I Could Write a Book

    There are days where I need to borrow somone else’s patience. Today is one of them.  I don’t understand what happens. Oh wait, I know what happens. What happens is the "witching hours" arrive. You know those. In my house they are from 3:30pm till 8:30pm. Those 5 hours each day are a test of my mommy patience. Lord, give me strength.

    I used to be completely anal about keeping the house "perfect". Bwahahaha. Now, I’m excited if we have clean clothes to wear and clean dishes to eat off of. I figure I’ve got about 14 more years before the house is mine again.

    Gasp ! Did you know that kids are really kids ? That instead of sitting nicely on the bench they will dig a 3ft deep hole in a 4 ft tall sandpile and try to dive in it head first . I’m sure that my daughter is tired of hearing the phrase "you are a little girl". LOL. I’m warping my kid. She had on the prettiest flower dress today and was neck deep in sand when I proclaimed the aforementioned phrase. Why can’t I relax over things like that ? Why can’t I tell myself that the dress is washable and to just let her have fun with all the other little BOYS. wahh. I wanted a princess.  

    Tennis and workout were both great today. My partner said something to me that really made an impact. (She is finding that out right now. lol.) We were discussing the times of the games in the tournament that we are playing in on Wednesday. When I pointed out that we probably wouldn’t have to worry about the last game because it is the championship game she said, "then why are we playing if we are not playing to win it all". (or something close to that) Really made me think. I’m going to be making plans to have someone else pick up my children that day because I’m going to be playing in a late game.

Peace out, babycakes.
 

Well, what can I say ? All of a sudden my entire days are completely full. I have no idea why or where it came from. However, I’m enjoying them.

Today started off with Mass for J and me. It was nice for her to get some "mommy attention". After Mass, I dropped her off at home and I scooted off to a Board Brunch.  I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed it. I could have done with a little more non-acoholic drinks served, but other than that it was a nice brunch and meeting.

I rushed home from the brunch to get a couple loads of laundry done and to start getting ready for the "birthday grill" for my sis. Whew. Again, a very nice time had by all. It was suprisingly very relaxed today. We had a great time with some more great food.  Guess what that means ? That means I’ve got to work out extra hard tomorrow to burn off all the food I’ve eaten this weekend. Goodness gracious. Nothing can be done or celebrated here without food. Not that I’m complaining or anything. lol.

So, whew, takes a deep breath here. I made it through another weekend and it was all nice. I hope yours was the same. 

    It’s been a long one. It’s been a hot one. It’s been a fun one. It’s been a very interesting one.

    I sat out in the boiling heat for my son’s baseball game. They won. He did wonderfully catching and throwing. We need to practice some on hitting, but hey, he’s only 8.

    We went to a really nice and very interesting party tonight. The host/hostess are super nice, sweet people. There were actually some people there that we knew. It was nice to sit and talk and catch up some. There were people there where I knew the wife and not the husband, that sort of thing. It was very interesting to see the "other-halves".

    The one "interesting" thing that happened tonight was when one of the guys we were talking to asked all of a sudden if he could pray. He said it just "clicked" with him and wanted to pray with us. Uhhh, just what do you say to that ? We said sure and then had about a 15 minute prayer. It was very nice, very impromtu and totally unexpected. One of those things that you drive away from the party asking your spouse "so, what did you think of that ?"

    Tomorrow is Sunday and it is another full day. Actually having some family time in the afternoon. My children are super excited about getting to see their cousins. You’d think Santa (still not in sight) was coming.  

    I just got home from one of the best days/nights I’ve had in a long time. This morning started off with a wonderful workout and some sushi to follow it. Yummy. After eating, I had my hair done. Thank the good Lord. It didn’t come soon enough. I had to get some color on this straw. I enjoy getting my hair done because it is a fabulous time to people watch. LOL. I really didn’t know that men got their whole heads colored.  I just found that funny.

    Today was Tob’s "track finals". I am so incredibly proud of my son. He ran the best he ever has and actually had members of his team come up and "high five" him afterwards. It was so sweet to watch.  I was full of "mommy pride" today. Tob came up to me when he was finished smiling from ear-to-ear. I’ll never forget that moment.

    Tonight was our Parish fair. We had the best time. Picture the "squash festival" from the movie  Doc Hollywood.  That is our fair, just no squash. Instead, we have "confetti eggs". Real eggs filled with confetti. That is the weirdest feeling having one of those squooshed on your head.  You are expecting to feel the slimmy stuff running down but then it is just assorted confetti.  The other fun thing is silly string. Everywhere you go, some child or overgrown adult has their silly string out to spray you. Lots of fun. The other thing that we are known for down South is our food and fair food is some of the best food around. Not the healthiest food, but good-to-eat food. It was so nice to be able to sit outside, under the stars and moon, and eat our food while listening to the band play. You just don’t have many nights like that in your life.

    I did have one bad experience tonight. My middle child went missing. Picture 1000 people and you look down to see that your child has vanished. Panic set in immediately, but I remained very calm. I walked over to a fair staff person and asked "what do you do when you have a lost child?" Talk about feeling like a loser parent. He was only missing for maybe 3 minutes tops, but it was the longest 3 minutes of my day. Another staffer had noticed him crying and was holding onto him. Whew. He remained very close by for the rest of the night. I’m extremely glad to be able to report good news concerning that incident.

   Even though my day has been going since 6 am this morning this has been one of my best in forever.

Peace out, babycakes.
 

Today was Spin class ! Woohoo. I’m in love.  I absolutely love the feeling that I am about to pass out. I actually cursed in class today. My quads were on fire and I didn’t know if I was going to make the hill, but I did.

I love how the teacher has different playlist. Today one of the songs was the "Phantom of the Opera" song. I love that song to begin with and now I will always think of biking when I hear it. She told us to envision our worst phantom behind us and for us to pedal fast enough to keep him from reaching us. Wow. It was amazing. Yes, I’m a dork. lol.

After class, my partner and I went and bought biking shoes. We are hard core now. No excuses. I’m just relieved that my partner didn’t hate me after convincing her to do the class. She did awesome, by the way. Spin is not the easiest class around.

Tonight was "Art Night" at my 2 youngest school. What beautiful stuff they do. I’m always surprised at what 4 and 5 year olds can really do. I’m a "cross" freak and one of my son’s pieces of work is a cross he made. I can’t wait till it comes home. I’m going to put it in a shadow box and hang it. So special.

I’m sure you can tell that today has been a MUCH better day than yesterday. Whew.

Oh, tomorrow is Friday again (d’oh) and once again, I’ve got the craziest weekend around.  Was sitting here going through my mental list of everything that is going on this weekend. I hope you all enjoy yours.

Sweet dreams / Good morning / How the heck are you ? / Thanks for reading my blog.  

    I’ve had a semi-crappy day. I had my feelings hurt yesterday evening by a grown woman. That amazes me. Why ? First, because I allowed her words to hurt me and secondly, I still can’t believe she said what she did in front of other people.  I was polite to her. I did not respond with any hate-filled words. Believe me, I wanted to. I think it was God showing me that it is definitely time to get away from that situation and to move on. 

    Now, to what I started this post about. Today when J got in the car she was BEAMING. Couldn’t wait to tell me her good news. "Mommy, I made it all the way across the monkey bars."  Until today, she has only been able to go "2 bars" before falling off. She was so proud of herself. The teacher helping her into the car was so proud of her and it made my heart melt to know how happy she was.

    Why can’t we find such joy in such "little" things ? Actually, now that I think about it, I probably would find joy in being able to make it all the way across the monkey bars. LOL. Do they make any high enough for me to find out ?  

    I want to share one my favorite prayers with you all. Here goes:

A Prayer For Prayer

May we let prayer be. May we allow it to follow the infinite patterns of the human heart.

May we learn to practice the most difficult art, the art of noninterference.

May we be guided by prayer instead of attempting to guide prayer.

May we allow prayer to be what it needs to be, to be what it is.

May we let prayer be.  

    I just got home from having lunch with my mother and my daughter and my mother bought MY lunch. I think the last time my mother bought my lunch I was about 17 years old. So, if any of you notice a very sudden weather change now you know why. Lol. It’s funny, but it’s not. I’m laughing.

    Today is the big track day and I’m scrambling right now to get everything done. Of course, that is why I’m on the computer typing, because I don’t have enough to keep me busy. har har. While at dance lessons this morning (after tennis and world’s fastest shower) I sat down with my organizer and just literally started filling in the dates with everything we’ve got going on. Still no Santa in sight.

    Send some positive running thoughts to my eldest if you have any to spare. I’ve got to remember to take the asthma medicine with me. Just another thing I should have written down in my organizer.

   And incase any of you are wondering, I’m absolutely the happiest when I’m busy. Go figure.

Peace out.
 

I do not have enough hands, feet, cars, brain cells to get me and my children everywhere we are supposed to be. wah. My lord, I never knew that having kids was going to keep me this busy. I need mulitple calendars and reminders. I keep saying "after this week, it is going to slow down". Yeah, right. I’m not fooling myself anymore.  My children better love me when they are teenagers. lol.

Anyone have a maid they want to share ? Santa hasn’t come through for me, yet. LOL.

I’m headed to bed so that I can face my incredibly busy day tomorrow. I hope to remember to take a book (and sunscreen and snacks and other children) to read while sitting at a 4 hour track meet tomorrow afternoon.  Good luck to all the little runners !

Dear (adult) Santa,

    For Christmas (April 22, 2007) I want a maid who comes every week. I want a clothes folder so that I don’t have to fold this mountain of clothes. I want my own personal chef. I would really like it if he could come around 6am every morning. I know that may be hard for the elves to make, so if you can just get one to come from lunchtime on, that would be great. Oh, one requirement there, Santa, he must know how to make sushi.

    Maybe I should just make a list, Santa. I thought of some more things that I just really, really want this year. I’d like to have a driver for the kids. One who can pick them up whenever I can’t and if he can drive them to baseball practice, that would be swell.

    Oh, oh, oh, I just thought, maybe I could have a combo chef / personal trainer like Oprah. Santa, do the elves make those ? I really need one of those. Turning 40 this year has wrecked havoc on my body. My ankle injury may have had something to do with that. Speaking of that, Dear Santa, may I have my own MRI machine ? Could you throw in a Physical Therapist, too ? I really liked having one of those.

    And Santa, we all know that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. What about a tennis bracelet ? What about a tennis pro ? lol. If you don’t have any of those, I really, really need  (okay, want) a new racquet and some new workout clothes.

    Dear Santa, I’m an adult. I hope you don’t think I’ve asked for too much. I’ve seen kids around here get more than what I asked for on my list. I know I’m a bit early this year. I was thinking if you had any leftovers from this past Christmas that maybe you wouldn’t mind doing a special run with Rudolph one night.

Thanks a bunch, Santa. I promise (crosses fingers) that I’ve been a good girl.

xoxoxoxo 

Yes, you read that title correctly. Yes, I am part-way nuts, but not completely. Let me tell you what happened last night.

I went to bed at normal time and was passed out by 11pm. I was awakened at 4 a.m. by my dog howling. She will howl at nighttime to wake you up to let her go outside to potty. I listen for a minute thinking dh is going to get up and let her out. I finally drag my butt out of bed and about half-way there I started "shhing" her to be quite. She immediately went quiet and I heard a man talking to her. Clear as day. A man was talking to her. In my half-fog I walked back to bed and crawled in.

As I was walking back to bed, I thought to myself "dh must have been out on the couch sleeping". He had clearly beat me to the dog and I sleep on the side of the bed closest to the door. I lay my head on the pillow to hear my dog howl again. In my head I said "wtf?" Dh then says from his side of the bed "I thought you were putting her out". Now, I literally about jumped out of my skin here because I’m thinking that dh is in the dog room with our dog. Oh, holy cow. Who was that talking to my dog ?

I am not lying. I very clearly heard a man talking to my dog. My dog was quiet listening to the man. Know how I felt walking in there to let the dog outside ? LOL. I was one big ole chicken, but I did it. I think I really wanted to see if there was someone in there. And for those of you who know my house you  all know how much glass there is. Wahhh. That was my scariest moment. Turning to the door to let her out. I was expecting to see 2 little green eyes floating, staring back at me. hehe.

So, there you have it. My new ghost story. I really thought I didn’t have any, anymore. Do you think I’m nuts ? 

    Do you have any idea of how long it has been in my life since I’ve exercised 5 days in a row ? Yeah, me either. I honestly can’t remember the last time that I exercised 5 days in a row. Now that it is over I have loved every minute of it. Even the time this morning when I was wanting to curse out whoever came up with a "push up". I had sweat pouring down my face. I am getting stronger.

    I would love to stay on this roll of exercising 5 days a week, but I honestly don’t know if I can. Not that I can’t do the exercise. It is the "fitting in life" that is a problem. I’m going to do my best to keep up this healthy habit. I’m sure by now that you all know I will keep you updated on my progress.

    I think tomorrow should be dubbed "busiest day of year". Egads. What is it with every possible thing happening on the exact same day ? On that note, I’m headed to bed very early tonight. It’s going to be a busy weekend. Son #2 has his first ever TBall game tomorrow. Talk about sweet. I can’t wait to see the whole team rush and pile together trying to catch the ball. Lol. I’ll be sure and take my camera.

    TGIF. And no, that does not mean "thank God it’s Friday" it means "toes go in first".  

I did a wonderful (insane) "spin" class today. I biked up so many hills I was praying that my whole legs would just go numb at one point to put me out of my misery. lol. At the end of the class, the sweet, skinny teacher said "if you are tired - good. if you are out of breath - great. if you are nauseated - that’s wonderful !" I actually started laughing because there were a couple of times during the class where I thought I could puke. Don’t get me wrong I loved it. Spin, oh spin, how I’ve missed thee.  One thing that I did learn today in spin class: It’s best not to do that class commando. Enough said.  

I received some awesome news. My eldest was accepted at the school where my other 2 got in. Woohoo. Now, I just have the very difficult parenting moment of telling him. I really think he is going to be crushed initially when I tell him he is going to a new school, but I know he will adapt just fine. Still going to be hard and sad for me. 

I’m actually looking forward to tomorrow. Yes, me. I’m not dreading a Friday or I should say - I’m not dreading all of it. In the morning I get to go workout again and afterwards, I have a tennis match. What a nice day. However, starting tomorrow afternoon we begin the crazy weekend schedule. LOL. I now understand why lots of parents stick with only having 2 children. If you have more than that you do not have enough cars/hands/brain cells to get them all where they need to be at the proper times.

Regarding American Idol and the vote last night, it was past time for Sanjaya to go, but it did make me sad when he cried. I was shocked that Blake was in the bottom 3 and that means that next week I’ll have to call in. Yeahhh. I’m looking forward to it. grins.

Peace out. (that saying is courtesy of my 5 year old) 

    What a great day ! Lots of sunshine, friends, tennis and working out. The only thing missing in my perfect day was sushi. You couldn’t  ask for a more perfect day than today. Oh, between tennis and weights, I burned 1478 calories. Go me.

    However, I am very tired. Wow. I guess it is all the exercise I am doing. I feel wiped out around now. Time to put on my pjs, curl up with a cup of hot tea and watch American Idol. I surely hope the American public was smart enough to vote off Sanjaya. However his name is spelled. After watching last night’s episode, I really hope Jordin wins. I can’t believe she is only 17. So pretty and what a voice. I love it that she is not a stick-thin toothpick of a person. She is much more of a realistic model for our daughters. Ok, I have no idea how I got on that.

    This afternoon, when I opened my mail, I received an email from the "searcher"  that I had contacted. I literally started shaking. I was hoping that it told me about her birthmother, but it didn’t. At least I know that I have contact with a living person in Russia. The searcher told me a couple things that I need to do. Once that is done, he said it generally takes about 4-6 weeks before we know anything at all.

    I have this urge to read right now. I keep looking at a lot of my religious books. Some look very interesting. I think because of the birthmother stuff going on I am searching  out my "calm". Being quiet and reflective brings me peace.  I have this desire to cook for our priests. I don’t even know if I can explain that one. I think a lot about what Mother Theresa said one time " treat everyone as if they are Jesus". If everyone did that we would have a much nicer world to live in. Anyways, my point being, I can’t cook for Jesus but I can do somehting nice for the priests.

    Egads, I’m in an odd mood tonight. Lots going on in my head. Lots. Some personal stuff, some friend stuff, some family stuff. I’m definitely looking forward to church on Sunday.

    Enjoy your evening, everyone. Say a prayer or pass on some positive thoughts for all of the families/students involved at VA Tech.  

Tidbit #1:  It was "cardio tennis". It wasn’t as cardio as it normally is. Blech, but still had a very good time. In 43 minutes I burned 431 calories. Not too bad, eh ?

Tidbit #2: Once I was in my car on the way home from tennis, I got a call from a friend whose step-father committed suicide. She has gone to be with her mother and wanted to let me know she made it there safely. My heart just breaks for her and her family. 

Tidbit #3: Once I hung up that call I saw I had a text message. It was from my sister who is a 2nd grade school teacher. She was informing me that somone left a note at a local fast food place saying "if you thought what happened yesterday at VA Tech was bad, wait till you see what happens here." Her school and all of that city’s schools were placed under lockdown.  None of the students knew what was going on and I think my sister just needed to connect with someone. They did arrest the person they think is responsible for the note.  The incident for all involved was very disturbing after what took place yesterday.

Tidbit #4: One of my good friends’ ( I think of her as a good friend) little  girl just successfully underwent cochlear implant surgery. This is her second one. Technology has come so far. Amazing to me. Hopefully, with this implant, she will be able to hear better than ever.

Tidbit #5: I’m hungry. What’s new ? lol. I’m trying to decide what to do for dinner. Don’t you just hate that ?

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe rest of your Tuesday. Tell the ones you love that you love them. You just never know anymore.

1339 - That’s how many calories I burned working out this morning and also how many hours I feel like I’ve been going today. 

I’m just getting in for the night from a meeting that just wouldn’t end. Holy mackerel. That makes for a long day.  

 Today has been a "mixed up Monday". This morning was marvelous until I heard about the VA Tech shootings. That’s just horrible. I feel for everyone involved.  Today was also the Boston Marathon. I haven’t even had time to read about it. I can’t wait to find out how it went.

Short and sweet tonight. I hope you all sleep well and dream even better.  

    Today is Sunday and it is the last free day of our Spring Break. We didn’t go anywhere this holiday, but I think the kids enjoyed just being at home and doing things around here. I know I did.  Part of me is sad that our free time is almost over and then I think "tomorrow is Monday, with no kids". Woohoo.

    I must say that I’m looking forward to a new week. A new week of tennis (and there is going to be lots of tennis this week) and a new week of working out. I really don’t know why I’m on the bandwagon that I’m on right now, but I’m so happy that I am. I feel so much better. I ate another healthy breakfast this morning. Oatmeal with hot blueberries. Felt like winter time.

    If it wasn’t so dang windy I might actually go walk around the block outside. Oh, well. It can wait till tomorrow at the club. Speaking of walking outside, tomorrow is the Boston Marathon and the weather for it looks absolutely horrible. Eeeek. Keep all of those who are participating in it in your thoughts. That weather is going to be very difficult to handle on top of the 26 miles.

    Make the most of the rest of your Sunday. For me that means I’ll be finishing up the laundry and writing out checks for tomorrow. Oh what fun. See you again on my Marvelous Monday. 

I just had the best dinner that I can remember in forever. I just ate as much sushi as my stomach would hold. It was delicious. It was wonderful. I’m floating on clouds. (Tomorrow I’ll be running on the ellipitical).  My addiction has been satisfied once more.

I just wrote a little blurb on sushi and thought I’d share it with you all.

Sushi is the best food on this planet. It is also one of the most addictive foods on this planet. You almost need to have a "daddy" or "sugar moma" just to pay your bill.

Once you become addicted, you will find yourself searching out the raw, rare meat anywhere on this planet. It’s a great way to meet people. Even if you don’t have a date you can always sit at the sushi bar and fit right in.

Speaking of dates, sushi is the best aphrodisiac there is. Take your date to eat sushi and you’re bound to end up closer by night’s end.

For the non-sushi eaters you can eat sushi without ever eating one bite of "raw" food. You can go and order every bite of your sushi fully cooked. Now for us hardcore sushi addictes just give us sashimi. Yummmy.

Sushi is my crack.

    This morning, I took a recipe from Skwigg and I made some protein pancakes. I am moving on up in the "nutrition" world. Lol. They were actually very good. I didn’t have any hot blueberries to put on mine, but the "I can’t believe it’s not butter" and the "sugar free syrup" were delicious.

    I decided that I would have some girl time with J and told her she could help me cook.  That resulted in her screaming to the boys "I get to help mom cook". You guessed it. All 3 kids in the kitchen with me making protein pancakes. smiles. I didn’t mind all the help. I just had to make sure everyone had a turn.

    Thought I would update while it wasn’t storming too badly. Stay dry, everyone. 

I know that I probably shouldn’t like bad weather since what happened to us with Katrina, but I just love it.  I love the thunder and the lightning strikes and I love the sound of rain. Now, if I start hearing trees cracking I’m going to be one freaked out puppy. Where is one supposed to head to if you hear cracking trees ? Eeek. At least I went grocery shopping today. Lots of food to consume if we lose the electricity.

Want to know the nicest thing about the bad weather coming tomorrow ? No swim lessons. No tball practice. hehe. Pass the "bad mommy" award right on over. lol.  

Today has been okay. Nothing grand. Nothing bad. I did about a 3/4 quarter workout. It’s been a lazy day. I feel like I should have done some cardio, but I didn’t have the time.  Next week with my partner back I (we) will be back in full force.

I think I’m a little blase today because it is Friday again. Oh, it’s Friday the 13th. Lol. That’s my problem. I hope nothing bad happens to any of you.

We made it to the Zoo in one piece. That’s always a plus. I sorta pray the entire way across the Causeway bridge. Lol. I’ve read way too many headlines about people driving off the side of it. There’s nowhere to go but in the water, incase you didn’t know that tidbit.

The weather was absolutely beautiful. My kids and their cousins had a blast. It was so great being outside before the intense heat and humidity cranks up here in New Orleans. The animals seem to be doing okay. It was sad to see the losses of some of the favorites since the huricane. The zoo lost both camels and the hippo. Wahhh.

The one downside to the day was the wait for lunch. Oh my goodness ! One of the problems that everyone has had around here since Katrina has been trying to find "help". No one wants to work. My sister and I stood in line for one hour to get lunch. They had 3 workers in the Cafe. ugh. It’s not like we could have gone anywhere else, either. There is nothing else open at the Zoo that serves food. McDonalds closed with Katrina. Live and learn. Next time, there will be a picnic lunch.

I had no idea that the Zoo would be as crazy packed as it was. Holy moly. There were some major tour buses there. Lots of school buses, too. I’m glad to see the business returning to the city, but I sure would have liked it better if they had all gone tomorrow. lol.

I’m worn out. I walked for 5 hours today. Not the best cardio workout, but at least it was something. I’m ready to sit for a while. If I had Tv (insert ugly words here) I would be watching Survivor.  Maybe next week.

I hope you all had a nice, warm, family-filled day as well.

Peace out.