hand-me-down fruit skort. Rounding out the ensemble are the hello kitty sandles from last summer that are 1 size too small and fully coated in Georgia red clay. This outfit is finished off with a lovely pink knit cap(matching sweater not shown).

Daughter #2 is STILL in the princess dress that was daughter #1's Halloween costume 2 1/2 years ago. No matter. It looks fetching on her and has for the last 14 days. Daughter #2 chose to accessorize her look with the ladybug rainboots and Little Me rain jacket fitting for the occasion. Missing from the 'accessory queen' are the sunglass, necklaces and overdone 'lip stuff' she normally wears.

Daughter #3 self dressed in pink striped pants that, until this morning's closet clean out, also belonged to sister #1. This lovely outfit is rounded out with a fleece jacket and mismatched ladybug slippers from Target. This is quite the step up since she is usually only fetching a diaper.
Even though they look like the might be trying to replicate the well known "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" they are really just trying to protect themselves from the tornado bearing wind.
Hope you enjoyed the Saturday night fashion show. Drive safe out there!

Big Mommy

2008-03-14T09:07:00.004-04:00

The girls have started talking about themselves being big. "I not little Rachel, I BIG Rachel" You get the point. Rachel in particular is obsessed with this. So she puts BIG in front of everyone's name. I'm BIG Mommy.....in more ways than one.

Roasted Potato Bites from Pampered Chef

2008-03-14T08:55:00.002-04:00

12 B size red potatoes (about 2 " in diameter), unpeeled
1 Tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black petter
4 ounces chive and onion cream cheese spread
3 tablespoons sour cream
Optional toppings such as grated cheddar cheese, bacon bits and snipped fresh chives

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Cut potatoes in half crosswise. Cut a thin slice off bottom of each potato half. Carefully scoop out a small amount of pulp from each potato half. In medium bowl, combine oil, garlic salt and pepper. Add potato halves; toss to coat.

2. Place potato halves, hollowed side down, on bar pan. Bake 30-32 minutes or until deep golden brown and tender. Remove from oven; cool slightly

3. In small bowl, combine cream cheese spread and sour cream; whisk until smooth using whisk. Pipe evenly into hollowed potato halves. Sprinkle with toppings if desired.

yield: 24 appetizers

I am Cow

2008-03-12T09:19:00.001-04:00

I can't help it. This made me laugh and I just had to share. If you don't have a sense of humor, don't go there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WFp4kozlOU

The Dress

2008-03-10T10:22:00.005-04:00

This dress was Rena's 2 year old Halloween costume. Riley has discovered in and I think we are on about day 10 of her wearing it every day. If she's not wearing it, she's sleeping with it. I'm not kidding. Her fascination shows no signs of stopping and she's been searching for it all morning. I really don't know where it is. It NEEDS to be in the laundry.