My Pick

Last night was my Monday night to choose dinner.  Even though I have Greek blood in me, I was a bit afraid of what we might find at The Olive Oil.  I was at the dentist last week and overheard a lady exclaiming how great it was...but you never know.

I don't know why I worried.  Give me olive oil, feta cheese and kalamata olives on anything and I am won over!  The Olive Oil was delicious and the helpings were huge.  So much so that I had it for lunch and will have it again for dinner tonight!  Opa!!

Bending the Rules

Last night was back to our Monday night dates!  Yippee!!

The rules clearly state that we cannot go to a place either of us have been to before.  However...we both loved the Indian food restaurant that we went to back in November so we decided to bend the rules a tad and go back.  It was yummy once again!

We did agree that if we happen to go to a "repeat" restaurant, we would have to order something new off the menu.  So, last night we got this terrific fried vegetable appetizer.

YUM!

After dinner, we went to Hubbell and Hudson and bought some amazing sea salt chocolate-covered caramels, dark chocolate-covered almonds, and some peanut butter cups that would put Reese's out of business if everyone would taste just one!  It was a good, good night.

I did have a funny story to tell that I waited to tell Chris until AFTER dinner.  Yesterday I took the boys to the dentist.  I have been rinsing my mouth with straight Hydrogen Peroxide for months (thank you Pinterest!)  My teeth have gotten whiter because of it and I got Connor hooked on rinsing with it as well.  After Connor was done getting his teeth cleaned, the dental assistant pulled me aside and questioned me on our use of the peroxide.  I was excited to tell her how great it was...and then she stopped me.  Sweetly she said, "You need to know about a side effect that some people may have after doing this."  ...OK... "You can develop a black, hairy tongue."  WHAT??  I started laughing and thought she was tricking me.  Nope.  She was serious!

Can you imagine waking up to this one morning???

The up side would be that your teeth would be EXTRA white next to that black hair!!

I've been using lots of other tips from Pinterest and am really hooked on cleaning with straight vinegar. However, if anyone knows of any "side effects" of cleaning with vinegar, please let me know!  I would hate to wake up to my hair-covered stove!!

A Look Ahead

After a wonderful two weeks with family, we got back to reality today.  It's always so hard for me to let go of my boys and reconvene our "normal" days.

However, it's also a bit exciting to wonder what a new year will bring.  Connor is a Junior and I know this year will bring lots of decisions about his future.  Colby is headed to Cooperstown this summer with his baseball team so we will be planning another NY trip!  And, today, I just got the rodeo lineup for this year and I am going to get to see Kenny AND George in the same week!!  Looks like 2013 is going to be good!

One downside though...as we were unpacking from Christmas, Chris was in our closet and heard a squeaking, eery sound.  He looked up in time to see MY side of the closet ripping away from the wall.  Hmmm...

Guess I'll be saving money in 2013 since my closet spilled my clothes-hoarding secret to my hubby!

Spicy -- and not so Spicy Date Nights

Connor got his driver's license in June.  It was a bittersweet moment for me.  On one hand, I was a nervous wreck watching him back out of the driveway by himself and head down the road.  On the other hand, it definitely freed up my schedule!

Both boys have practice on Monday nights at the same facility.  Therefore, Connor takes Colby and I get to stay home!!

Chris and I went to Las Vegas this summer and one of our favorite parts of each day was getting all dressed up and going to a nice restaurant for dinner.  Because of baseball and school, we didn't have a chance to do that much in our "real lives".  Well, now both boys are gone on Monday nights AND I don't have to be the taxi!  We came up with a plan...We would take turns choosing a place for dinner -- however, it had to be a place that neither of us had been to before.

We began this back in October and have stumbled upon some great food:
The first week was Chris's pick and we went to Thai Cottage.  Good food, good service, only two tables of people...hmmm.

The second week, I chose Yucatan Taco Stand.  It is on the Waterway and has awesome fish tacos -- which I didn't know I like until that night.

The third week, Chris enlisted the help of a friend from work.  We had met at the previous restaurants, but he decided to surprise me with this pick.  He came to pick me up and we drove and drove.  As he pulls up to Wunsche Bros. I am having a total dilemma in my head..."Do I lie to him?  Do I tell him I've been here several times before???"  I know that I can't keep anything from him, so I told him the truth. He was so upset but it was still an amazing Chicken Fried Steak!!

The fourth week, I chose Pallottas.  A great Italian restaurant - or so I was told.  We order and get our salad and bread.  When my entree comes out, it has shrimp and not chicken on it.  The waitress takes it back to redo while Chris waits patiently for me to get my plate back.  I'm sure his is cold by the time I get it, but he is too sweet to complain.  When I get my plate, we both dig in.  I'm eating and eating.  I twirl pasta around my fork and a long hair twirls right in with it!  Back it goes.  Chris waits.  The manager comes out to apologize and made mine and Chris's plates over again.  Third time was a charm!  Not sure if this place will be a repeat or not...

The fifth week Chris totally surprised me with Indian food at Bombay Sizzler.  It was amazing!  Since Chris travels a lot, he eats a variety of food but does enjoy Indian food.  One year I went with him to England and it was in Cheltenham that I had my first Indian food.  Bombay Sizzler was a sweet walk down memory lane.
I decided that night that I should be taking photos every Monday to commemorate our outings...

Week six was my turn and I had to makeup for my last choice.  I chose a Tapas bar.  I was all dressed up and Connor walked into the room and said, "Wow, mom.  Where are you going?"  I told him a tapas bar.  He thought I said a topless bar.  He turned and walked out of the room.  Once we both cleared it all up we had a huge laugh!  But, hey, if we start running out of restaurants to go to, we may have to go to a topless bar!  Hee!!

On week seven, we went out of our norm and had sushi at a place other than Uni.  Great soup.  Sushi wasn't bad either.  Company was awesome!

Thanksgiving came and went and we both were tired of eating.  Sad situation.  So for week eight we chose to go to Salata and eat a salad.  I couldn't even bear to take a photo.  :(  Not that the salads aren't good; but nothing about that Monday fit the rules.

Since our salad, we have been on a hiatus.  "Real life" has gotten the better of our Monday nights.  But I am really looking forward to January and continuing our new tradition!

Ducks!

My boys started watching Duck Dynasty when it premiered.  They would come down and tell me something that happened on an episode and I would think, "That sounds like the stupidest show!"

Some mornings, when he gets up in time, Colby watches TV while eating breakfast.  Last week, he put on a recorded episode of Duck Dynasty.  Five minutes in and I was hooked!  In fact, I left the kitchen and sat in front of the TV and pretty much forgot about getting Colby ready for school!

Chris came home that night and I made him watch four episodes with me.  I can't say he's truly a Duck lover; but I do know he laughs a lot while watching it!

I've also noticed that a handful of my Facebook friends are fans -- and these are classy ladies.  Not your backwoods rednecks.  This make me feel even more secure in my love of this show.

I wasn't sure why I liked it so much.  It is 30-minutes of silliness.  But, today, I found my answer in another bloggers blog.

It truly is 30-minutes of clean, wholesome TV.  That is rare!  There is no cheating, cussing, or killing.  Phil and Miss Kay are frisky and patient with each other after years of marriage.  The wives support their husbands and love their in-laws and are raising what seem to be great kids.  And then there's Uncle Si... It is a family that has strong values and beliefs -- a much needed example for our kids and ourselves!

If you don't believe me, grab you a glass of sweet tea, put on some camo and read this man's blog!

http://truthmattersblog.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/5-reasons-america-needs-duck-dynasty/

Parental Failure

It seems I'm not only a failure at blogging, but also parenting...

On a side note, I did spend a while last night reading up on some of the blogs that I used to read daily and haven't in probably a year.  One lady I followed only had a few postings throughout the year.  I was happy to see that until I saw the reason why...she'd had a 4th baby!  Thank goodness my reason is just that I have been lazy!!

Chris and I have done more ordering online for Christmas than actual in-store shopping.  A box came yesterday and I wasn't sure if it was a present for me or a present for Chris because I couldn't think of any other gifts we had ordered the boys that hadn't come.

When Chris got home we both shook it and looked at the return address.  Neither of us was certain who it was for so we decided to enlist Colby's help.  We told him to open the box and then Chris whispered what he would find if it was in fact a present for me.  Colby opened it, looked inside and said "Nope".  So, I whispered in Colby's ear what he would find if it was in fact a present for Chris.  He looked at me and said, "Nope."  Then he grabbed the box and said, "It for me!"  And, yes, it was!!  We all got a huge laugh out of mom and dad's craziness!

Apparently, we need to be more organized when we shop!

Am I OK??

I'm thinking that there may be something seriously wrong with me.

Today is the first day of school.  Normally, I would be counting the days (from way back in July) until school starts.  I would be packing backpacks a couple of days before.  I would be itching to see that yellow bus.  But, not this year.  For some reason, I just was not ready for school to start!

It may have a lot to do with the fact that now that Connor is driving, I really didn't have a busy summer.  I took Colby to his lessons or practices; but, not having to shuttle Connor around made my summer SO easy!  He even worked this summer -- a lot -- so he was rarely around.  That really helped on the whole brother's fighting thing!  Plus, Colby is a huge helper.  He washed my car, helped me clean the house and put away laundry.  He was even my lunch date on many days.

Yep, I didn't want school to start!  But it did.

Today is my normal "domestic" day, as I call it -- cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping.  Today also confirmed for me that something may be amiss with me...  As I called several friends to see how their mornings went, no one was home to talk...  As I walked around Walmart getting groceries, there were only moms with toddlers...

Where were all the moms today???  Apparently I did not celebrate appropriately!

However, there is always tomorrow.  :0)


My 6th grader:

My Junior:

How Old Am I??

It has been SO long since I blogged that I forgot my password!  A few days ago I had something that I thought would make a great blog and decided I should get back into it.  I went to log in and my mind was blank!  Couldn't think of it to save my life.  I've spent about a week trying to remember it -- nope!  So, today I went and reset it to something new and edgy and, hopefully, one I'll remember.  But, just in case, I wrote it down!

In the months that I have been away from blogging-land, the blogger I use has totally renovated itself.  I feel like technology has taken off without me!  There are videos to watch and new things I can do!  Ugh!!  I don't want to relearn!!

Now that I can access my blog, I can't seem to remember what I was going to blog about last week...

I think the theme to this blog is "I Am Old"!!

Saran Wrap and Memories

I walked upstairs this morning to see Saran Wrap and tape strewn all over the hallway. Wondering what in the world happened after I went to bed last night, I started looking for the only two culprits that could have created this mess...Connor or Colby.

Being that it is a holiday, I knew where Connor was -- still in bed! Colby was up; so, I asked him what this mess was. Apparently, after Colby went to bed, Connor Saran-wrapped his door. Colby said, "He did an awful job Mom."

About 28 years ago (yikes!!), my church youth group used to have lock-ins. For some reason, the girls decided it would be fun to play a prank on the boys. One of the girls -- I know it WASN'T me -- baked brownies with Ex-lax in them! We fed them to the boys after we had saran-wrapped all the men's bathroom toilets!! (I DID help Saran-wrap the toilets!) We obviously had not thought this whole thing through because as the brownies were eaten and the night wore on the guys just went and used the women's bathrooms!! UGH!

I will say that we did get into a lot of trouble. But it has provided a lot of laughs in my family as we remember my attempt at being "bad"!!

I guess when Connor gets up, I will let him off the hook for this stunt! :)

Attempted Zoo Escape

Over the past few months, Colby has been turning his room into a zoo.

In May, his beloved goldfish died and we promised him that we would get him a bigger tank and lots more fish if we could wait until September...of course, come September, he remembered! After months of trying to figure out the correct Ph balance, alkalinity, and which fish will survive, I think we have finally perfected the 10-gallon tank. For three straight weeks, not one fish has died and we are somehow reproducing snails. However, this tank is loud and sounds somewhat like a waterfall in his room!

Also in September, the 5th grade had a Fall Social at school. It is an after-school event with tons of games, food and fun. Students buy tickets to use on these activities -- Colby had 80. Before he left for school that day he asked me if he could put a ticket in for the Hamster Raffle. Knowing that we never win anything, I said "Sure." When I picked him up after the Social, he informed me that he had put 40 tickets in the Hamster Raffle -- but that he wouldn't win because another guy put in 150.

Monday morning the phone rang and guess who won the hamster???

Yep!

Hammie came home that afternoon with his pink nose twitching. Thankfully he has no tail or I might not have let him in the house. Colby is so good about cleaning his cage and playing with him. Probably because he knows if I had to do it, Hammie may end up in the Great Outdoors! ;)

Hammie likes to sleep all day and is ready to party all night. Colby recorded him for us yesterday and I really don't know how Colby gets any sleep! When Hammie chews on his cage and drinks his water, it sounds like a pack of well...rats!

This morning as I was vacuuming, I heard Colby screaming. I ran into his room and he said Hammie jumped out of his hands and was behind his nightstand. This nightstand has about 100 books in it so we screamed for Connor to come use his muscles to move it out of the way. Thankfully, after about 15 minutes, Colby enticed Hammie out and got him back in his cage.

There couldn't have been a better scenario because grandma will be here in 30 hours and she may have not slept very well knowing a rat...I mean, a hamster...was running loose through the house!

The Dreaded Day

Life is full of people coming and going. These people bring laughs, tears, memories to your life. And, sometimes, after 20+ years of spending every morning with them, they don't even know your name! However, as most everyone knows, I have a special place in my heart for Regis and this morning he said goodbye to me -- (and to a lot of other people as well!!)

I have referred to Regis as "my morning cup of coffee". I have gone to New York City and sat in his audience. I have watched Regis as a new wife, a new mother, when I have been sick, when I have been tired, when I have been super busy. Regis has made my mornings. I will truly miss him!

When Are You Going To Blog Again??

Sadly, my blog has taken a "blog for a few days and then disappear for a few months" kind of style. It's pretty bad when in a weeks time, my son and a great friend of mine ask me when I am going to blog again AND I hear through the grapevine that my niece reads it and informed my sister that I haven't blogged since August...

Besides making me feel lazy, it really made me feel good and reminded me that a blog truly is a great way to keep up with each other during our busy lives.

So, since August, our lives have revolved around: baseball (shocker, I know!), school, Connor learning to drive, Colby converting his room to a zoo, and finishing up lots of projects around the house. All fun stuff that I wouldn't change, but WOW...how did it become almost December!!??!!

Today I had Bible Study. I am changing things up and began BSF this year. I normally do whatever Beth Moore study our church offers but was invited to try BSF and I love it. It gives a very thorough look at the Bible. This year we are studying the book of Acts with Hebrews, Jude and the Corinthians thrown in.

The crowd of women was extremely light today and our leader began our lecture by warning us of getting wrapped up in "this time of year". It's so easy to get pulled into the sales and shopping and decorating and cooking that we forget to even come to Bible Study, let alone DO our Bible Study homework the rest of the week.

Our lecture was on Hebrews 2. Pretty perfect for "this time of year".

Hebrews 2:1-3

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.

Our teacher went on to emphasize these verses:

*When we don't spend time in the Word, our hope and joy go away and temptations become strong.

*Neglecting God and His Word results in us drifting away from Him.

How do we know when we are drifting?

1. God isn't as big of a priority as He once was. Church attendance, studying His Word, even our own salvation are "no big deal".

2. Bible Study and reading His Word becomes a chore.

3. We become more occupied with worldly things.

4. We become absorbed with ourselves. We ask "how does this affect me?" before we agree to anything.

5. We feel a distance and lack of concern for things.

The good thing is that once we are believers, we do not need to ever doubt our salvation; but, we still can drift. We must stay close to Him -- even through the busyness of the holidays. A holiday that should be all about Him anyway!

It seems that many people are "religious" -- especially "this time of year". But not many have entered that relationship with Christ. Lots of people have no problem using the nativity scene in their decorations or reading the Christmas Story on Christmas Eve or teaching their kids about Baby Jesus; but, what do they do the "rest of the year"?? We can't let Christianity be a religion. It is a relationship. It requires nurturing just like any other relationship we have. So, my challenge to myself and to my readers (!) is to know Christ and do whatever is possible to not drift away from Him. Then we will have true joy this holiday season!

P.S. Connor just walked by and exclaimed, "Yeah! You're FINALLY blogging!" :O)

Recreating Perfection

I have to brag about my sweet husband...

Last night, he ran to the store for dinner...he came back with a loaf of nice bread, olives from the olive bar and a bouquet of flowers. He then proceeded to make our favorite appetizer in Italy -- Caprese -- tomatoes and mozzarella drizzled in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and an Italian Balsamic Vinegar. With the bread and the olives, I could almost imagine sitting at a table in a piazza surrounded by perfection.

...I am blessed!

Falling Off a Mountain Top

Today I feel like I am falling...

It's the first day that I have had NOTHING to do and although it has been nice, it has left me feeling a bit sad.

This summer was a whirlwind. Both boys had me going everyday--99% of the activities were baseball related. I had a great tan spending most days outside in the 90 degree + heat! By the end of July, however, we all were needing a break. Luckily, one was coming!

From May 2010 to September 2011, three major milestones had/will occur. Chris turned 40, we celebrated our 20th anniversary and I will turn 40. We decided last year that the two of us would take a trip somewhere to celebrate. All grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were on board to watch the boys so that we could spend 11 glorious days in Italy (where baseball is not a favorite past time!!).

I can honestly say that our trip to Italy was the most amazing trip Chris and I have ever taken. We have traveled to Hawaii, England and around the US and have had amazing times at each of those spots...but Italy was the MOST amazing! Maybe it is because we SO needed a break from our "real lives", maybe it was because we LOVE spending alone time together and we hadn't had that in a long while, maybe it was the romance of Italy itself. Whatever the reason, Italy will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Chris took over 1,800 pictures. I couldn't figure out how to blog and not end up with a ton of pictures posted! So, I have decided to give a quick overview of what I will think of when I hear "Rome", "Florence" and "Venice". Maybe one day I will expound on each of these beautiful cities!

We began in Rome. We spent four nights and four and a half days pounding the pavement to see as much as we could. From the moment we stepped out on the black cobble-stoned streets, I could feel the magic of the city. We heard that there is a word to sum up Rome -- "historical". Historical it was! I love history so I was walking with guide book in my hand reading everything I could about each sight! Poor Chris!

The Pantheon, Largo di Torre Argentina, the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps,

the Colosseum, Ancient Rome -- WOW!!! Some of these buildings were over 1,800 years old!! It just boggled the mind! I think one of our favorite spots was the Pantheon. We spent every night eating gelato in front of that beautiful place. (Of course, we spent EVERY night in Italy eating gelato in front of beautiful places!!)

In my mind, when I think of Rome, these images are what I will think of:

Ancient Rome

The Colosseum

Leaving Rome was bittersweet. A third of our trip was already over! But, we had two more cities to conquer! Florence was an hour train-ride away.

Florence is supposed to be about art. The statue of David is in Florence, the Uffizi Art Gallery is in Florence. We took these in like a tourist would; however, Chris and I are really not art experts. I would get really excited when I saw something from Michelanglo because he was the only artist I was really familiar with!! We did find that you didn't have to be an "art snob" to appreciate the works. They really are amazing -- paintings, tapestries, mosaics -- all breathtaking!

My word for Florence would be "shopping"! This is where all the "big" designers -- Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc. have street after street of stores. And, the smell of Italian leather just pours out into the streets...Mmmmm!

Chris and I happened upon a place that we have named "Our Spot". After having the best food of our trip (all of our food was great -- this place went above and beyond. In fact we ate at this family-owned restaurant two nights in a row!), we were told to watch the sunset from Ponte Vecchio. This is a bridge that was built in 1345. It is the only bridge that was not destroyed in World War II. There happened to be a two man band playing. (Another magical thing about summer in Italy -- every night, there was always some sort of street performer to sit and watch). We ended up standing there for three hours watching the sunset, listening to great music...and...eating gelato!!

This is a picture of Ponte Vecchio.
Sunset at "Our Spot"
After three days, it was time to head to our final destination...Venice!

Venice is truly just romantic! I can't think of another city in the world that is like Venice. No cars; no bikes; winding, narrow streets; bridges and water. Venice is for those who are happy to stroll and get lost. Venice is for those who want to sit at the water's edge (!) and watch the boats and seagulls. Venice is for lovers.

Well...OK...Venice is ALSO for shoppers -- lots of fancy stores here too. And, the shops full of masks and glass are everywhere!

St. Mark's Basilica is absolutely the most beautiful church -- inside and outside -- that I have ever seen! It is literally completely decorated with these teeny bits of tile making up mosaics that look like paintings.

And, then, there are the day trips to Murano and Burano. Murano is the island that makes all of the Italian glass. Burano is an island that is known for making intricate lace. The houses are teeny and painted every bright color you can think of! It was a true gem!

Murano, Italy
Burano, Italy

I think Chris and I would have continued on our Italian holiday if it weren't for the fact that we missed our boys and that Chris's boss might have terminated him and when we went to the ATM to withdraw more money, it would tell us that it had run dry!

We flew home for a few hours, hopped a flight to Albuquerque to pick up our boys and to see our niece marry the man of her dreams and then made it back home at 5pm Sunday night. School started Monday morning! We definitely eeked out every last bit of summer that we could!

The boys are loving their schools/classes/teachers. I finally got "back to normal" and knew that today would come...

...that sad, depressed feeling of being back to reality; that the next vacation is a long way away; that we were back in Houston for 24 hours and baseball was in full swing again. Then I realized that I am spoiled and I need to be so thankful for the time we had and the life I have and that has helped my fall from the mountain...

Well...that AND knowing I get to climb to the top of THIS mountain with my iron!! Ahhh! At least the landing will be soft!

"I Do"

Nineteen and twenty-one...

We were just babies in reality. However, we thought we had it all together and knew it all too. We really only knew one thing...we HAD to be with each other 24/7 for the rest of our lives...

So, on July 13, 1991, we said "I do" to each other and promised to "hold each other from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward until death do us part."

Did we really understand those vows?? Did I really think about where we would be 20 years from that moment and what it would take to get there??? No.

Weddings are an exciting time of planning and prepping and spending. People tell you not to concentrate on the wedding; but, instead to concentrate on the marriage. Twenty years later I can agree with that -- but as a 19-year-old -- that was VERY hard! I was more worried about whether my bridesmaids would wear their hair up or down; if we should put toile bows around the candelabras; what to pack for our honeymoon...

The wedding came and went; the honeymoon came and went; the real world began and we were married College Students, then in the working world, then parents...

If someone had told me at 7pm on July 13, 1991 that in the next twenty years we would move nine times and never live close to family; that we would live in a mouse-infested, ceiling-falling-down-house while in college; that we would have an extremely strong-willed firstborn that would test me beyond what I thought I could handle; that we would be through family illnesses and deaths and marriages and births; that I would spend the past four or five anniversaries eating hot dogs at a baseball park cheering our boys on to victory...would I have still said "I do"?

This makes me realize why God does not let us get a sneak peak at the future. At 19, if I knew I wasn't going to be able to go shopping with my mom every Saturday like we had for about 19 years, I might have thought a little harder. That would have been the wrong decision. God knew I did not need to shop every Saturday with my mom -- in fact, when we do get those several Saturdays a year to shop together, they are much more precious to me.

God is pretty smart. And there is nothing on that list that I would change now. I can look back and see how it has shaped our lives. And our life is blessed beyond measure. I am married to my best friend.

Makes me wonder what the next 20 years hold...

...I really only know one thing...I HAVE to be with Chris 24/7 for the rest of our lives!

McDonald's And The Circle of Life

We go like crazy around here so cooking a homemade meal does not happen often. Plus, I don't like to cook!

We usually hit every fast food place around and some not-so fast foods places as well.

Today, I found myself eating from McDonald's not once, but twice! I do have to say that I crave their Southwest Chicken Salad and now have Connor loving them too. I went for groceries right before lunch and since McDonald's is right there in Walmart, I grabbed two salads and headed home. (As I reread this, I realize this tells ALOT about me...I just finished grocery shopping and haven't eaten at home yet!! Hmmmm.....)

Connor had a baseball game tonight and had to be dropped off at dinner time. I told Colby we could grab some dinner and then head to the game. He chose...McDonald's.

As I sat in the booth with Colby, eating my burger and fries, I watched two young mothers come in with their daughters and I realized something: McDonald's is at the core of every life cycle.

You see, I USED to be that mother. I can remember that my girlfriends and I would head to McDonald's when it was either too cold or too hot outside. We had to take the kids somewhere to blow off steam -- and get a Happy Meal or an ice cream cone. The adults would sit in that area that smelled like feet and sweat and fries and have some "adult conversation" in between needing to take kids to the potty or break up a fight between another kid whose mom was NOT paying any attention to what her child was doing!!

I am now in that stage of life where we have to run through drive-thrus in between activities to grab something to fill my teen's and preteen's stomachs. The $1 Diet Cokes are also a big attraction!

And as I sat in the booth tonight I also had a flashback to the other group of people who were filling up the tables when I would take my toddlers into McDonald's -- I guess that is the stage I will hit next. The one where all the retired folks gather around for early morning coffee and an Egg McMuffin and discuss the events of the world or relive the memories of the past.

I mistakenly thought that after my kids reached a certain age, McDonald's would be behind me. I guess it never will...I sure hope they keep the $1 Cokes and Southwest Chicken Salads around for another 50 years!

The Master Packer

Before I got married, there was a certain method to my packing a suitcase...pile everything I wanted to take into a pile and then cram it in! If it all didn't fit, I'd just bring another suitcase!

That method abruptly changed soon after our wedding when the whole Marshall clan went to Hawaii for two weeks. I was informed that I would have one suitcase -- for TWO WEEKS!! I don't remember how that turned out...evidently it did 'cuz I'm still married and I've traveled lots with the whole Marshall clan so I wasn't "kicked out" based on my packing skills!!

I guess I just don't have the packing gene. Chris does. He is The Master Packer. The boys and I love to sit and watch Chris pack a suitcase. He is very organized and there is not a space that goes unused. It probably also helps because he does not take a lot of stuff. Weird!

He left today for two weeks in China. Here is his pile...FOR TWO WEEKS!!

I sat there and watched him pack it neatly into his just-a-size-above-a-carry-on suitcase...

...and quickly reminded him that in six weeks when we leave for Italy, his packing skills will get a challenge!

Summer "Vacation" Day 1

Here is our schedule for Day One of our 2011 Summer Vacation:

6:30am - start laundry

8am - Connor at church to work recreation for VBS

8:10am - grocery store

9:30am - home to finish laundry and clean as much of house as possible

12pm - pick up Connor from church

2:30pm - Connor to pitching lessons

3-4pm - Connor to conditioning

3:30-4pm - Colby to guitar lessons

4:15pm - feed Connor dinner

5pm - drop Connor off at school for baseball game

5:45 - feed Colby dinner

6:30pm - Connor's game begins

6:30pm - Colby at church for VBX

8:30pm - Connor's game ends

9pm - pick up Colby from church

...start it all over again tomorrow!

When does school start again?!?

I Know You Are At The Edge of Your Seats

It's finally over...my baby graduated from elementary school yesterday. I had really been dreading the day that Colby would be finished with Buckalew. It has been a great school for both boys. I figured that I would need a box of kleenex and would completely embarrass my husband and son as I sat and sniffed and blew!

Well....I did not use ONE kleenex -- not one! Not one tear fell down my cheek... Not sure why; but, I was fine!

I was filled with happiness at the fortune we have to live in a place where I know for a fact that his next school is just as good as the one he is leaving. I was filled with pride as I saw him on that stage and was reminded of how he has learned, grown and matured. He even received the President's Award for Educational Excellence just like his brother did five years before.

A big swim party for the 200 4th graders ended their day. He was having a great day and I loved watching him with his buddies. When I picked him up, he was exhausted and excited for summer!

He is SO ready for summer, he couldn't wait for his dad to give him his "Summer 'Do"!!

It's All In the DNA

It is no secret that my men LOVE cars. All kinds of cars -- new cars, old cars, fast cars, loud cars, FAST cars...

The highlight of Colby's weekend is taking a drive with Dad in the Corvette. I always know when they are close to home because I can hear it from about a mile away -- I can hear the engine AND the rubber being left at the corners!

There is one thing that will stop a weekend spin faster than any other thing -- rain. The Corvette does not go out in the rain. It's a Sunny Day Stroll-kinda' car.

Colby got his "dream" bike last week. We discussed what we should do with his old bike. Selling it was the decision we came to since we don't need it. Colby rides his bike to school and locks it up along with hundreds of other bikes, leaving it out in the elements all day long.

Two days after he got his bike, there was a chance of rain. When he heard it may rain he quickly made a different decision -- his old bike would be his rainy-day bike! I wonder where he got that idea?!? Sweet boys -- and their toys!!

So on rainy days, if you should walk into our garage, you will now find Colby's Haro parked next to Chris's Corvette!