I Could Write a Book

    Tonight was my night out. I haven’t had one in a long time. Why did I have one ? Well, the kids are out of school (almost) and I have zero free time now. So, the only way I can do things like  have my nails done, etc is to have a night out. Oh, poor me. LOL. I always read while getting my pedicure. That’s a nice way to kill an hour. Reading while someone else is rubbing on your feet. Yea,  that’s a hard life.

    After my personal time tonight, I met my mother for sushi. This is the 2nd time in the last ten years that I’ve been alone with her. Guess what ? She actually behaved herself and we had a very enjoyable dinner together. Now, I will admit that I do some "white lies" with her. She will say "are you sure this is not raw?" "It’s cooked mom". LOL. It is rawer than all get out and she loves it. However, if she thought it was raw - she wouldn’t eat it.

    Tomorrow is my eldest son’s last HOUR of school. They have to be in school uniform for ONE hour. ugh. If we weren’t changing schools he would be skipping tomorrow. It is going to be bittersweet tomorrow when we say goodbye. I’m sure there will be tears - from me. I’m definitely going to take my camera.

    Peace out.  

I am blessed and I know I am blessed. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t times when I whine because I’d like to live in a fancier, bigger home or have white as lightning teeth. The next time I whine because I don’t want to go on vacation or some other really stupid thing, please remind me that there are people who would love to go on vacation.

 I’m trying to "bless" my home. I’m trying to get rid of the things that we do not use or need. I’m also trying to bless others by giving the things to people who do need them or can use them. It is such a wonderful feeling to me to be able to give someone something. For free. I don’t expect anything in return. I’m just happy that someone else can use it.

I hope I maybe met a new friend today. She was so very nice and sweet. I’m hoping that God let our paths cross today for a reason. That would be very nice.

I did spin class again today. I love it. I’m definitely getting addicted to it. I want to go again tomorrow. I feel like a little kid "please mommy, just one more turn". Lol.

Sweet, peaceful sleep to you, tonight.  

    Today, I was possessed. Someone possessed me. An addicted cleaning person possessed me. I did nothing but clean and still have things to clean in my house. LOL.

     Mopping = build biceps, break back. Whoever invented mopping was sadistic.

    Tomorrow, I’m going to lay off the caffeine some. I’m like the energizer bunny rabbit on speed when I have caffeine. It’s not a pretty sight.

    Here’s to a good night’s sleep.

Cheers ! 

It’s Marvelous Monday time again and it was a "marvelous Monday". Started off with a lazy, slow-starting morning followed by working out with the personal trainer and then it was "Memorial Day" time. The pool, waterslides, tons of sun, dj playing beach music and hamburgers grilling. Oh, what a yummy smell. I do love to smell grilled food.

The kids and I had a blast today. We all got a little too much sun, but it was a great first day. I can’t believe that we still have school this week. I had almost forgotten about it. ugh.

Remember all the soldiers, troops, military people, whatever you want to call them in your thoughts and / or prayers today. It is Memorial Day and the price of freedom definitely isn’t free.  

    Today we decided to forgo baseball practice and just spend the day in the French Quarter. Wow, it was busy. Today was the busiest I’ve seen it since Katrina.  We had a blast. The weather was perfect and the kids didn’t whine too incredibly much. We had sushi for lunch, ate at Cafe Maspero’s for dinner and then we hit Cafe DuMonde for beignets and cafe au lait.

    While in the Quarter we wondered over to the Aquarium. They’ve really been working on it and have almost the entire thing reopened. There were a lot more fish, too. Oh, oh, oh. I touched my first stingray today. They are so soft. Like really, really soft. I could have stood there for an hour touching them but they had this "barking" attendant man who kept saying "if you’ve touched the stingrays, please move on".

    I had to leave poor little Winkie in his kennel all day. I just knew there would be a mess for me to clean up when we got back home, but nope - not a thing. Woohoo for Winkie.

    Tomorrow is going to be another "marvelous Monday". There is no school and I don’t have to be at the club to workout till 10am. Yippee yeah. I have a late morning. I’m taking the kids to the pool and waterslide after I finish working out. We’re going to have a nice Memorial Day and I hope that you all have a nice one as well. Enjoy your holiday.

I’m pretty sure I’ve lost a friend. They haven’t spoken to me in quite a while. It was one of those friendships where at one point I just knew we’d be friends for life. One where if I needed a thing I knew I could call. Well, not anymore. sighs. I really don’t know what happened. I still think of them all the time. Maybe I just need to try a little harder.

Today was another crazy, busy Saturday. Family packed, fun-filled day. Lots of sunshine, whining, crying kids and bam, you’ve got my day. My sis and her husband dropped in unexpectedly and gasp ! she asked me if I had a maid. Why, no, I do not - I replied. She said "your house is cleaner than has been in a long time." Go me and my shining sink. That one comment made me feel so good.

I love spending time with my sister.  We talk about everything under the sun. I love it. I love helping her do things. I love just getting to spend the time with her. I love taking her picture and I’m so glad she has a wonderful husband. I’ll shut up now before I start sounding like the Walton family. hehe.

Good night, John Boy. Good night, Sue Ellen and Elizabeth and ole deaf Grandma.  

    Today was my first time to ………………………………………………. see the sky raining squirrels, or rather a squirrel. Have you ever been driving down the street and have a squirrel "rain" from the sky in front of you ? I hadn’t. Till today that is. I was on my way to my house, sorta in a daze, when all of a sudden a squirrel freaking drops in front of me. I slammed on brakes and immediately looked up because I knew there were no trees there. I had to see where this squirrel came from.  There was one teeny, tiny wire going across the road - way up high - and this poor squirrel obviously fell off it. I didn’t know that squirrels were part cat, either. This squirrel landed on its feet and took off running. Amazing ! 

    Tonight we are either going to the "dive-in theater". Yes, "dive-in".  Or we are going to go to the Quarter and just kill some time. Either one will be fun.

    I hope you all enjoy your Friday.  

I learned a big lesson tonight. I learned that when you have to attend a 3 hour long board meeting, it is best to wear comfortable clothes. That includes shoes, too. Oh my goodness. I had forgotten how uncomfortable those little metal fold-out chairs were. Brutal on the butt. Yes, even when you have extra cushioning. At one point tonight, mother nature was calling me so badly, my pants were too tight from eating and just sitting there and all of a sudden, out of no where, I sneezed. I was in so much pain I almost started giggling out loud. I’m sure our leader would not have found that funny.

Dh actually "babysat" tonight while I went to my meeting. Ugh. I think I’d rather him go out at the same time and just let me hire a babysitter. He stopped by the store on the way home and bought the kids all sorts of junk food. Horrible food. He told them " Daddy is boss tonight". I just cringed. I guess since he is the one who had to deal with them on their sugar high I really shouldn’t worry about it too much.

I’ve been doing tons better on my "organization". I’m praying these are habits that will stick for a very long time. I’m trying to "bless" my home and myself in the process.

Sweet dreams, Babycakes.  

    There are days in our lives where we need a little extra love. Incase this is one of those days for you, here are some "Loving Thoughts".

"Never Too Much"

Love is the one ingredient of which our world never tires and of which there is never an abundance. It is needed in the market-place and in the mansions. It is needed in the ghettos and in the governments. It is needed in homes, in hospitals, and in individual hearts. The world will never outgrow its need for love.

by C. Neil Strait

"Give It Away"

Love is the one treasure that multiplies by division. It is the one gift that grows bigger the more you take from it. It is the one business in which it pays to be an absolute spendthrift.  You can give it away, throw it away, empty your pockets, shake the basket, turn the glass upside down, and tomorrow you will have more than ever.

by Anonymous

In real love you want the other person’s good. In romantic love you want the other person.

by Margaret Anderson

The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.

by G.K. Chesterton

    And on that last note, tell somebody you love that you love them.

Peace out with love tonight.  

It’s been a very good Tuesday. Doesn’t mean it was a perfect one, but a very good one.  Winkie is much, much better. My daughter woke up dry for the 2nd night in a row. Hear the angels singing ? I hope she keeps it up. The 2 little ones and myself had a wonderful day. It was so nice spending some time with them. Very calm, very peaceful.

I think I’m feeling more peaceful.  I’m  definitely calm right now. A much better feeling that last night. I just knew my dog was dying. One of the reasons why I think I’m calmer today is I’m a little more organized and that creates an inner peace for me. Yes, I’m weird.

I’m headed to bed while everyone is still asleep. Peace out, Babycakes.  

    I was having a pretty good day today when all of a sudden my eldest son says "mom, something is wrong with Winkie." Winkie is not acting normal at all. I think he ate some plant while he was outside and 1 - he is either allergic to it or 2 - it is sorta stuck in his throat. Neither is good. I’ve talked to a vet friend and she has told me what to do for right now. I think I’m about to give my dog benadryl. Is it normal for a puppy to snore - loudly ?

    Lordy, having a puppy is like having another child. 

    I hope you all had a great start to your week. 

Yes, my day has felt like it was 48 hours long instead of 24. Oh, my goodness. I can’t believe that I’m still on the same day. This morning started off with my lazing in bed till all of 7:30(gasp). Then it was rush hour time taking showers, getting dressed and fed and to Mass on time to get a seat semi-up front. I was totally confused in Mass today. Why did they do the "May 17th" Mass instead of the "May 20th" Mass ? I think I fixated on that so much during Mass that I pretty much missed most of Mass. LOL. We also had "board voting" today during (yes, during) Mass and that was very interesting. I got to learn some about some of the members at church.

After church, we hit Chili’s and then Barnes & Nobles. I pray that my children have the same love of reading that I do. I always let them buy one book everytime we go to the bookstore. I tell T that he must read his book or I will not allow him to buy one the next time. As we were pulling into the driveway today he says, "mom, I just finished my book." My goodness. I’ve got to start pushing him towards longer books. I do have a proud  mommy monent regarding T. It took him almost a month to read a 5th grade level book. He took the test on it at school on Friday and made 100%. He was proud of himself and so was I.

Since I didn’t clean enough yesterday I thought I’d be insane and clean again today. I got 2 out of 3 full bathrooms scrubbed. Mine took over an hour. I got all of the vaccuming done, half of the mopping, all of the dusting, made up J’s bed (again), did 2 more loads of laundry, scrubbed the kitchen down, took a hour-long bath, and started reading another book. All while trying to potty train a dog and doing dinner ! Just call me "Super Mom" and pass on over the Prozac.

Ugh, Prozac, how I am going to need thee. Fwiw - I’m non-medicated, but at this rate, I may be real soon. Remember the mom who hurt my feelings so badly ? Well, I spoke with her today regarding our son’s last week of school. Their schedule is absolutely retarded and I have no idea why they are even going to bother with school that week. She happened to mention that the students must go to school on the last day because that is when they are given their summer reading. Oh, wahhhhhhhhhhhh. (insert multiple curse words there). I had totally forgotten about that. I was not going to tell T that we switched his school until later in the summer. What is he going to think when he doesn’t get the summer reading packet ? Oh, phooey. If you have any good ideas on how I am supposed to break this news to my son, please just spill them right on out. I’m afraid I’m going to break his heart initially and I don’t want him to worry all summer long. sighs.

Thank the good Lord that tomorrow is Monday. That means tennis (love, love,love) and working out (got to burn off some calories). Woohoo. 

Peace out, Babycakes.  

    My closet is now cleaned out and organized. Wooooooooohoooooooo. Go me. I am so happy and relieved to not have that hanging over my head anymore. It took me 3 hours to get it done. I’ve got a couple bags of clothes to give away and the rest is now all arranged where I can see that I actually have clothes to wear.

    Cleaning out my closet actually brought me to tears one time. As I was finishing up with my clothes I started in on my shoes. I literally sat down in the floor of the closet and started rearranging, throwing out, etc when I happened to look up and see a pair of mismatched shoes. My first thought was "why do I have a pair of mismatched shoes together?" and then I looked at them again. I said "omg, those are the shoes that I wore out of this house after Katrina came through." I immediately started crying. It brought up so many emotions that I thought were long gone or that I was "over". I will never throw those shoes out. I have no idea what happened to the mates of those shoes. At the time, I was just thankful that I had a left-one and a right-one to put on.

    I do not know why I’ve been thinking about Katrina so much lately. I keep reliving that day. Actually, the month or so afterwards when I felt like I was in total shock, I keep reliving. Not fun thoughts.  I’m a grown adult. I know that Katrina will never come back. I’m well aware that my family is alive and that even though we were very dumb and didn’t evacuate we made it out alive. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I’ll never do that again. This is one time that I can use the word "never" and mean it without any hesitation. Maybe it is because the hurricane season is fast approaching us. Maybe it is because I know that even though Katrina was bad that she really wasn’t the "big one". Here in New Orleans you are always hearing about the "big one". When the "big one" hits it is going to wipe New Orleans off the map, etc. Before Katrina I would have said "no, New Orleans will make it." Bwhahahaha. Not any more. Almost 2 years later and I’m still not sure that New Orleans is "making" it even now.

    Okay, enough melancholy thoughts there. Today has been another very busy day. I’ve been up since 6am on a freaking Saturday morning. That ought to be a crime. lol. I’m just now stopping for the day and though I should be tired right now I feel very energized. Wired. I’m sure when my "crash" occurs that I will go out with a bang.

    My husband asked me tonight if I had plans to go to church tomorrow. I said "yes, why ?" He replied " well, I put a lot of money in the plate last week so it would cover this week, too." Shakes my head ! Am I the only person who realizes that he "just hasn’t gotten the point of church" yet ? I’ll definitely be at Mass tomorrow. That’s my weekly session of sanity.

    I hope you all have a nice Sunday.  

I’m tired of the stress I have during the week because I’m worried about the laundry, the unmopped floors, the bathrooms that need scrubbing, etc. so I am going to do my absolute best to do the majority of that during the weekend. I want to have a week where I do not feel guilty for the days I don’t do anything other than workout. Somebody needs to remind me of this tomorrow when I don’t feel like doing anything.

Now, I know the above paragraph sounds good, but do you have any idea what my weekends are actually like ? LOL. This weekend we have one t-ball game, one baseball game, one hour of baseball photos, one hour long swim lesson, one Mass, one Cub Scout meeting and one birthday party. Add to the baseball games 45 minutes travel time each way, 30 minutes to the swim lesson, 20 to the birthday party each way, and on and on and on. Don’t forget how long it takes me to get myself and 3 kids dressed and ready to go to Mass on Sundays. No wonder I am so tired all the time. lol. I’m sorta busy. However, I am going to get things done this weekend. I am ! I’m actually doing laundry at the moment. That stuff is worse than bunnies when it comes to multiplying and Santa still hasn’t sent me a maid yet.

Tonight we had a family night. Tob has been begging to go eat sushi this week (that’s my boy) so we did. It is cute that the children actually have their favorite sushi restaurant. As Tob says, "the food is good there". cute. After dinner we went to see Shrek 3. Cute, cute movie. Not exactly what I was expecting, I honestly have no idea what I was expecting, but the kids had a blast. I can’t believe how much popcorn my children can eat. Amazes me.

I hope you all have a productive weekend. Enjoy some of it, too.

Adios amigo.  

    Tonight I was sworn in on the "board" of Jr League. Ever since I accepted the position I’ve been second-guessing myself wondering if I have made a big mistake. It’s a huge time commitment. I will say that tonight made me feel very proud of all that we do in our community. We truly effect a lot of lives in a positive way. I’m glad to be on the board and I hope that my contribution is worthwhile.

    Because I was being sworn in tonight, among other duties I had to do at the banquet, I missed my son’s preschool graduation. Talk about mommy guilt. I’ve got it going on pretty big. I know that I will get to see a video of it, plenty of pics, etc. It is just not the same, though. Sighs. Now, if this had been his Kindergarden graduation there is no way I would have missed it. I’m trying to rationalize here. lol.

    Today was only a half-nice day. I didn’t go workout. I thought I was going to be a tad bit more productive than what I was. I did end up accomplishing a little bit later in the afternoon so not all was lost. And I talked to my sis tonight. I love my role of "big sis". I like it that she still looks up to me and asks me for advice on things.

    I’m sitting here watching my own live screen saver. (Ariel - my gay fish- swimming round and round in his bowl). lol Peace out ! 

Well, I must say that Americal Idol ended up like I figured it would. Do I think the best singer got into the finale ? No, not at all. Melinda is definitely the best singer however, I knew all along that she wasn’t the "American Idol". She wasn’t as cute as Jordin, nor did she have all the little teenager girls infatuated with her like Blake. I will admit to watching his "Time of the Season" song over and over and over again. "Who’s your daddy ?" just made me melt. Hubba hubba.

I need help. (in many ways) lol. I’m directing this plea to my puppy. I still haven’t got him sleeping all the way through the night. Wth am I doing wrong ? I feel like I have a newborn in my house. I’m definitely too old for that.

We are considering moving into a new home. That is so scarey to me. I would love to have a "fancier, bigger" house, but this is my home. The house where I brought all 3 babies home to. Where I took care of my father as he was dying. Where the nursery still has the mural that G’s Godmother painted as a babygift to me. sighs. How do you leave things like that ?

Since I’m talking about leaving, all it is going to take is one more bad hurricane and I’m out of here. With or without a husband. lol. I’ve been watching the news with the reruns of the crap that went on with Katrina. ugh. All I can say is "no, thanks".

I saw one of the sweetest pictures ever today. It was of a dolphin. Very crisp. Great photo. Made me want to go swim with one. I’ve got to get my camera reset. Argh. I want to take crips photos. blah, blah, blah.

It was very nice today to get a phone call from my workout partner asking me if I could walk. lol. It was nice to hear someone else whining about the workouts we’ve been doing. I was fine today. Yesterday, I felt like I could barely walk or sit down.  

Peace Out, Babybabybabycakes !
 

    I have no idea what has happened to my eating today. It has sucked about as royally as it possibly could. I’m chalking it up to stress and the fact that I wasn’t completely satisfied with cardio tennis today. I ate fried chicken and M & Ms today. I don’t think it could get much worse than that. However, I’ve gotten some answers to some things that were strssing me out - I think I’ll have my eating under control tomorrow. I hope.

    Speaking of food, now I’m craving a scrambled egg sandwich with pickles and mayo. Oh, good grief. I’ve got to get a grip. What has happened ?  

    My youngest two get out of school this week. That is so going to mess up my working out. Wahh. For a solid week I might add. My health club doesn’t open up it’s "hang out" for a whole week. That means I’ve got to become creative or I can’t work out at all. That SUCKS. Makes me want to cry.  You want to volunteer to come babysit so I can workout ? Also, is your maid available for me yet ? I know mentally that I would feel tons better if I could get my house all clean at the same dang time. It’s a losing battle and I’m about to give up.

    Winkie actually went into his crate tonight without throwing his little body against the door. That’s a huge improvement. I’m trying to make him feel like a "loved pup". I look deep into his little dark eyes and I speak very calmly to him. It works. Makes him submissive to me. Yeehaw. About time.

    I need some new workout music for my ipod. Feel free to leave me a good song suggestion or two.

    Tomorrow is "hump" day. I used to look forward to that day. LOL. Now, I’m OLDDDDDDDDDDDDDD and that just means the weekend is nearer. hehe. Time to re-read my magnet. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were ? 

Peace out, Babycakes.  

Creepy, creepy. I’m all creeped out. mwahahaha. My "old" nanny came in tonight. I love her to death. My children love her to death. After the children were all in bed, she and I exchanged our latest ghost stories. It was fun, but now I am going to be terrified out of my mind to take my puppy out to potty at 4am.

Have any idea how dark it is down here ? I think I will make sure I am dressed when I go out tonight and I will be sure to turn on all available lights. LOL. I am such a chicken.

I’m happy that my nanny moved and has entered a new phase in her life, but dang, I miss her to death. She is truly a good friend to me. I made sure to hug her tightly and tell her that I loved her tonight before she left. I know we will see her again in a couple of months, but that is really too long to go inbetween seeing good friends.

So, do you believe in ghosts and angels and spirits ? I do. Sleep tight tonight. Don’t let any ghost bite you during the night. Keep your feet tucked tightly inside your sheets. GRINS.

    I was going to write about Mother’s Day, but Survivor has taken over. I can not believe that Yau didn’t win. Actually, I can because I think most people on the show realized what a great player he was. I truly hope that someone out in the world noticed Yau and will give him the opportunity to make more than the $1 million dollars he could have won.

    Dreamz — ugh, he disgust me. I was so incredibly happy that he didn’t get a single vote. If he had kept his word he could have been a huge role model for many, many children. Instead, he is seen as just another liar. ugh, ugh, ugh. He could have probably gotten many indorsments. For example - Got Milk ? He would have been great - if only he had kept his word.

    Casandra - I’m glad she didn’t get a single vote. She didn’t do a thing to deserve any.

    Earl - I’m glad he won out of the 3. I do realize why he voted Yau off, but honestly still do not thinks he deserved to win the million dollars.

    Hey Ford Company - give Yau a damn truck. That’s the least you all can do and think of the advertising you could get from it. Lord, I hope someone else is thinking like me.

    I’m a Survivor addict. I’ve watched every season. You have no idea how badly I want to submit an entry form, but I’m afraid that would be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Dh would kill me. lol.

    I hope all the mother’s had a very "happy, happy" day. 

My eldest son lost his first baseball game tonight. The only one that "Nana" came to watch. It was still a very good game, though. 12 - 16 and they are still in first place. Woohoo.

Afterwards, we went out to eat and I had the best boiled shrimp of my life. Yummy. So good.

Now, I’m off to bed. It’s been a long, filled, fun, busy day.