Pickle Party

I've been TiVo'ing this new show on the Fine Living Network called "All-Girl Getaways." They follow a group of girlfriends as they go on adventures. So far I've seen one group go on a cruise, tonight I'm watching friends from Boston go on a road trip to Philly. While they were in Philly they went to a Pickle Party (get your minds out of the gutter). You make your own custom purse! The lady's name is Viv Pickle and you can either go to her store or she'll come to you (as long as you live in NJ, Delaware or PA). She has hundreds of fabrics, tons of styles. It look like a lot of fun! check it out: http://www.vivpickle.com/

Roly Poly Oly

Either I eat out way too much or the clerk @ Roly Poly is totally stalking me.
I stopped in today to order some sandwhich platters for this weekend.
I placed my order and the clerk was like, "OK. Thank you, Mrs. X" and then he wrote down my phone number. Without asking me for it. Weird, huh???

Ovaries, Schmovaries

So Chris & I spent the early part of this morning at the Emergency Room. Every thing's fine now; I feel much much better. They originally thought I may have had kidney stones but after the catscan showed nothing, they think I had an ovarian cyst that burst.

I was sleeping pretty good (which we all know is very, very rare for me). I woke up around 3:15 AM w/ really bad abdominal cramps/pain. Went in the bathroom and just about died. I couldn't even see straight the pain was so bad (I never actually went into labor w/ either of my girls so I can't compare it to having a baby; 2 scheduled c-sections for both girls). I crawled out to the hallway and laid on the cold hardwood floor. I was drenched in sweat and was doubled over in pain. My stomach was hard as a rock and really swollen and bloated. I couldn't stop shaking. Chris heard me moaning in the hallway and I told him something was really wrong. This wasn't a stomach bug or food poisoning. He called 911 and they took me to the hospital. Actually, a firetruck came down our street w/ light's a-flashing firsts (no sirens thank God!), then the ambulance came. I felt like such an ass strapped into the stretcher on my driveway. At the hospital, there was blood in my urine so they thought it was kidney stones. Had a catscan, no kidney stones. By this time I'm starting to feel much better and can actually breathe normally. They did some blood work (no, I'm not pregnant!) and my white count is a little high and my pancreatic enzymes are elevated as well. So, they think it was an ovarian cyst that burst. I feel a a thousand times better than I did at 3:15 this morning. I'm still a little sore and tender (feels like menstrual cramps) so I'm just taking it easy today. They said to come back in if I start to feel pain again or run a fever and I have to follow-up w/ my OB-GYN.

Seriously folks. Nothing but fun & games in this household.

Getting Chilly Out There

It was a little chilly tonight sitting at T's last lax game of the season. Things didn't go so well for the girls tonight. At one point we were only down 3 points but we fell apart at the end and we just couldn't hold on. T was really, really upset. Which is really weird for her. She's not usually a very emotional person when it comes to sports (she pretty happy-go-lucky) but she seems to enjoy lax alot and takes it personally when they lose. It also doesn't help that T (and everyone else on the team) have absolutely no respect for the coach (T refers to her as "pin-head"). Normally I would reprimand T for calling her coach unflattering names but honestly, the lady really is a bone-head. She's clueless. I could probably do a better job of coaching these girls and I've never played a team sport in my life. Tonight's game got a little ugly, some bad calls, very aggressive play, rude fans.

Chris's varsity team, on the other hand, beat the snot out of their biggest rival. Yay!

Busy Week

Carpet cleaning guy is here as I type. Landscapers are supposed to come out (again) since they didn't have enough mulch last week.

Trying to plan my menu for KJ's communion party Saturday night and figure out what needs to be ordered (cake!) and what needs to go on my grocery list. Since we're having a lot of family & friends in from out of town, I also have to feed everyone all weekend so I'm trying to figure all that out as well.

Friday afternoon/night my brother & nephew will be here, my parents, LCM & Dean and their 2 kids, Joe & Laurie and Britt & Guest. Chris will be @ lax semi-finals (maybe T, too!) and KJ has rehearsal @ 5 PM. Yikes! Looks like we'll be throwing something on the grill!

Saturday Chris's mom, sister and nephew will be driving over from ATL a little early to visit w/ everyone. KJ & Abby Grace are getting manicures and KJ is getting an updo at 11:30 AM. I think she's supposed to be over to church a little earlier than the 5 PM mass time. I'll need to feed everyone lunch while they're here.

Sunday is going to be all lacrosse, all day. Championship games galore, team party afterward.

May is always so crazy for us. It seems like everything is starting to wind down and we're cramming everything in at the last minute. This week is hectic w/ lax, softball and dance as always and Friday is KJ's mother's day picnic @ school. Wednesday the gals from playschool are getting together for lunch to say good-bye to our director.

God help me get thru this week.

quote loading on a rainy Monday

The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives. -- Native American Proverb

The first duty of love is to listen. -- Paul Tillich

A stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet. -- Will Rogers

You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take. --Wayne Gretzky

The simple act of caring is heroic. -- Edward Albert

Referee

KJ Makes Big Save to Keep Lady Lizards in the Game!

Look Who's the Referee!

Coach Claire Congrats KJ for keeping the game tied up!


KJ had a make-up game today (yesterday's opponents never showed up; they must have heard how good our goalie was!). Today, no ref showed up. They asked T-bone if she wanted to make a quick $25 bucks. I thought she did a pretty good job. Apparently, the other team didn't think so. One of the mom's didn't know that the ref was my daughter and she was totally talking smack. Give me a freakin break! It's a bunch of 8 and 9 year old little girls. Not the national championships! I couldn't stand it anymore and very nicely laughed and said, "well, she's only 13." This mother gave me an earful on how this game was obviously one-sided and totally inconsistent. Inconsistent? One-sided? Out of sisterly "love" T did her very best to make KJ miserable. Twice T called a penalty on KJ's team for stepping in the crease which results in a free shot. One of those shots KJ missed so the opposing team scored. Then, I overheard another little girl telling her parents, "I heard that Ref is the Goalie's Big Sister!!!!" Again, give me a freakin' break! T was really funny because instead of just calling the penalty, she tried to be really sweet to the girls and she would say, "Sorry! Number 8 but you ...." Chris tried to tell her, just make the damn call!!! She also said some of the girls got really mouthy w/ her. So, all evening KJ's been telling T that she's a "bad ref." Unfortunately, w/ KJ's little speech impediment, it sounded more like she had "bad breath."

Wildlife

So we've been dealing with some crazy wildlife around the house lately. Mr. (Mrs.??) Cardinal over here has been visiting the last couple of days. We have 2 nests in the front of the house but I'm not sure if either one is a cardinal's nest. One day I noticed an egg had fallen out of one of the nests and was all smashed on the front steps. I felt so bad.

Then, we've been dealing with a really squirrelly squirrel. Poor KJ. She's been affected the most. He hangs out in the gutter right under her window and bangs stuff around, runs thru the gutter, chews on the gutter, etc. He's woken me up a couple times real early in the morning so I know he's been bothering her, too. The other day I was sitting on the couch, looking in the backyard and I watched him try to run up the side of the house and get in that gutter. I went out and yelled at him, totally caught him off guard, he jumped from the house onto the deck railing, and tried to jump from the deck railing onto a tree limb. He missed and landed on the ground and actually let out a little yelp. It was pretty funny. It was like watching America's Funniest Home Videos in my own backyard.

My neice who shall not be named has done it again!

My brother called me this afternoon on his way home from the ER. My little neice broke her little arm today. They were all outside doing yard work, said it was time to come in, she took off running and hit the wall. Literally. She hit the low rock wall in the garden. She had a knot on her forehead right above her eyebrow so originally they thought she just hit her head. Called the pediatrician, he said to keep an eye on her, don't let her sleep too much. She fell asleep on the living room floor during lunch but when she woke up there was definately something wrong w/ her left arm. Took her to the ER, did some x-rays, sure enough, 2 bones above her wrist are broken. She's in a splint now but has to go back Monday to have the arm set.
She needs to roll herself in bubblewrap and call it a day. She won't be 2 until August and today was her 3rd trip to the ER. She fell on the bathroom floor and chipped her tooth when she hit the side of the bathtub w/ her mouth and another time she hit her head doing something; I can't remember exactly what. I think part of the problem is the kid just doesn't listen. I talked to my brother last night for a while and we even joked about it then. He said she looks right at you, shakes her head 3 times and says "No" really fast! I told Steve maybe they need to move a little closer to the hospital to cut down on drive time.

School

there are like 20 days of school left for the kids.
crazy!

Today's Theme: Lake Como, Italy

Even though T & I aren't going any where near Lake Como during our upcoming trip, I'd like to go to Lake Como someday and stay in one of these amazing villas, take a boat out on the lake and drink bellini's. Maybe hang out w/ George and Donatella. You know, grab a bite to eat.

I've been doing more & more laundry today and cleaning up KJ's room. She has a terrible habit of not putting her clothes away. Forget about putting them away "properly," she just doesn't even put them away. I threw away a bunch of skanky t-shirts and some shorts that I know for a fact will not fit her this summer.

So last night T had to be sized for her dance team uniforms/costumes. It was a fun and exciting time. However, on the ride home she found out that one of her friends didn't make the drill team. Try-outs were last night and as we walked into the dance team meeting, all the drill team hopefuls were in the hall waiting for their number to be called. So, the friend is on the phone w/ T crying, T started crying, I started crying. T is well aware of how that feels . . . she's tried out for teams and not made it. It's hard. And as a mom, you're heart just aches.

Game Day

First look @ t's "game day" costumes. This outfits are not what she'll be performing in, just what they wear to school on game days.

So I just checked my calendar for tomorrow. Guess What! I have absolutely nothing to do tomorrow. No where to go, don't have to drive any one any where. I think Chris has men's practice tomorrow but maybe we can talk him out of it. This weekend should be fairly quiet, too. KJ has a lax game Saturday and Chris has JV & Varsity games Saturday afternoon.

Today's Theme: CapeCod

Cape Cod beaches are a little bit wild, a little rugged compared to the beaches in Alabama and Florida. Not so "tropical." You won't find any palm trees.

When Chris was in college he had a couple of buddies that summer'd on Nantucket. We drove to Woods Hole, MA and took the ferry over to Nantucket. I loved the weathered shingle houses and the cobblestone streets.

There were a whole bunch of us crashing at the friends house. It was really hot inside so Chris & I took our sleeping bags & pillows and slept outside on the side lawn under the stars. Had to have been 20 years ago but I still remember the fun we had on that trip (and the oriental kid who knew every word to that REM song!).

Another memorable Cape Cod trip was after we were married, getting ready to close on our first house, flat broke, we visited Chris's buddy Andy at his Grandmother's house on the Cape. She had one of the most incredible beach houses I had ever been to.
She lived in the house year round and every window had an amazing view. It was still a little too chilly to get in the water so we bought kites and flew them on the beach like a bunch of little kids.

Good times; good times.

She's HOW old???

Ali Lohan, Lindsey's little sis, is 14 years old.
Holy crap! I thought she was my age!!!

Some People Shouldn't Procreate

Chaperoned KJ's class trip to High School Musical on Ice. All I can say is Wow. The show was really cute but Wow. Some of these kids are really really rotten. I don't always blame the kid, I'm thinking most of the blame falls on the parents. I don't know if I'm getting too old for this crap, maybe I was just in a bad mood.

Child #1: After the show we had our sack lunches out in the courtyard @ the BJCC. I watched one little girl (who plays w/ the boys on a regular basis) walk up to a boy who was just standing there talking to his friend, she grabbed him by the back of the neck w/ one hand and threw him face down on the bricks. She walked away. Nice. And her mom wonders why none of the other little girls will play with her.

Child #2: Her lunch consisted of a tupperware container of Captn Crunch and a Capri Sun. She walked around and literally begged everyone for their left-overs. I'm not judging. But, if you can't provide a nutrious lunch for your child, maybe you should look into free lunches. KJ told me this was pretty typical of this girl's daily lunches. KJ said the other day she had a package of Nutty Buddy's and 2 Hershey Kisses. I'm trying to be open minded -- maybe the little girl packs her own lunch each day. However, eating healthy and buying fruits and vegetables costs pretty much the same as buying junk food. Margaret & I saw this often in our playschool class -- little 18 month old toddlers bringing in Teddy Grahams, Lucky Charms and pretzels for lunch. That's it. That was their ENTIRE lunch. WTF??? We had one little boy (we had his older cousin a couple of years ago) who never, ever brought a fruit or a vegetable, no cheese sticks, no yogurt. Nothing but crap food. The cousin was the same way so this totally ran in the family. We had one little girl who brought in 2 bottles of Hi-C soda EVERY DAY. Not fruit juice, not watered down but SODA straight out the bottle. I'll be the first one to admit I don't like to cook or bake and I'm not very domesticated. However, my kids had fairly healthy lunches at day care or pre-school. It may not have been what THEY wanted, and sometimes it may have been a day or two before grocery shopping day so pickin's may have been slim, but I always managed a sandwhich, a piece of fruit or carrott/celery sticks, cheese sticks, a go-gurt, etc.

Child #3: (my least favorite child in the entire 2nd grade) This lovely young man screamed at this friends today on the bus and told them to "mind their own 'freakin' business." Which I found incredibly ironic. We had 30-45 minutes to spare prior to show time. The 2nd Grade teachers bought popcorn for the kids to share and handed the buckets to each chaperone to distribute among the kids in their row. Before I even had a chance to start passing out popcorn, this angelic little turd was the first one to say, "No fair!!! KJ is getting popcorn." Last week when I watched the class I bought a can of sprite from the soda machine in the teachers lounge. KJ asked if she could have some. This brat yelled, "KJ! I'm telling! You know we're not allowed to have soda." Dude! I'm her freakin' mom and I'm standing right here! I'm the one who gave her a sip of my caffeine-free sprite. As my husband would say to the girls when they argue: Who's business are YOU minding???

OK. So that's it. I've gotten everything off my chest. God I really hate other people's children.

Suri's Party

In case your invite got lost in the mail (like mine did), Suri Cruise turned 2 on 4/18.

T-bone thinks she is the most adorable baby on the planet.

Parental Units

Happy Anniversary to my parents!!!

Judy Moody & Boston

KJ is supposed to read each night and then write about what she read in her agenda. Tonight she picked a Judy Moody story, "Judy Moody Declares Independence." It was about Judy Moody & her family taking a trip to historical Boston. KJ wrote in her journal that the story reminded her of "when her mother lived in Boston." One problem . . . I never lived in Boston. I pointed this out to her and she said, "I really don't care and anyway, my teacher doesn't know you didn't live in Boston." Classic. I see Daddy's been helping her w/ her homework.

Snowglobes from around the world

I had a wicked migraine all day today. It's almost 6 pm and I'm still in my pajama's. Pretty sad. KJ got off the bus hysterical crying saying SHE had a headache. Must be something in the air. She laid down w/ an ice cold cloth on her head and slept for an hour and a half. When she has a headache and sleeps it off, she wakes up a totally different person.

She has just informed me that she would like T & I to bring her back snowglobes from our trip to Europe. She said she wants a Big Ben snowglobe from London, the Eiffel Tower from Paris and she said she "doesn't know the name of it, but it's a big round building that looks like it's broken." I'm guessing she means the Coliseum in Rome. I tried to bring her back a snowglobe from the M&M store in Vegas but I accidentally put it in my carry-on bag and it was over the liquid limit (as if I was a terrorist making bombs out of M&M World snowglobes). They made me get off the security line and take it to the post office at the airport and try to mail it. Unfortunately, the post office didn't open until 10 AM, our flight was at 9 AM. I ran around the airport trying to figure something out. The Bellagio gift shop wouldn't mail it for me because I didn't buy there so I ended up giving the snowglobe to a maintenance worker I passed in the airport. Told him to give it to his grandkids or something.

Check out my Slide Show!

Summer Songs

I'm working on my summer playlist (which is really weird because some parts of the country are barely into Spring; I guess all this gorgeous weather has made me think of Summer!). Gimme some feedback. What songs make you think of summer? What songs remind you of the "best" summer of your life (senior year? summer love?).

I love this new song by Kid Rock (you should hear KJ belt it out in the car!). And for some reason I've always loved this Justin Timberlake song (seriously folks! who doesn't love a little JT???).

Today's Theme: Adirondack Chairs

Another wonderful day! We got a lot of yard work done today and we also took the disgusting beer fridge outside and cleaned it all out. We basically power-washed the crap out of it. There was all sorts of gross stuff growing in there, spilled soda/juice boxes and lots of unidentifiable stuff.

Last night I took a wonderful bubble bath and really relaxed. I didn't even bother to set my alarm this morning and Chris & KJ let me sleep a little bit. Chris took KJ to church/Sunday school. We picked her up and ran down to Home Depot to buy some flowers. We bought some nice stuff: geraniums for the front porch, sebedum (spelling?), some impatients for the side yard, etc.

I took KJ & Evvy to Scouts, Ann will pick them up. I've got a nice big juicy steak to throw on the grill this afternoon. I'm also baking an apple pie right now. OK. It was one of those Mrs. Smith's frozen ones but they're still delish. T just called; she's still in ATL. Sounds like a lot of volleyball yesterday, lots of shopping today. She's also stuffed up/congested again. Seems like everytime she goes away w/ ME she gets sick. Must be ME cooties.

Spring Fever

Last night's thunderstorm brought some gorgeous weather today! I don't think today could have been much more perfect!

KJ had a 10 AM lax game. We ran to our favorite lacrosse store (we're on a first-name basis w/ the owners! ha! ha!) and her daddy got her a pair of gloves, her own helmet and her own goalie stick to use. Normally the only equipment girls need is a stick and a pair of goggles. She played incredible today. Several parents came up to her after the game and told her how great she did. Apparently, the little girl who started in goal last week (but wanted out of there the minute she got hit w/ the ball) is a little miffed. Coach told her KJ was the starting goalie and this other little girl was now KJ's back up. She wasn't too happy about that.

We left KJ's game and had some lunch and celebratory Blizzards @ DQ. The U15 team was playing so we stopped by the fields to catch some of their game. These are all boys T knows and theoretically will be on the JV squad next year. One of the mom's asked me what number was my son. I get that all the time. It's pretty funny.

KJ and I ran out and bought her veil for her communion and we also stopped at Party City to buy paper goods for her communion party. Spoke to LCM in Cincy last night and was excited to learn they are making the trip down.

Did some yard work this afternoon; mostly pulling weeds. Oh, and I did get to use the power hedge trimmers. If Chris would just let me go a little wild, I'd cut down half the trees and bushes in the back and on the side. The landscapers are coming out this week to lay down some mulch. It always looks so good when the mulch is done. Supposed to be around 78 Sunday. I think it's time to plant some colorful flowers out front. Chris sanded down the front door and stained it. The Budster had really done a number on the door. He'd scratch on one side when he wanted to come in.

Still need to pick out the piece of granite for my bathroom counter tops. I'd really like that installed before everyone comes her KJ's communion.

P.S. I found this picture on-line at http://www.hudsonvalleypainter.com/ (this is where I grew up). At first glance this looks like a fall picture but it's really a forsythia. I love this pic because back home, forsythia's signaled the start of spring. You don't' see too many forsythia bushes down here.

Finally Figured it out

OK. For the last couple of weeks there has been a really really weird smell coming out of the dining room. For the life of me I couldn't figure out what it was. I thought perhaps there was some Buddy "residue" somewhere, was a piece of shrimp rotting under the china cabinet? I mopped the wood floors several times, I lit tons of candles in there, I sprayed Febreeze regularly on all the chair cushions, the curtains, etc. I couldn't figure out what it was. The smell became increasingly worse. There were some nights I laid on the couch in the living room and could smell it. Well, today, I finally figured out what it was!

When we came back from the beach I hung KJ's beach bag on the back of one of the dining room chairs. Never thought much about it. It had a pair of sunglasses, a snorkel, her swimming mask, a sun visor, a velcro-mitt/ball kind of thing, etc.

I was straightening up before the cleaning lady came and I grabbed the beach bag off the dining room chair and the smell could have knocked me over. It was the freakin' beach bag that smelled so bad!!!! It smelled like rotten seaweed or something. I probably should have rinsed off the snorkel and the diving mask before I brought them home. Absolutely disgusting! Well, now that the offensive bag has been removed from the premises, my house smells so nice and fresh! No more disgusting beach bags!!!

Aaaahhhh...the smell of freshness!

• 
  What's that wonderful smell? Is it the smell of a clean house? The smell of fresh linens on the bed??

It's 2:30 PM, cleaning lady just left. She's been here since 9 AM. I probably should have paid her double what we agreed upon! She cleaned her butt off today. My wood floors look gorgeous, the girl's bathrooms are all sparkly, and everything just smells super clean. Everything's been dusted, vaccuumed and wiped down. I got a lot of laundry done while she was here. Great way to start off the weeeknd!

TGIF / Sex & the City News

Good morning.

(Get going!)

Words are mere bubbles of water, but deeds are drops of gold -- Chinese proverb
God is Love,

Rev Run

Whoo-Hoo! Looks like it's gonna be another nice day in the neighborhood!

KJ slept on the couch last night (we were up late watching Hannah Montanna and the Suite Life) so she just crashed. We both woke up this morning a little stuffed. Definately allergies/sinus kind of stuff. I'm sitting here in the kitchen w/ my cup of tea and I can see all the blossoms blowing off my baby's breath bush (not sure if that is the correct botanical term but that is what the blossoms look like). It's very pretty ... looks like snow.

Lots going on in the house ... cleaning lady here today, I just called and made an appointment to have my carpets cleaned the week after next, landscapers are going to lay down some mulch next week. I think we're going to work on the front door Saturday (neeeds to be sanded and re-stained) and Sunday we'll paint the upstairs hallway. Love spring time. Love getting stuff done around the house. I really need to clean out my office, too. I never go up there; KJ still has a lot of junk in there (dress up stuff, books, etc.).

So what's this I'm hearing in BlogLand?? One of characters will die in the upcoming Sex & The City movie. Apparently Cynthia Nixon, Miranda, let it slip in an interview. Speculation is she's the one who dies (remember her battle w/ breast cancer??). There has also been some talk that Big dies. Or Miranda's alzheimer mother-in-law played by Anne Meara. What do you think???

The simple act of caring is heroic. --Edward Albert

Good morning.
Your attitude is your thought life turned inside out -- Joyce Meyers.
Have a good attitude all day today! (Remember this!) Your attitude determines your altitude.-- John Maxwell
God is Love
Rev Run

Wow! What a nice day! Lots and lots of sunshine! KJ did not win her softball game (I don't think we've won a game yet this season) but she played well at first and in the "circle." We had a good time at the game and went out for a bite to eat afterward.

T is going to Atlanta in the morning w/ ME and Julie for a volleyball weekend. Looks like it'll just be KJ all weekend. She's got a lax game Saturday AM and a softball game at the same time. She's gonna have to pick one and go w/ it. After tonight's softball loss, I have a feeling she's gonna want to go to her lax game. I think she's looking forward to playing goalie again.

Just catching up on my TiVo. Got a little laundry to do but nothing major. Other than the cleaning lady coming tomorrow, nothing going on. No where to be. Yay!

Either you're part of the problem or you're part of the solution or you're just part of the landscape. -- J.D. Zeik

4-day weekend

T had a lax game last night. They lost but she played well. From the game she met a bunch of girls @ a mexican place to celebrate ME's b-day and then she spent the night @ ME's.

KJ and I left the lax game and picked up Maggie so she could spend the night at our house. The girls go to different elementary schools so I'm glad when they get a chance to spend time together. Maggie is the oldest in her family of 3 kids. KJ is our baby. Maggie loves when T is around and last night KJ & Maggie kept bugging me to take them "rolling." They wanted to roll somebody so bad. They asked if T could take them rolling the next time she was home.

Picked up T from ME's house and took my 2 girls to lunch and then T got a haircut. She cut 7" from her hair. A couple more inches and she could have done Locks for Love. The salon we go to has big comfy leather chairs and a couch. KJ stretched out on the couch and put her head in my lap. I snoozed for a couple of minutes. The sound of the blow-dryers totally knocked me out.

Now we're off to KJ's softball game. I think she's planning to have a couple of girls sleep over tonight, too. Friday AM the cleaning lady comes! YAY!!! I made each of the girls straighten up their rooms this afternoon. Cleaning lady can't clean around clutter.

Gorgeous day. Lots of sunshine. I can't believe April is almost over. holy cow. I need to get a dress for the communion and T needs something to wear, too. I still need to find a veil for KJ. We made an appointment for her to get her hair and nails done the morning of the communion.

Moral Question

Teacher appreciation week @ the elementary school. I'm covering the class so Mrs. S can attend the luncheon the PTO organizes.
Question: is it illegal for me to smack someone else's kid?
If so, how much hard time are we really talkin' here?
Maximum security?
Minimum?
How about one of those ankle bracelet things?

typical toopid tuesday

It was a dark and stormy night.
No. Wait. Sorry. Wrong story.
It was a cold, dark night.
KJ had dance.
KJ had softball and was supposed to bring snack.
T had a dance team new member meeting.
T had dance.
Chris had lacrosse games.
What's a woman to do??
She called on her friends for help and bribed them w/ Chik-Fil-A.
The End.

Notify the Authorities!!! Debra's Gone!

Yes, Debra, our friendly Garmin gal was stolen out of Chris's car last night. The perpetrators must have gotten nervous or scared off because they stole the GPS right out of Chris's car (cigarette lighter adaptor too) but they left a nice, brand new shiny bike in our driveway. Must have been a a trade-off in their mind: I steal your Garmin but I'll give you this really nice mountain bike instead.

Aaaawwww...

T's best bud, M.E., (and her mom!) surpised T tonight w/ balloons on our mailbox, a sweet card and her favorite candy (Sour Patch Kids) to congratulate her on the dance team. T said to me, "aaawww mom! I feel so special."
Thanks Julie & ME! You made T's night!
xoxox

Mariah

Holy cow. I'm catching up on my TiVo and Mariah Carey was on Oprah today. She looks incredible. She is one of my favorite artists (which is really weird because I don't typically like her genre of music; I'm not a "power ballad" / sappy love song kind of gal). But she has a couple of songs that I always play in the car and shake my groove thing. I always tell Chris I want to be Mariah when I grow up. She's a strong, sexy, confident woman. But not skanky like Madonna or Britney can be. She has an NYC apartment TO DIE FOR and a closet I can get lost in for days (3,000 square ft. AND a seperate lingere closet). She's a girly-girl and doesn't apologize for it.

Thank God!!!

Yay!!! T-bone made the Freshman Dance Team!!! Whew!!! I was a wreck over it; now I can sleep a little better tonight. The great part is her 2 other friends made it, too. I would have hated it if one made it and not the other 2 or 2 made it and not 1. You know what I mean. I'm glad they made it together. T really worked hard this year in dance class and learned a lot of technical stuff.

Now daddy just has to write the checks for her costumes.

Dance Team Try-Outs

So I picked up Miss Priss and her 2 friends at the middle school today and drove them to the high school for another attempt at Freshman Dance Team. I don't know if she was nervous or what but she was such a turd in the car. I wanted to pull over and kick her ass out of the car. She better come home w/ a whole new attitude or it's going to be a long week.

Efficiency

Good morning.
Be efficient!
The main cause of failure is doing too many things in a inefficient manner, and not doing enough things in a efficient manner.
Every action is either strong; or weak and when your actions are strong, you are acting in a certain way which will make you successful. - Wallace D. Wattles

God is Love,
Rev Run

I think I need to put the Heat Back On

Aren't these just the cutest pics???

I love it chilly but this is a little ridiculous. Especially after we had some days last week in the high 70's / low 80's. My feet feel like ice pops.

So the little childrens are out of the house -- KJ has a field trip today to Oak Mtn. It's gonna be cold out there. I think I just saw on the news that it's going to be around 50 degrees today. T's got dance team try-outs this afternoon (here we go again!). Keep your fingers crossed and send her good thoughts! T also has a 7:45 PM softball game tonight. Yikes. It's going to be so freakin' cold out there at 8 PM at night when the game gets underway. Hubby's out of the house, too. He's exhausted. Yesterday was truly a wonderful day. I'm so proud of him; he's really making things happen. The girls have off Thursday & Friday from school and I'm looking foward to it. We just need a break from all the craziness. T's getting a haircut Thursday afternoon and Friday I'm test driving a new cleaning lady.

Super Sunday

Busy lacrosse day but I knew how it was going to be when I woke up this morning.
KJ spent the night at Evvy's, T spent the night at M.E.'s house. Very quiet this morning getting ready for church. No yelling at anyone to hurry up.

Both JV & Varsity beat our biggest rivals today. Great job by both of our teams. I think Mt. Brook is feeling the crunch this year. They're one of the 2 original teams here in B'ham and today was definately not their day. Our boys have been playing together 3 years now and it showed. We had incredible crowd up at the high school and the Lizards and Redhawks youth teams played at half-time. Very cute. Auburn and Alabama club teams played after our Varsity game. Not sure who's winning that game; I left a few minutes into it. I've had just about enough lacrosse today to last me a while. It was a beautiful day to be sitting in the stands.

Wow what a nice day!

6:30 PM; we had a very nice family day today. T had 9:30 AM softball pics and the 11 AM game. KJ had 12:30 PM pics and the 2:30 PM game. So in between T's game and KJ's pics we went to the Tip Top Grill for lunch and saw a bunch of kids we knew. I guess the ACTs' were today and afterward a bunch of them went out for lunch. We saw some high school cheerleaders we knew, a girl from T's lax team and a couple of Chris's lax players. I love when we run into people we know. Makes me feel like we belong, like we're part of the community.

T had a really sweet double play and KJ had an incredible inning playing first base. 3 very easy, very quick outs. It was so nice sitting at the fields. I actually got quite a bit of color on my face and arms.

We ran a couple of errands, buzzed thru Costco to buy drinks & snacks for tomorrow's big game(s) and now Chris is mowing the lawn. T is going to the movies w/ friends and is spending the night. KJ is also spending the night at friends. Hey!! Wait a minute!!! Does this mean what I think it means???? NO KIDS!!! Shoot -- I should have had Chris take me out somewhere for dinner.

I still have a HUGE pile of laundry on the couch. I'm at the point where I'm seriously considering setting it on fire and just going out and buying new stuff.

Saturday = Softball Central

For a change we're not doing anything lacrosse related today. Today is all about softball.
Softball photos. Softball games.
The rain has washed everything away, the sun is out, it's nice and cool. Good day to be outside, sitting at the ballfield, eating chicken baskets for lunch. Yum.

Holy cow that's a lot of woman. (Serena Williams)

Try-Outs Cancelled

Dance Team Try-outs have been canclled today. The torando sirens were going off at the high school, the girls had to go into the wrestling room for coverage, blah, blah, blah. T is a little upset; she just wanted to get it over with.

Finally Friday!

yay! it's Friday! Dance team try-outs this afternoon; keep your fingers crossed! T has the dance down pretty good; she just needs to work on her facial expressions. She concentrates very hard on what she's doing and sometimes it looks like she's angry or something.

KJ is on a field trip today (w/ Joe!) to see If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. I think Monday is another field trip to Oak Mt. and I'm going w/ the class to see High School Musical on Ice on April 23 (cuz' we're all in this together). April sounds like a ton of fun at the elementary school.

No games tonight, no nothing. Yay! I think Chris might have men's practice but maybe it will start raining before then! Saturday is going to be busy: both girls have softball team pics and both girls have softball games. KJ has lax practice later in the afternoon but don't know if her softball game will be over in time.

Big lax doings on Sunday. JV & Varsity play our biggest rivals and afterward Auburn and Alabama will play. During half-time of one of the games the Little Lizards will be play an exhibition game. The weather is supposed to be much cooler on Sunday; hopefully I can sell some of these hoodie sweatshirts!

I slept pretty good last night but I'm still waking up exhausted. Like I haven't had enough sleep. Chris & the girls were very quiet this morning and let me sleep a little longer. He's so good about getting the girls going in the morning. T is fairly self-suffiecent and wakes up really well (always has; even when she was in Kindergarten). The little one is a whole 'nother ball game. I don't know if it's because she's the baby of the family or what but everything is a major production w/ her.

My big bottle of Tide is calling my name.

Breaking News!

Authorities announced earlier today that Buddy the Crawfish (not to be confused w/ Buddy the Shih-Tzu) was released into the wild yesterday at a private, undisclosed location.

As reported previously, Buddy the Crawfish had been living a quiet life in a take-out food container for the past several weeks. A spokesperson for Buddy's family said, "He was obviously a fighter. The family wanted to do the right thing and give him an opportunity to live a wild and free existence. Although they were sad to see him go, everyone understood it was for the best."
Sources close to the family are also quick to point out that at yesterday's freedom ceremony, Buddy the Crawfish quickly adapted to his new environment and seemed quite grateful to be in more spacious surroundings. The family could not be reached for further comment.

Check your local listings for the Discovery Channel Documentary: "Buddy the Crawfish -- On your Plate or Out in the Open."

Love the Countdown Clock! Thanks Tracy!

why can't it be Friday already?

Covered the class today while KJ's teacher attended a planning meeting. A couple of things: First, when I was checking in at the front desk the admin asst asked if my husband was the one who coaches the lacrosse team. She said she sees his name in the paper all the time and didn't realize he was KJ's dad. Another lady who I had never seen before was standing there and said there are several high school boys in her neighborhood who are always throwing around in their front yards. I told the ladies to come out to the high school on Sunday to see Auburn and Alabama play each other.

Secondly, I hate half the kids in KJ's class. Ok. Hate is a strong word. Intensely dislike is a much better phrase. One child in particular is so smug, obnoxious and arrogant. I can not believe it. He lives in my neighborhood and looked right at me and told me today he doesn't have to listen to me. This is coming from a SECOND GRADER. His mother and I are not what you would call "friends" but if KJ ever spoke to his mother like that, I'd smack her (KJ, not his mother). He then tried to tell several other kids that they didn't have to listen to me. Trust me. I'm not strict or anything when I cover the class; I just want them to do the work the teacher left for us.

I have to get T in a few minutes off the carpool line. What a colossal waste of time. Thank god both my girls ride the school bus home. If I had to sit on that stupid carpool line each day, I'd loose my mind.

Wow. I just went back and re-read this post. I sound very cranky and nasty. Sorry!

Animoto Test part deux

Animoto

Bear w/ me. I'm testing a new feature on my blog. it was a little time consuming but I like the results. not a large music selection to choose from, either.

Girl Fight

Has anyone else seen that horrendeous video of a bunch of girls from somewhere in FL beating up on another girl? I saw it on the Today show yesterday morning (does that make it the YESTERDAY show???). Apparently a couple of girls and 2 teenage boys (they were 18 so they were arrested as adults) lured this girl into the house and beat the crap out of her. They said she wrote some stuff about them on her MySpace page. They videotaped it to post on YouTube as if to say, "That's what happens when you mess w/ us." One of the accused girl's mom's said it was all just being blown out of proportion by the media. If she thinks a 30-minute taped beating is "blown out of proportion", she's out of her freakin' mind.

Wednesday are supposed to be Wordless, aren't they??

Got a lot accomplished today.
We were all so exhausted from being out late at last night's lacrosse games, we all slept in a little bit this morning and I checked the girls in. I'm sure the school district just loves me.

I met w/ a cleaning lady this morning and liked her. She also cleans a couple of my neighbor's houses so I called and checked up on her. I think I'll give her a whirl. She's going to come out next Friday and the Thursday right before KJ's communion. Anything's got to be better than what I'm (not) doing.

I did a few things around the house, shipped a couple of things for Chris, ran down to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought a bath mat and some candles and a new lettuce keeper. I know, I know. I lead such a thrilling, glamorous, exciting life. I grabbed a salad to go at Chipolte and decided to buy KJ's teacher a gift card for Teacher Appreciation week next week. Kind of killed 2 birds w/ 1 stone. Ran up to the lax store, did some paperwork, etc. Trying to get a couple more loads of laundry done.

Other than T's dance team clinic after school today, we don't have anywhere to go tonight. I think Chris might even be around. Wow!!! What ever shall we do???

Hoover junior considers lacrosse over football

Hoover junior considers lacrosse over football- al.com

Great article in today's paper.
After that crappy piece they wrote about the Dan Anderson Tournament, I'm glad to see they followed-up w/ a much more positive article.

Just the lax ma'm, just the lax

Proud Papa Bear and his little Goal Troll

KJ in Action

Run Forrest! Run!!!

Tonight's post is about (wait for it. wait for it.): Lacrosse! What else! This time of the year we literally eat, sleep and poop lacrosse. This year has been even worse than ever w/ both girls playing.

Let's start off w/ T. She played Mt. Brook's JV squad last night and had 1 goal and 3 assists. I wasn't there but Papa Bear said it was an awesome "coast to coast" goal (meaning from one end of the field to another). Way to Go T-bone!

On to this afternoon's festivities: KJ had her first lax game ever. She started off playing attack and some other little girl was in the goal. The other little girl apparently didn't like being in the goal. Coach asked if anyone else wanted to play goalie, KJ raised her hand and stepped up to the plate. Goal. Whatever. She was so awesome! Yes, she let up a couple of goals but she also made a couple of nice saves. She looked like a pro in the cage. Banging her stick on the sides of the net just like the big boys do. She's seen enough games in her young little lifetime to know what to do. She didn't get rattled or anything. She told me she likes being in the goal and would do it again.

And to recap tonight's double header vs. our rival high school that split off from us: all I can say is Sheesh!!! Although we won, the officiating was terrible and my husband was almost ejected (or is it RE-jected???) from the game. One of the refs (who is also a neighbor and dear friend) made a couple of bonehead calls, Chris called him out on it, Zebra didn't like it, tried to give Chris a 3 minute penalty for unsportsmanlike blah, blah, blah. Chris says "You can't do that! You have to give me a warning first and a 1 minute penalty." It was like a couple of little boys yelling "You're Not the Boss of Me!!! It was kind of funny. I swear sometimes Chris has lost his damn mind but I will say this: I am proud of him for voicing his opinions on the field. The man has been playing the game since he could walk, put himself thru college by refereeing youth games, coached a youth team in Annapolis and has been playing on a men's team for years. I will also say this: the parents of his players have always stuck up for him and recognize his efforts and that truly means a lot. A wife of one of the other coaches made me feel a little better the other night. She said, "this isn't 'upward' lacrosse @ Hunter Street. If you want to play on a team that doesn't keep score and every kid gets an 'atta-boy' and a pat on the back after each game, this isn't the team for you."

So, T had dance team clinic after school. She said there were only 23 girls (I think 14 will be picked for the squad). I think today was a little rough on her (she didn't get home from her lax game until late last night). She's a trouper though. She really pushes herself. Please say a little prayer for her tonight (and her friends: Katie and the Other T; I'd love for them to all make the squad!).

Time for B-E-D!!! No lax until Thursday. Plenty of time for me to work on my plays, figure out my line-up, etc. No. Wait. That's Chris's job. Never mind!

Almost forgot ......

I know this sounds really lame (because there are more much more important things going on in the world!) but if you have time, please send T some good thoughts / positive energy this week! Dance team try-outs -- she's very, very nervous!

JayZ & Beyonce

"Simply paying attention allows us to build an emotional connection. Lacking attention, empathy hasn't a chance. -- Daniel Goleman

So, JayZ & Beyonce got married. Big Deal? Do you think it will last??? Who cares besides me? Seriously! I think they are a very cute couple!

I watch E News each night when I can and I'm getting so fed up w/ all the hype and press coverage some of these unwed mother's are getting. Halle Berry was hugely pregnant on the cover of InStyle magazine, E News covered Jessica Alba's baby shower this past weekend and Nicole Ritchie & her baby were on the cover of People (don't even get me started on Brad & Angie!). I realize teen pregnancy happens but I think this just glamorizes it. Jamie Lynn Spears' life as an unwed teen mom will be very different from the average unwed teen mom. Being the mom of 2 girls, I certainly don't want T or KJ to think that "if Jamie Lynn can do it...."

So today I had my first official "business" lunch. We met w/ a vendor and discussed mouth guards, socks and cups (i.e., athletic supporters). Whoop de doo!!!! Glamorous, huh???

We also went to DMV to have our vehicle registrations renewed. We had mailed it in but apparently the envelope didn't make it on time and everything was sent back. Stood on-line for almost 50 minutes. Not fun.

T has a lax game tonight. Chris took her since KJ apparently can't handle being out too late at night. She was nasty, nasty, nasty this morning. Chris said she actually fell asleep in the car this morning on the way to school. He dropped T off first and actually had to wake KJ up on the carpool line.

I have a chip in my windshield that needs to be repaired. Again, what fun. But hey! I'm getting a haircut and highlights tomorrow!

We can all be angels to one another. We can choose to obey the still small stirring within, the little whisper that says, Go. Ask. Reach out. Be an answer to someone's plea. You have a part to play. Have faith. -- Joan Wester Anderson

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!!!!

(e-mail me w/ your new address! I need to send you an invite to KJ's communion!)

Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your sonnets. --Oscar Wilde

Nice quiet day today for a change. I picked KJ up around 11 AM. Sounds like she had a ton of fun at camp last night. I guess a couple of girls in her cabin got a little scared and bailed. At one point it was just KJ and another little girl. One of the mom's said KJ tried to scare the girls a couple of times but they got even. She really enjoyed archery and she LUV'd, LUV'd, LUV'd horseback riding and hasn't stopped talking about the horse she rode!

T had a lax game in Huntsville today. Chris drove her up and said she did great. She didn't score but I think she took a shot or 2 on goal.

Talked to my brother-who-shall=not be named for a while. He made flilghts for him and my nephew to come down for KJ's communion. Can't wait to see my nephew.

KJ & I had a nice dinner, penne a la vodka, her favorite. I took a wonderful, relaxing bubble bath (since I didn't get one last night) and now I'm ready for bed.

Heroes know that things must happen when it is time for them to happen. A quest may not simply be abandoned; unicorns may go unrescued for a long time, but not forever; a happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story. --Peter S. Beagle

Nuttin 2 Do

'Miracles have ceased.' Have they indeed? When? They had not ceased this afternoon when I walked into the wood and got into bright, miraculous sunshine, in shelter from the roaring wind. --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today's Lax games were cancelled due to the rain and w/ KJ @ Scout camp, I think this is the first weekend since the fall that we haven't had somewhere to be. Unfortunately, I had a splitting headache and laid down from 11:30 AM until almost 4 PM. I was totally and completely out of it. I slept like a baby. Chris caught up on a lot of paperwork and cleaned out the garage.

I dropped KJ off at the school early this morning to meet the rest of her troop. She was so excited this morning. I couldn't believe I was sending my little baby off to sleep-over camp. I know she'll have fun. It just stinks that it rained last night and everything will be soggy and damp. KJ gets an idea in her head and if things change, she's not very flexible. I had to have a talk w/ her prior to her leaving about just going w/ the flow, who cares what cabin she's in, concentrate on the here & now not what could have been, should have been.

I have got to organize my calendar for the upcoming week. We're all over the place. Dance team try-outs all week, KJ has her first lax game Tuesday afternoon, T has a lax game and a softball game on Monday (gotta pick one sweetheart!). Chris plays Spain Park this week. Blah, blah, blah. I've got a cleaning lady coming out so I can meet w/ her and she can give me an estimate. I'

m also covering KJ's class this week while the 2nd grade teachers have a planning meeting and I'm getting hi lites and a hair cut Tuesday. I was hoping I could go until after the summer for highlights but I really need a haircut and I think I had highlights around Christmas. It's time.

I think I'm going to take a bubble bath tonight and relax.