A Day At The Beach

We had such a good time at the beach today! I took my girls and my friend and her daughter accompanied us. We didn't get there until noon or so, but that was okay. The older girls LOVED, LOVED going in the ocean, riding the waves on their boogy boards! My little one was a little timid, to say the least, about going in the water at first (which is fine by me, I love sitting on the beach in my beach chair soaking up the sun -- with TONS of sunscreen of course though), but she soon overcame her inhibitions on it. She held my hand the majority of the time, which is still, fine by me! Near the end of our day my friend and I were able to sit in our beach chairs and the older girls took my wee one out in the water. Of course, them being older, wanted to go in deeper, and sort of forgot about the wee one. Well, she wanted to go in with them, so she started going out a little further slowly. I had to get up and usher her back close to the shore, and "remind" the older ones that they needed to stay close to the shore with her.

We ate lunch, the girls played in the sand for a little while, and my friend and I enjoyed watching the lifeguards surf on their breaks (at least I would HOPE they were on a break!).

Oh, and we also enjoyed the aircraft coming in every so often. We were on a military beach, which, I actually LOVE!! Compared to the rest of the beaches around here, there are VERY minimal amount of people on the beach. I can see my children VERY easily, I'm not freaking out looking for them every second, it's quite relaxing! My friend loved it too. We can't wait to go back again! Of course everytime a helicopter flies overhead, I think I'm in an episode of "China Beach". Man I loved that show! I will definitely be getting THAT when it comes out on DVD!

I love my girls SO incredibly much!!!! Even when they can get on my everlasting nerve, I still am SOOOOO grateful for them!!! I love having days like these.......

Summer Vacation is in Full Swing....

It has now been over a week since my eldest got out of school and is on summer vacation. Geez, can they still call it that now? You know, I know about all this "politically correct" bullshit, but you know, when I was growing up, it was Christmas Vacation, now it's "Winter Break". It was Easter Vacation, now it's "Spring Break" At least there was never any holiday in the Summer Vacation title, so at least it's still called that........

I can tell my eldest is getting bored. She's getting snappy more and more lately. Now, she'll be 11 later this year, so the hormones are starting to come in full swing. She can't wait to be able to do things. She has wanted to shave her legs ALL of 5th grade. I told her that after 5th grade is finished, she can start in the summer, so that way she can get good practice and won't start 6th grade with all those nicks and cuts on her legs that we all did growing up. Of course now they have shaving gels and razors that have "moisture strips" in them to help protect our legs. Hello!!!!????? Why did they not think of that when WE were growing up? I'm sure women have been shaving their legs for a long time before I started, back in the late 70's, you know? So the DAY she got out of school, she went in the bathroom and shaved her legs. Quite a bit of hair to get off there, you know.... Now she's going to have to deal with stubble for the rest of her life.....such is life.....

The girl has more bras now than I did growing up! And of course she likes them to be "padded" a little bit too. Gosh, did we have padded bras growing up or did we just stuff? LOL!! I never stuffed, didn't have to. Some people might say, "Well, LUCKY you!", but I never saw it that way. Growing up I didn't want them to be as big as they were (C cup). I wanted to be able to wear the cute strapless tops or string tank tops or halter tops. Noooooooo.....I had to wear something to support the boobs!

I've already had "the talk" with my eldest. I don't just have ONE talk, I talk about things every now and then. I want her to know that she can come to me about ANYTHING. I want her to know that I know a lot of things that she may not think I know about, but I've either done it, seen it, know someone who has done it, or heard about it.

This world is a scary place nowadays! I think back to when I was young. I had no problem walking to 7-11 by myself. Walking down the street to my friends, not a big deal! A couple of times in high school, my friend, Stacie and I would walk to our friend, Vicki's house, and I think even one time we walked all the way up to Julie's house. Helloooooo!!!??? Yea, can't do THAT anymore! And you know, I don't think that there are really any more perverts or people who want to do bad things to children than there were back then, but I think because we are so aware about it now, people are so much more cautious about it. But you know, you'd think that because there is SOOOO much more awareness about it, that it wouldn't happen as much, but these sickos keep doing it. It's so sad...............

Ahhhh......summer vacations..........I did enjoy them though....................wish I could have one again, just for a little while...............................enough of my ramblings for now..............................

:::::::::Sucking Up?:::::::::::::: I think not........

What can I say? I've been busy! Yesterday was the last day of school (for the year) for my eldest. I was SO extremely busy last week with all that! On Monday I had to work so I could take Wednesday off, Tuesday morning I went to Roller SkateLand with her class (the youngest was at preschool), on Wednesday I went to the Lakes with her class (youngest got to come with me), on Thursday I went to the park with my youngest's preschool class, and then on Friday I went to work early so I could get off early for the ice cream party for the last day of school for the eldest. I LOVED every minute of it!!!

I was the room parent (it seems so odd to say "was", rather than "am", since school's just out) for my eldest's class. I have to say, I enjoyed being the room parent SOOOOOO much!!! I got to know all of the kids, got to know more parents and got to help out so much more than I ever have in previous years. Since I work, and have Jordan, it's so hard to be able to help out on a regular basis in the classroom. I was able to help out a little more when she was in preschool though.

A couple of friends of mine kept teasing me that I was trying to be an "UberMom" with the room parent thing. In a sense, yes, I was. I wanted to be the best room mom I could be. :) I just didn't want to do it half-assed, you know? We would joke too, that I was just "sucking up" and would make sucking noises when I did something. (It's an inside joke, because one parent, who I absolutely can't stand, accused me of trying to "one-up" or "outdo" all the other parents. Whatever............ At least I can laugh about it now!)

I made a scrapbook for my eldest's teacher for the end of the year. It included a picture of each student an then a note of thank you or recognition to the teacher beside it. After that, I included most of the events that took place in their classroom, and then at the end of that, I had 4 pages of thank you notes from parents too. I could tell her teacher liked it a lot. He told me that he's a very sentimental person and he was very happy about it. (I actually got embarrassed and was at a loss for words, which is quite odd for me. )

Sooo :::::::::::::::::sucking noises::::::::::::, one up for me! HAHAHA!!! Oh, I am SOOOO joking about that! I made that scrapbook BECAUSE I know he's a sentimental guy and he is SUCH a wonderful teacher! In a way, he makes learning SO much fun for the kids! The kids are interactive in their learning, doing simulations in class so they learn about it while they are having fun! I appreciate all the work he does for those kids (including my own, of course), and I just wanted to show my gratitude. Plus I took a lot of pictures throughout the year (he takes tons and puts them on his class website so the parents can see what's going on in the classroom. And plus I love to scrapbook! I LOVE seeing people's expressions when I give them a scrapbook. I think it all comes down to the fact that I love to make things for people. My mom always loved the things I made for her. One year I made her a calendar and she loved it so much she didn't take it down after the year was over for quite a while! I made her two little scrapbooks as well.

So, was it "sucking up"? Hell no. I just like to show my appreciation for people who are nice. :)

A Seinfeld Moment......

Okay, wow, it's sure been a long time since I posted! Ahhh, life gets in the way and sometimes there's just not all that much to write about!

I do have to write about a "Seinfeld" moment my littlest one had today. She had just come out of the bathtub with her older sister. Hubby and I were sitting on the couch eating chips and salsa. She comes up, grabs a chip, dips it in the salsa, takes a bite that has the salsa and then tosses the chip back in the bowl! We were so shocked! Then it reminded us of that Seinfeld episode of the "double dipping" in the dip bowl. Remember that? Well, geez, this was like that, except she didn't double dip, she just tossed it back in the bowl! Hubby started imitating her and we were just both cracking up at that.

You know, it's the little things in life that make it amusing, and sometimes the little ones in our life make it that much more enjoyable. :)

Girl, You Are Choco-Crazy!

Actually, this post has nothing to do with chocolate....

I was looking at my eldest's BOP magazine, and there were these quizzes to take. One was "Are you a Choco-holic?" And and the end if you were, you were "Choco-Crazy!" LOL!!! Ahhh, that phrase just made me laugh and will probably make me laugh all day long, and I'll probably be saying it all day long, driving everybody crazy all day long!

Ahhhh.....I remember the days of reading Tiger Beat magazine and all those other pre-teen and teen magazines. It was such a fun time! I got so excited when I would see my favorite stars in there with a poster I could tear out and hang on my wall! My eldest? Does the same. She's 10 1/2, although she doesn't hang them up on the wall, she puts them in a binder so they don't get ruined. Mine were up on the wall, in my corner of the room that I shared with my sisters. I had the top bunk bed, so I definitely had more wall space.

My eldest is getting into those years when she is starting to like boys, but it's still just the 5th grade "crush" thing, and it's like, "On a scale of 1 - 20, how much does he like me?" With all the friends going over to the boys and asking that, and back and forth. The time when the boy and girl who like each other don't really do much talking to each other at all. Their friends are the "go-between". I remember when I was in 5th grade, a boy named Mark Newman asked me to go out and I just couldn't give him a decision very easily. If I went out with him, would I have to kiss him? I didn't know if I was ready to kiss a boy yet. Yikes! Well, it turns out that I waited to long to give him an answer, because he ended up asking this girl Martha out, because I'm sure she did kiss. Ahhhh, the drama of being in 5th grade.

And you know.......the drama only gets worse as they grow older. As of right now, my eldest tells me just about everything her and her friends talk about, including boys. I want to keep reiterating to her that she can always tell me everything. I have to try and remember what it was like back when I was her age so that I CAN relate to it better, and not just think of me as THE MOM. Of course I have to be THE MOM when it comes to things she shouldn't do, or can't do, but I try to give her reasons as to why, you know? I just want to be as open as I can with her, and for her to be the same way to me. I want to help guide her through making the right choices, and learn from the wrong ones, and help to avoid some of those wrong ones. I've got a vault full of wrong choices me and my friends have done through the years, to help educate my girls.

You know, we may have made some poor choices growing up, (and just some, really only a few, because I think that we all had such a blast growing up, and all my friends that I have grown up with have turned out to be fabulous people), but we did have a blast!

And it sure is interesting to hear what the new "lingo" is these days as my girls get older. Gotta keep up with the new phrases you know..........

.........because, "Girl, you are Choco-Crazy!!"

Mundane............

........life here. Really..... Nothing has happened that much in my life in the past couple of weeks that has been worth writing about.

Well, my youngest was a holy terror last weekend, but I blame that on the full moon. My MIL asked if she grew claws and fur and started howling, and I said no, just horns.

Valentine's Day was nice, hubby brought me home flowers and I made heart shaped meatloaf and molded the rice into heart shapes as well. Hosted my oldest's classroom party for Valentines. Did goody bags for the kids, made heart shaped chocolate lollipops, had fruit punch soda, made cookies and even made heart shaped ice cubes for their drinks. Yes, can we say "Ubermom Day" for me? LOL!! Or as my friend likes to say, "OVERACHIEVER!" LOL!!! Hey, if I'm going to do it, might as well go overboard! :) This is going to be the only time I'll be room mom for quite a while. Maybe when my youngest is in 2nd grade or so, I'll do it again.

Ahhh....it's a Sunday night and the oldest is cleaning out her hamster cage, the youngest is watching hubby play the Simpsons on Playstation 2, and I am her vegging on the computer. Somedays you just need to have that vegging you know?

So like I said, life has been pretty mundane for the most part, no major emotions have been going on in my life, nobody's pissed me off majorly, which is definitely a good thing! :D

Ta!

Sometimes.............

.............I would like to be the one who is taken care of.

Sometimes I get sick of being the one who everyone comes to, but yet when I want to go to them, it's like "Oh, she couldn't possibly be needing help or need my shoulder to cry on".

Sometimes it just sucks.

Sometimes I want to be the "helpless one" who needs that helping hand.

Sometimes I wish I hadn't grown up being the "responsible one".

Somtimes I don't want to be the "strong one".

Sometimes..........

This weekend was just a sucky one for me, it seems in terms of emotions. You think I was PMSing or something. It seemed that things just ticked me off. Geez, why do I have to be the one who handles everything? Why do I "have" to know where everything is? Why is it my fault when something isn't where THEY put it? Why do I get to clean up the mess when I want to go out shopping by myself for a couple of hours?

I know why, because I brought this on myself. Because I grew up this way. It's just who I am.

And I love being able to know where things are, to help someone when they are having problems. I love taking charge and getting things under control. I love the fact that if someone needs someone to talk to or help dealing with something in their life, that they know they can come to me.

I want to be able to be the "rock" for them. But I also need a rock of my own sometimes.............

I'm Outtie...

Okay, apparently, somewhere between six months ago and today, I became "the mom who just doesn't KNOW fashion". My eldest, will come whining out here, saying she needs help finding something to where. So we go in her closet, which is jam packed full of clothes (a HELL of a lot more clothes than I had growing up) and try and pick something out.

So I offer suggestions. "Oh geez Mom, that SOOO does NOT go together!" She tells me.

Hello?!?!?! I picked out most of the friggin clothes in that closet, I think I KNOW what goes together! Pulease! Plus I've been scrapbooking for 7 years now, I think I happen to know patterns that go together........

So we try another outfit. Nope! That SOOOOO does NOT go together either!

And yet another top or pants.

"Oh mom, you just don't KNOW today's fashions!" I hear.

HUH?????

Since when did I become THAT mom??

I happen to think I have a pretty decent sense of fashion. Sure I may not wear those kinds of clothes, but I've sure seen them on people and I know what looks good together. Plus, 1/2 of the kinds of clothes she wears nowadays, I used to wear at some point in my life (because as we all know, the trends keep coming back in just "slightly different" ways) For one thing, I don't wear the "shrug" tops where it ties together and is more like a 1/2 or 1/4 jacket or sweater, because I have BIG boobs and it would look just plain silly or slutty. Oh, and while we're on the subject of clothes for me, it pisses me off that some of the cutest clothes that are out there right now (the tops that are basically slips), I can't wear, because I would show a tremendous amount of cleavage, and hello, I'm married with children, I don't need to be showing it off. Plus I never liked showing that much cleavage anyway. I like people to look at my face, not my chest.

Okay, back to the kid......

I finally pick something out that looks good :::::::::::::the angels are singing right now:::::::::::::, and of course I taunt her with it. "See, I DID find something good! You KNOW that looks good, don't you?! Now, make sure you don't smile, because you know I'll see it!" LOL!!! Geez, I sound like a kid, don't I!

So what does she do? She goes into her drawer and brings out another top to see if it would look better than the top I picked out!

I give up.........

I'm outtie......... (which is something my eldest has said on occasion, meaning, I'm outta here...)

P.S. She did end up choosing the shirt that I picked out in the first place (it's one of those bohemian tops that I ::::::clearing throat::::::::: picked out for her for school pictures that she loved.....)

100 things about me

I saw this on another blog and thought I'd do it too. :)

1. I’m a Mom.

2. I love disco music.

3. Growing up, I actually liked liver.

4. I love to scrapbook.

5. I used to be able to draw pretty good (haven’t sat down to try it in a long while)

6. Before I got married, I used to go down to the Venice Boardwalk and go
rollerskating by myself.

7. I met my husband at a party and we made out that night.

8. I love hard rock/heavy metal music.

9. I always knew I wanted to be a mom.

10. I love Basin Robbins Hot Fudge Sundaes.

11. I love the color pink.

12. When I was in 5th/6th Grade, I used to LOVE Unicorns.

13. I worry about money a lot.

14. I LOVE shopping at Target.

15. Sometimes I get carried away at Target.

16. I recently lost 30 pounds.

17. I love shopping for clothes now, and like to wear low-rise pants (not too low rise
though, I still like wearing underwear)

18. I can’t stand to wear thong underwear.

19. I have high blood pressure (it’s controlled though)

20. I suffer from anxiety and take medication for it.

21. I used to have very low self esteem.

22. I still worry about what other people think, although certainly not as much anymore.

23. I love watching hockey games.

24. I used to collect hockey trading cards and still have my collection.

25. I have a decent sized collection of the old Little People.

26. I have a few old Barbies.

27. I seem to have an obsession with collecting things, right now it just seems to be
scrapbooking supplies.

28. I love Gone With The Wind, and have read the book many times and seen the movie
many times.

29. I love music from the 50’s & 60’s.

30. I can’t stand bugs.

31. I always envied my sisters’ beauty.

32. I still envy my youngest sister’s good looks and her sense of charm.

33. I have 5 sisters.

34. I had a brother, but he died of cancer in 1992.

35. I love genealogy.

36. I can be a REAL BITCH.

37. If someone screws me over, it takes me a VERY long time to get over it, if I even do.

38. I love the movie, Gidget, and especially love the TV show Gidget with Sally Field.

39. I love the movie Steel Magnolias.

40. I watched it for the first time when I was down visiting my husband (then boyfriend)
for the weekend and he was on duty while I was waiting for him in the hotel room.

41. I love my husband with all my heart.

42. I love the song, My Sharona, by the Knack.

43. I don’t hesitate to dance around when I hear that song, even in the car.

44. I sing along to the songs in the car.

45. I’ll drown or crush ants to death if I see them in my house.

46. I can be very emotional.

47. I breastfed each of my girls for 18 months each.

48. I would have breastfed my eldest longer, if I wasn’t “encouraged” to stop.

49. I’m surprised I lasted as long as I did with the 2nd one, as she tended to “nip” quite
often.

50. I love sentimental things.

51. I don’t like the Grateful Dead.

52. I married a man who LOVES the Grateful Dead.

53. I can be VERY stubborn.

54. I’m not that afraid of heights.

55. I can go up on a roof, no problem.

56. I love roller coasters.

57. As much as I love my husband and my children, there are times when I just need
some “me/alone” time.

58. I didn’t get my own bedroom until I moved out on my own.

59. Growing up, I shared a bedroom with my two sisters.

60. I used to sleep on the top bunk of a bunkbed.

61. I loved my bunkbed with my own “closet”.

62. I love 80’s music.

63. I don’t like cleaning my house.

64. I love gardening, but hate weeding.

65. Eventually, I want to get a Jeep Wrangler.

66. I love wearing dresses, but rarely wear them.

67. I also love wearing high heels but they hurt my feet and rarely wear them either.

68. I love wearing all black.

69. I used to wear mini skirts and midriff showing tops.

70. I’m a pretty good mom and love my children with all my heart.

71. I love to bake.

72. I don’t mind cooking, but would rather have someone else do it.

73. I believe in God.

74. Sometimes I think I should go to church, but I just can’t stand listening to a sermon.

75. I love to sew.

76. I love to crochet.

77. I love to cross-stitch and needlepoint.

78. Other than sewing recently, I haven’t cross-stitched, crocheted or did needlepoint in
quite a few years.

79. I used to slouch a lot when I was younger, because in 4th grade when I was starting
to develop, a boy made fun of me because I was wearing a shirt that said “Squirt”.

80. I was worried that I’d have to kiss a boy who asked me to be his girlfriend in 5th
grade.

81. I never did go out with him.

82. He ended up going out with a girl who did kiss.

83. I’m a Navy wife.

84. 4 months after my husband proposed to me, we were married.

85. No, I wasn’t pregnant.

86. I had a miscarriage before I had my first child.

87. It was one of the most heart wrenching things I had to go through.

88. I wish I could be a full-time stay at home mom.

89. I bring my youngest to work with me every time I go to work.

90. Even though it will be nice when she’s in kindergarten in a couple of years, I will miss
having her with me at work.

91. I don’t like a lot of rain.

92. I like perfect mid 70’s weather.

93. I like getting tan, even though it’s not good for you and I don’t get THAT tan.

94. I like being barefoot.

95. I don’t care to swim in the ocean that much.

96. I have to take a shower every morning.

97. I don’t care for rap music all that much.

98. I can get embarrassed easily sometimes.

99. I love being married with children.

100. I love to take pictures.

Thoughts of Mom...

I've been thinking a lot about my mom lately. That's not to say that I stop thinking about her, far from it, it's just she's been in my thoughts quite a bit lately.

The other day my eldest was having a meltdown for some reason (to tell you the truth, I can't remember if it was because of clothes, homework, reorganizing her room...) and I just sat down calmly with her and said, "Well, let's figure this out". Saying that TOTALLY brought me back to when me and my sisters would have a problem. My mom wouldn't freak out or yell at us, she would calmly say, "Well, let's figure it out" or "Let's see what we or I can do". She was SOOOOO awesome that way!! She brought the tension level way down and brought us down to be calm and have us totally trusting in her to help us out. And she always did help us out.

I was talking with my sister, Heidi, the other day and we were talking about how a lot of our mannerisms are a direct copy of our mom. Sometimes I'll position my hands in the same way Mom did, or talk in a certain way that she did as well.

It's hard to believe that it's already been a little over a year since she passed away. I sit here and still can't fully grasp that she's gone. If I sit and really think about it, I will feel SOOO alone and lost without her.

As Heidi and I were saying, there's so much we want to just sit and tell her. I loved talking to my mom. I would call her at least twice a week, most of the time more. And whenever hubby would go out to sea, I would call her EVERY DAY. I kid you not. Even if I was just on the phone for five minutes, I would still call her every day. Boy is my sister going to be in for a surprise when hubby starts going out to sea again. She is going to get SOOOO sick of hearing my voice! LOL!!! I'll try and break it up and call my aunt or my other sister too, along with my cousins. It's just when he's out to sea, I need to talk to SOME adult, a family member every day.

Back to mom.....I truly, truly know she is in heaven, and watching over us. I'm not sure exactly which one she watches over the most, probably the grandchildren. I know that my grandma watches over me. Some people may think it's a bizarre thing, but I KNOW she's watching over me. I just know, you know?

One of the hardest people I had to tell, when my mom died, was my friend, Stacie. She grew up with me. She has been my friend since my baby sister, Heidi, who is now 27, was born. I rarely ever think about that day, after we left the hospital, because it is still just too painful to deal with again.

Before, growing up, whenever I did mannerisms or things my mom did, I would so try and change them. Because, of course, I wanted to be ME, not my mom. Oh my goodness, like who would want to be that (in my totally Valley Girl voice). But now, I cherish the mannerisms I have from my mom. I adore saying some of the things she did. It makes me so proud to carry on things she did. She was such a good mom to us and totally devoted her whole life to raising us and loving us. There were times when money was so tight, we would have soup and corn muffins for dinner, but mom made it to be a treat for us. That, and cottage cheese and peaches, or macaroni & cheese and hot dogs were SO special to us!

Mom made the little things so special for us, and I truly hope that I can do the same thing for my girls.

Because I did!!

Well, I had this other entry I had typed to put in here, but apparently I pushed the wrong button and lost the whole damn thing. So I'll just sum it up. Got no sleep because a duraflame log lasted too long and wouldn't go out without drenching the damn thing. Can't function on no sleep, become Mr. Hyde. Get enough sleep, I'm Dr. Jekyll. Yada yada yada.......... (really, I thought it was a good post, but apparently the computer didn't and erased it for me.......

So onto the phrase, "Because I did!" This is my youngest's absolutely, ultimate, without a doubt, favorite phrase.

We ask, "Why did you hit your sister?" She replies, "Because I did!"

"Why did you color on the couch?" "Because I did!"

"Why did you put the whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet?" "Because I did!" Hey, at least she's honest and admits she does it!

We always joke that later on in life she'll do something horrendous and when they ask her why she did it, she'll say, "Because I did!"

Hubby always sucks himself into that "Because I did!" black hole. He asks the question to her and then when she says her catch phrase, he'll keep pulling himself deeper and deeper in and asks her why she says that and of course, her retort? "Because I did!" Sigh........

I admit, I get sucked into it too at times and I almost always laugh after she says it. At least I have found a way around it and I'll ask her if she did it (and she'll always admit to it), then I'll ask her if that was a bad thing to do (and she'll usually say yes it was), and then I'll ask her if she's going to do it again (She SAYS no, but hey, she's a 3 year old......they're going to do it again.....). But every once in a while, I'll slip up and ask "WHY did you do it?" Her answer?

"Because I DID!" LOL!!!!

Damn, I love her..... Never a dull moment around here, I'll tell you that!!! :D

My Friends.......

On Friday night I got together with a bunch of my friends to do a gift exchange (yea, we're a little late, but at least it wasn't during all the hustle and bustle of Christmas), and then we all went out for a bite to eat. We had SOOOOO much fun talking and laughing and such! I just dig all my friends you know? I'm so blessed to have them, as well as all my other friends.

One friend of mine was saying how I have my "category" friends (and not in a bad way). I guess that's true in some respect, and it's not a bad thing. I think everyone has friends in certain areas of their life.

I have friends that I've known since high school, my scrapbooking friends, my email friends, friends from having our husbands all be in the military at one point, family friends, and friends from my daughter's school. I feel SOOOO blessed to know all these people and have them in my life.

I remember growing up and not having such a wide variety of friends. I had more of a variety in high school versus grade and middle school, but nothing like this. I truly enjoy being able to associate with such a wide variety of people. And even within each group of friends, they are all diverse as well!

Not everyone likes the same music, or has the same taste in different things, but we all have a common interest, and we all respect the fact that we are not all alike, and accept that. That, I think is an amazing thing in today's world. We have come SOOOOO far in society in acceptance, but we still have a ways to go. I don't mean that we all have to be "Politically Correct" either. I like someone who will say how they feel, but also accept the way I feel as well, and not dislike me as a person for it.

One thing I think that a LOT of people in today's society need to work on is manners. I get so choked up when I see people do good for others, just because, you know?! But I certainly don't see that as often anymore. Too many people are in such a hurry to just even hold the door open, or watch where they're going. Hopefully we as moms will be able to have our children help to bring those manners and "niceness" back to each other.

Such A Nice Day With The Children....

Today was one of those days that makes me enjoy being a mom.

I helped in my youngest's preschool class today (She goes to a preschool through the parks and recreation department in my town - it's such a wonderful program, I think. Each session is 10 weeks and you HAVE to help out at 3 classes and go on all field trips. I love being able to get to know the kids and the parents too), and I so enjoyed being around all the kids! (Yes, I said that, I'm not crazy, I just finally got enough sleep!) I got to catch up with her teacher (she was the same teacher that my eldest had quite a few years ago), and get back in that "mom" mode.

What, you say? You mean I'm not always in a "mom" mode? No, boohoo. Work calls, the house calls, bills call, people call, etc..... Sometimes things get so hectic. I do love working, (it's just part-time and I get to bring my youngest with me), but I would love to be able to take a month off, and just be a complete stay-at-home mom and catch up on all that I need to do.

One thing I do love about after the holidays, is that you are so used to things being so hectic and having so much to do, that when January comes around, and things have settled down, you feel like you now have tons of time to get things done. Not that it always gets done, but at least you finally feel like you have down time.

Anyway, back to my nice day today. After I helped out at my youngest's preschool class with her, we went and got lunch and brought it to my eldest at her school, and sat and ate lunch with her and her friends. It was so nice and calming, and I got to enjoy watching my children.

Afterwards, the youngest and I came home for a while, before we had to go back and pick up the eldest from school. Then I came back home and made dinner for the family, gave the youngest a bath, and then she fell asleep sitting next to the oldest at the computer, allowing my husband and I to actually sit on the couch and watch some TV together. That's a rarity.

It is just so nice to sit here and be so calm and not worry about all the crap I've got to get done. Oh believe, me I do have a LOT of crap to get done, I'm just not worrying about it right now. I'm reflecting back on the nice day I had with my children.

Sleep, what's that?

Geez, you think I had a newborn again, with as sleep deprived as I've been the last week. It seems like every other night, I'm getting no sleep. On Wednesday of last week, the youngest took a VERY long nap during the day, and by 12:30 that night, she still wasn't asleep. So I was extremely tired then. Then on Friday night, I went out, and got home at a decent time, 11:30, was in bed by midnight and the youngest (who fell asleep in our bed and stayed there the entire night) proceeded to keep kicking the covers off of her, and then pulling them back on her for at least two hours. So I was dog tired on Saturday. At least I got to take a little nap on Saturday.

Then comes last night. She crawls in bed with us in the middle of the night, which is fine by me, I don't mind, but then she did the kicking covers off again, along with grinding her teeth, after hubby's alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. (which he had forgotten to NOT set so early) and thus, a lack of sleep again.

I can't stand it when I don't get enough sleep. I need at least 7 hours of sleep a night, preferably 8 or even 9, but 9 is VERY rare indeed. I just can't function when I don't get enough sleep. I feel like a total sloth and feel like my whole day is wasted because I just don't have the energy to do anything, and it sucks because I just have absolutely no energy to exercise either and I love to exercise in the morning, it gets me moving for the rest of the day. (You know, and that's just not good for my "ubermom" status LOL!!)

I've always been this way though. Even before I got married and had kids, if I went out the night before and didn't get at least 7 hours of sleep, I called in sick to work. I'm not kidding! My body just can't function, it's just the way it is.

When the youngest was a baby, I was SOOOOO sleep deprived, that at one point I laid my head in my husband's lap and started crying because I was so tired.

Another thing that drains me? Whining!! Constant whining totally drains any energy I have in me. I'm telling you, they should tape kids whining all day long and put that in the enemy's camp, they'll surrender in no time!

On a good note, the youngest finally seems to be potty trained, yea!!! She gets to go in the 3 year old preschool class starting tomorrow. I'm so excited for her, but also nervous as well. Sometimes she'll hold it until the last minute and then have an accident, and I'm worried that that will happen at preschool. I was going to go look at furniture tomorrow, but I think I might stay a little closer to home, just in case I get a call that she's had an accident. I hope not.

I just hope I get more sleep tonight...........

I got a look!

Okay, the day started out with me reading about Barbies. Now, I, personally love them! I so enjoyed playing with them when I was little. I never compared myself to them, they were plastic dolls after all, just a toy. The most envious I ever got, was when my friend got the Barbie Dream House for Christmas, and I didn't. But, being the good friend she is, she let me play with it too.

So, fast forward to this afternoon. A friend of mine dropped off my eldest child. After she left, I left the kids in my husband's capable hands to go off and do errands, mostly just dropping off items at the Salvation Army. Gotta get that write off in before year's end, ya know......

Anyway, so I'm in my Hyundai Santa Fe, driving down my street, and I get to the stop sign. There's a truck in front and to the right of me, turning right, while I want to turn left. I look over to the right to see if any cars are coming, and glanced at the guy in the truck. No big deal, I do it all the time. Then I noticed him looking at me with a little smile. Oh my goodness, I'm getting looked at! I'm actually getting looked at, complimentary! Okay, let me just say that this certainly hasn't happened in a long time, and let's face it, I'm with my children most of the time and what guy is going to look at a mom with two kids?! So yea, I tried to play cool and calm and then I just started grinning from ear to ear. I couldn't help myself. I was friggin' getting looked at!

So as soon as I get home, I go to hubby, "Guess what?! I got looked at! A guy actually looked at me!" LOL!! What a thing to tell your husband! He was so amused at it!

Now don't get me wrong, I get compliments from my husband and "looks" from him and I love that and it makes me feel so special, especially after 13 years of marriage. He truly makes me feel beautiful.

Okay, so you all think, big deal, whoopee, I got a look. But let me tell you, when you're a mom of two, have had an extra 30 pounds on you for 10 years or so (which are gone now), and a hectic life of shuttling kids around, doing dishes, cleaning house, balancing checkbooks, yada yada yada, it's nice to get a compliment out of the blue from a stranger. Yes, I know my life is so boring that a look from a decent looking guy is so exciting I have to write about it, but hey, that's my life and I love it. :)

A day of #2's and screaming cries in the mall, not necessarily in that order.....

Sigh........

What a day.........

It started out great! I got to sleep in for a little bit and got up to do my pilates DVD I got for Christmas from my sister. Of course the pilates workout was amusing. I was able to do some of the moves, and then comes this one move, laying on my back and I'm supposed to put my legs over my head and the butt supposed to go too. Well, the mind said, "Yea, sure you can do it", but the butt? Hell no! I think it kind of just laughed at me as I was trying to get my body to go that way. Oh well, it WAS only the first time doing it after all.

So I get the kids up, breakfast made, showered and dressed, dressed the kids and we all piled into the car to go shopping, and use those wonderful gift cards we got for Christmas.

No problem, things are going good, the youngest needs to use the potty and tells me. Hey, potty training has come along pretty well, I never thought we'd get to this point. But wait, there's a glitch with this one, I think she's afraid to go poop, so she holds it in until she can't hold it anymore. And by holding it in, it makes her grumpy and cranky and wants to be held all the time.

Ahhh....the shopping continues....we go to Sears and the "butt-clenching-to-hold-it-in" child is getting crankier and starts crying and yelling very loudly. Now, before I had this one, I would think when I heard a child crying, "Geez, get some control on that child, what is wrong with them?" Now? Bwahahahahaha!!! I have total empathy! Sure, I used to get embarrassed when she would do it, but now, I'm just too damn tired to care, and I'm used to it. Of course I do try to calm her down and I get out of there as soon as I can, but I no longer just drop my stuff and run out of the store. I'm going to pay for my stuff first! I don't have time anymore to just try going shopping a gazillion times to get things I need.

So the shopping finally gets done, and yes, the butt clenching is still going on with the little one.

We get home and do our various things, yada yada yada. I start cleaning out the hall closet to reorganize it, and the youngest is crying, saying she needs to go to the bathroom. So we start the dance of going to the bathroom, to try and go poo. She'll sit down, go pee and then 1/2 second later, she's crying because the poo may be coming out and she's afraid. I truly think that's the only thing it could be, because she certainly never had a problem going in her diaper! I'm sitting there, holding my child while she's sitting on the toilet because she's crying about going poo! Other times I'll walk away and see if maybe she just needs "privacy", but then she'll scream my name like she's being tortured! So this dance goes off and on for probably about a 1/2 hour until FINALLY! :::::::::trumpets blowing::::::::::: She finally, literally, lets go! And what does she say? "See, it DIDN'T hurt! Now I get to have a slurpee because I went poo-poo in the toilet!" Sigh........

Is that the end of it? Nooooooo, because she's been holding it in for so long, we have to do this dance again and again for about another 1/2 hour.

Well, finally she was done and I got to finish cleaning out the closet.

Sigh.....now we get to go through this again next week.............

I love my children SO very much and I love being a mom and going through all this, and thank goodness I have a sense of humor over everything, otherwise I'd have gone running and screaming out of the house a LONG time ago! Of course I still go running out of the house at times when the husband gets home, but at least I'm not screaming and pulling my hair out. Sometimes moms, like kids, need some down time. Thank goodness for retail therapy............

I've been "tagged"!

Okay, my friend put one of those questionnaire's on her blog and wanted her friends to partipate as well, so here I go! ......

7 things yet to do with my life: in NO particular order

1. Go to Australia

2. Go to the New England states and look at our country's history.

3. Go on a cruise. (you get the gist of traveling now, don't you?)

4. I think I would love to get something published too, whether it be any article, or scrapbook layout.

5. I would love to run in a race, too bad I don't like to run!

6. Maybe learn to surf?

7. Dang, this is hard! I guess I'll stick with the traveling stuff and go to Europe!

7 things I can’t do:

1. Listen to Howard Stern, I can't stand him.

2. Roller blade....give me skates any day.

3. Paint a picture. I suppose I could paint walls of a house, if my husband would ever let me, but painting a picture, naw. Not unless it's a paint-by-number!

4. Knit. Actually I was able to do it once, but I couldn't stand it and didn't like doing it.

5. Cut a straight line by eyeballing it.

6. Cook fabulous gourmet meals.

7. Be "fake nice" to someone I don't like.

7 things I admire about my spouse:

1. He has such a strong work ethic, that he will do it until the job is done.

2. That he takes care of me when I am ill.

3. That he puts up with my wacky, crazy behavior, especially when I am majorly PMSing.

4. He loves me.

5. That he can be just as goofy and dorky as me, and will do a crazy dance, just to make me laugh.

6. He serves his country in the United States Navy, and sacrifices time with his family so he CAN serve his country. Hell, I couln't go away for six months and not be with my family.

7. He loves his daughters and will sit and read to them and play games with them.

7 things I say most often:

1. "Bite Me!"

2. "Cool Beans"

3. "Hi darlin'!"

4. "Yada yada yada"

5. "Are you ready yet?"

6. "Not until you've finished (whatever it is the kids have to finish)"

7. “Knock it off!"

7 books I love:

Books?!! Holy crap! Okay....

1. ">Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix I actually love ALL the Harry Potter books, but I think this is one of my favorites.

2. ">Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince This would be my 2nd favorite.

3. Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels This series of books is such a nice light read and it's SO enjoyable!

4. Mr. Perfect, by Linda Howard. It's a nice light smut book to read.

5. Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. My mom loved this book as well. I also like the sequel, Scarlett.

6. Little Town on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This goes back to my childhood days, as I love all her books, but probably liked this one the best.

7. The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown. Okay, I haven't actually READ this one yet, but I'm dying to read it and I have it on my bookshelf for almost a year now. Maybe I'll get time this upcoming year to read it.

7 movies I’d watch over and over again, and do!:

1. Roller Boogie, ahh, love those boogie dance scenes!

2. Stargate, I just love this one!

3. Steel Magnolias, a good chick flick to make you cry.

4. The Idolmaker, ahhhh, Peter Gallagher was so hot in this! I think this was his first movie, actually.

5. Now and Then, I love this movie, it brings me back to my childhood days, and wish that childhood days could be this carefee again.

6. The Cutting Edge, "Toepick!"

7. Pump Up The Volume, ahh, just one of those guilty pleasure ones.....

7 songs I can’t get enough of: I agree with my friend that songs are so hard to narrow down, because I love a lot of different ones, so I'll just pick certain ones out of music styles....


1. My Sharona, by The Knack.

2. Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit. Oh yes, when I am in a pissed off mood, this sure hits the spot. It's great for working out with too.

3. How Soon Is Now, by The Smiths. LOVE, LOVE this one! It totally brings me back to the days of summer with me and my friends in high school.

4. American Idiot by Green Day. This one makes me want to just head bang!

5. Wide Open Spaces, by the Dixie Chicks . I normally don't like too much country, but I like Dixie Chicks' old stuff, and some songs by Garth Brooks too.

6. Yea, by Usher. Makes me want to dance!

7. Don't Know Why, by Nora Jones. I just love this song.

7 people I want to join in, too: Bwahaha! Yea, right! Not gonna happen here! Okay one of the two people I know who have blogs, "tagged" this for me. Let's give a few a try.

1. Heidi

2. Shawni

3. Dianna, when she finally gets hers started. Hint Hint. Dianna, I'm adding her too.

4. Sue.

Whew, I'm done!

I just love my sister......

I absolutely adore my baby sister! Of course she's not a baby anymore, she's 27! She just called me about a 1/2 hour ago to let me know she made it to New York safely! I am so envious of her, getting to go to New York! I am also VERY happy for her! Her boyfriend took her there for New Years. Is that awesome or what?!

There are VERY, VERY few times that my youngest sister and I have every argued. We are 10 years apart in age, but we have always gotten along very well. Sometimes I see so many similarities in our lives, it's almost creepy seeing her do some things that I used to do when I was her age.

Just about everybody loves her as well. She's such a doll!

I hope she has a fabulous time in New York! How exciting for her!

It's that time of the year again.....

....when everyone goes through their house and declutters. I was reading my friend's blog on how she was cleaning and decluttering one of her rooms, and it made me realize that a lot of us do this right after Christmas. What is it, with it happening right after Christmas? Is it the fact that we take all of our Christmas decorations down, look at our rooms and realize, wow, it looks so nice too, without all that stuff everywhere? Is it because we get presents and have to find a place to put everything, so we start cleaning out closets? Is it the retail industry selling so many storage totes after Christmas that we feel we need to declutter and store? Who knows.......

I do know that I love doing it though. Today I put away all my Christmas decorations and even labeled the totes, according to decoration type (tree, mantle, shelf, kitchen, boxes & bags, etc.) It really made me feel like I accomplished something. Last year I had no desire to organize the Christmas decorations, I just wanted them down and away. I wanted to have nothing to do with Christmas then. I am glad to say that it was a pretty good Christmas this year though. It's been a year since mom passed away and while I still miss her terribly and my heart breaks when I think of her dying, I KNOW that she wanted her girls to continue loving Christmas like we always have in the past. That was her favorite holiday and she helped us to make it our favorite holiday too.

Okay, enough teary eyed stuff......back to the organization......

I have a mental list going of all that I want to do. I got some of my scrapbooking stuff stored away and organized. I just need to finish that and then work on the hall closet. I always have to clean that out about twice a year. I'm going to go through the games and puzzles and get rid of some more. I want to have room in there to store more toiletries and such. I went to Bath & Body Works the past two days and stocked up on bath gel and hand soap. Gotta love their deals!! I spent so many years buying the cheap stuff, to be on a budget, and now that we are able to make a little more, I am treating myself, damnit! I deserve it.

Tomorrow is a work day for me though, so it looks like I won't be getting too much organization done. Dropping one child off at a friend's on the way to work, picking that child and her friend up on the way back from work so they can spend time over my house playing with her new Christmas toys.

Speaking of toys....we got the family a Playstation 2 and I am having the most fun playing with the Dance Dance Revolution game we got for it!

Ta for now!

It's Christmas Eve......

....and I am finally done with everything! I finished my youngest's stocking today and now it is hung on the mantle with everyone else's. My body finally said, "THAT'S ENOUGH!" and so I went a took a nap for a while. Definitely needed it!

Wow, I can't believe Christmas is tomorrow! I almost made it through this holiday without crying, thinking about my mom. Friday night when we were leaving hubby's parent's house, I started thinking about how much I missed her and started crying in the car on the way home. I do miss her so much! It is amazing though how fast a year has gone by though. And it is true, the pain does fade and not hurt so much and be so intense. I will always, always miss her, but I know she's up in heaven and she's watching over all of us.

Okay, my kiddos are getting ready for Santa. I just read them 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, and now my eldest is putting cookies and milk out for santa, and carrots outside for the reindeer. Don't you just LOVE Christmas!!!

I am so excited for tomorrow, to see their faces opening their presents. I will truly miss having so much family around, but I will love the fact that it's just the 4 of us, celebrating together.

Now, of course, neurotic person I am, I always think ahead. Hubby will go back to sea duty next year and the year after that, he will go out to sea for six months, and it's a good possibility that he might not be home for Christmas. I've had Christmases without him, but this will be the first time without him and my mom, so at this point, I am unsure as to what we are going to do on Christmas. Stay home, just me and the children, or go up with family? Okay, that's like over two years away from now, let's not think about that. I can't wait until Monday and I can hit the after-Christmas sales!!! Teehee! Gotta love shopping!!!!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!!!!!