I Could Write a Book

My children, friends and husband thinks I’m a good mom. I do not think I am a good mom. An "ok"one yes. A "good" one - no.  Could I do more ? I could do tons more. When ? I do not know. I am so tired today that I could just about drop over right now but here I sit blogging away. LOL. Why blogging ? Because tomorrow is the first day of school and I did it.

Did what ? I got everything ready for tomorrow. I visited with my sister and niece, talked with my mother, talked with friends, took the kids to lunch and dinner, bought shoes, school uniforms, supplies, and typed up 2 book reports due in the morning. Nothing like a quiet day. I even bought groceries and toilet paper. Groceries and toilet paper.  Somebody ought to make a song about them. It’s the two things we are always out of here in the house. I bet it is the same in your house. When you run out of something in your house I bet it is either groceries or toilet paper. Having 3 bathrooms here really helps though. "Hey G, go check your bathroom and see if there is any toilet paper in there. It’s needed in the big bathroom." Don’t tell me you’ve never yelled that. I know you have.

Speaking of the house - it looks like a tornado has come through. I have finally gotten to the point where I warn people , "sure you can come in but know the house is a wreck" and then I let them on in. Yes, I hate it on the inside but I’m pretty sure their house isn’t perfect all the time either. Please tell me it isn’t so.

My throat is still killing me. I’ve got some viral something or other. Glands all swollen out. Throat red as heck. Oh, well. When you’re a mother you don’t stop. You can’t stop. Well, maybe to buy some groceries and toilet paper. hehe. 

So, I’m off to bed to try and sleep. I hate freaking getting up early in the morning but you know after the kiddies are on the bus I’m going to have PEACE AND QUIET around here. Ah, motherhood bliss. Peace and quiet. Along with groceries and toilet paper. (And dangit - it should be spelled toliet peper- cause that’s how my fingers keep typing it).

Peace out and butterfly kisses. 

Chunky Dunking: when you’re too fat for it to be considered "skinny dipping."

I was telling my lovely, wonderful sister today about us putting in a pool and she asks "so, are you  going to go chunky dunking?" Family, what would you do without them ? Yes, I still love her. Yes, we were both dying laughing. Yes, there’s some truth in it. Unfortunately, there’s too much truth in there.

A: Age - today is my last day to be 40 ! Must say that I’m very happy to be 40 today. lol. Tomorrow is (ack, gasp) 41. A = not the grade I’m going to make in neuroanatomy. (I’ll live - I think).

B: Birthdays, basketball, and basket case. Three birthdays are coming right up in my nuclear family - mine, J’s, and T’s. whew. Basketball - T is playing for his school team and loving it. Basket case - what I am. Way too Busy. B = the grade I better end up with in neuroanatomy.

C:  Church and Crazy.  For lent this year, I said I was not going to miss a single Sunday of Church. So far, so good. (sad, huh?) Crazy = that just pretty much sums up me and my life. I keep repeating "this too shall pass." 

D: Dumb and Disney. Good grief, I’ve never felt so dumb in all my life. Being out of school and jumping back in has shown me that I lost quiet a few brain cells with marriage, kids, and their craziness. Disney World rocked this last trip. The kids are at such great ages to really enjoy it. We had a very nice time with only minimal stress.

E:  Energy or lack thereof, and Excited.Energy =  I have none. Even though I’m not making an A in my class, I’m really Excited about being back at school. I do love the energy on campus and I love learning. I do not necessarily love studying, but I love learning.

F: Family and Fat. My nuclear family seems to be doing okay right now. We have our good days and our bad days. I think we are too busy to notice all the little things that would generally get on our nerves. A quote from my eldest son the other day "mom, I used to think you were fat, but I don’t anymore."  Uh, gee thanks, son. lol.

G:  G can only stand for G my middle son. I know I brag on him a lot, but he is the most sensitive little thing and so loving. A suck-up, some people call him. My little "golden boy" - for his hair. He really makes me smile. He is still little enough that he wants you to hold him and love on him and give him kisses. My 3rd grader is now embarassed by the display of motherly love.

H: Home - my childhood home. The house I grew up in just got sold. I went and spent a while there last weekend so I could take pictures, talk about memories, show my children the tree my father planted for me, etc. It is very bittersweet telling it goodbye. I’m happy for my sis to be moving to bigger and better, but I’m very sad to know that I’ll never go back "home".

I: Interesting. Is this "February fill-in" interesting to you ? Probably not, but it’s a way for me to recap a month that just flew by in my life. Whew. Time truly flies.

J: Jealousy, Jr League, and Jenny Craig. Eeek, every now and then we’ve got some jealousy issues going on with the siblings. I think the eldest gets a little jealous when he sees his sister getting attention. He accidentally uttered the words one day - "that’s not your mom" to J. He got a lot of tough love that day. I bet he thinks twice before saying something like that again, though. Parenting is hard. OMG, Jr League takes up so much of my time. I’m sure I’ve pissed some people off, but I’ve started saying "no". Sorry, I have a life. I can’t come to 4 meetings in one week no matter how much of a hissy fit you throw. Jenny Craig - I’m determined to lose "Montana" - my ass for those of you who do not know what I call my big ole bum. I’m doing okay on the program. I could do better.

K: K is all about me. me. me. me. Tomorrow is my birthday. I’ve asked for a "grill" and for lobsters for my dinner. Dh asked me "do you really want a grill for your birthday ?" Well, unless you really want to go buy me the watch of my dreams - a grill will do. Opps, some of the princess just came out. grins.

L: Love and Laughter. I love my life. I love my children. I love my friends - even the ones who really get on my nerves. I love my family - even the ones who really get on my nerves.  I love to laugh. I really do. I can’t wait for "Dan in Real Life" to come out so I can buy it and laugh and laugh and laugh. Laughter is the best medicine.

M:  Michigan. Michigan - here I come. I can’t believe that I’m actually looking forward to going to Michigan this year. I’ll either be up there for 4 or 5 weeks. I can’t wait till there isn’t "jack shit" to do except start a fire and roast marshmellows on the beach. I think it is going to be wonderful to get the kids away from the crazy schedule we have here. My sis and her children are coming up for 2 weeks and I can’t wait to make more memories with them. We had the absolute best time together the last time. It’s going to be grand.

N: Nerves, neurons, neuroanatomy. I’m so sick of learning about nevers, neurons, blah blah blah - I will celebrate when I finish this class. smiles. I still love it, though. Yeah, yeah. That’s a bit of a contradiction. Hey, I’d be boring, otherwise.

O: Ohhhhhhhhhhh, Lord. My mind just went completely in the gutter when I typed out "O". Lol. I think that has to do with my friends on my board. Let’s just say, I’ve invested in "fish oil" - for my skin. Yeah, right. LOL.

P: Princess J. Princess J or Princess Mini-me is my daughter. It is amazing how one minute she can completely get on my nerves for doing whatever she shouldn’t be doing and the next minute she will be singing like there is no tomorrow. She loves to sing. She loves her mommy. She is so dang stubborn. She is going to be 5 next week. I can’t believe it. We’re going to have her first "big girl" birthday party for her. Inviting the whole class. Did I lose my mind ?

Q: Queen of the Jungle. That’s what it says on the Disney hat that dh got me for Valentine’s Day. I think that’s pretty appropiate considering I call our house "the jungle". It’s wild and loud in here. The kids are everywhere. But you know what ? I really own a home. Not a museum like some houses I know. My home is definitely lived in and definitely looks and sounds like a jungle.

R: Rest - or lack thereof. I never get enough rest. I was excited the other morning when I realized that I slept for 6 1/2 hours. There isn’t enough time in the day (or night) to do everything. There are times when I’m up at 3:30am studying for a test because I’m too anxious to sleep. I just figure if I’m awake I might as well be doing something productive.

S: School. Whose bright idea was it for me to go back to school ? Also, what about these school projects that the kids have to do ? As dh said last night "it’s a myth that these projects (school projects) are for kids". All 3 of us were working on a project of T’s that was due today. We’ve been working on it for 3 weeks. I just pray that T was smart enough today to not say, "well, my mom did this and my dad did this and I did this." Eeek. Oh, well. I know more about Eli Whitney than I ever have in my life before. Eli Whitney and neuro - what more could a girl ask for ?

T: Tennis. Yippee yeah. Joy oh joy. My sons have caught the tennis bug and they are loving it. My youngest one seems to be a natural. He’s got this really lean body and he does really well already considering he’s never played before. I’m still in love with tennis. I want to move up in lines. I’m sure I could beat the next line. Maybe not, though. I was sure I’d get an A in neuro and I’m having a very humbling experience with that class.

U: U. How are u doing ? Let me hear from you. Yes, I’m crazy busy as a lunatic woman. I still want to hear from you. I might not email or call you back, but I’ll definitely read the email and listen to the voicemail. Just know that I’m thinking of all of you and I do pray for you all. I’m very thankful for everyone in my life. I know I say that often. I truly mean it.

V: Violin. Have you been listening to the world’s tinest violin playing in the background everytime I whine, complain and moan about how busy I am ? If you listen closely - you can hear it. Sorry about that and thanks for listening to me whine. It keeps me from snapping a lot of the time.

W: Weekends and Working Out. Weekends ? What weekends? I used to look forward to weekends. Now, they are just a blur. If you can believe it, they are busier than my weeks and that’s saying a lot. Working out ? What’s that ? If it includes picking up a tennis raquet, then hey, I’m good. Otherwise, who has the time ? Not me. I really need to do better.  

X: Xray.  The Xray of my knee revealed absolutely nothing back in December. Am I still having the pain ? Yep, you bet. What am I going to do about it ? Oh, I figure I’ll just keep playing tennis on it and one day, I’ll get a whole brand new knee in the "knee replacement" pack. Yippe. I’m trying to lose some weight to see if that helps. I’m sure something is torn in there. Oh, well.

Y: Yellow Bus. I’m going on my son’s field trip to Baton Rouge and we get to ride on the "yellow bus". Got any spare valium you don’t need ? It’s going to be a blast. I’m not sure I’m going to have on makeup at 7am. Geepers. The instructions say "make sure you wear a baseball hat." I read that and thought , "thank goodness I don’t have to try and fix this mop that day." Oh, oh, oh, I will wear my "Queen of the Jungle" hat. I’m sure it will be perfect for that day.

Z: ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Have I put you completely to sleep ? See, you don’t need any sleep meds. Just come here and read. Sleep is something I’m definitely lacking in. I think that’s pretty evident in this post. Grins. I promise to do much better with my blogging efforts. I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m still alive and kicking, just crazy busy. Talk to you soon. Now, go get some ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. That’s an order! 

ps: If I missed a letter of the alphabet- just blame it on my public school education and lack of sleep.  

You might be a "redneck" if you still have all of your Christmas decorations up on January 19th. Lol. That was how my sister greeted me today as she walked into my house unannounced. Got to love your sister.

Needless to say, after she left I got everything taken down except the tree. I’ve still got to get everything back up into the attic. I pray that I can get some help with that tomorrow, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

I’ll do a "ketchup" soon. Life’s been crazy, good, sad, down, happy, up, all in the same month.

I hope the New Year is going just the way you want it to.

Peace out,

Babycakes 

     Today I made a friendly wager with a good friend of mine regarding the LSU vs BAMA game. I agreed to post a picture of myself wearing BAMA gear if Bama beat LSU. Why of course I will ! (cause LSU ain’t going to lose). After I made the wager, I started thinking about the fact that I do not have any Bama gear. I thought (cause I could not say this outloud) that I might better get me a BAMA shirt. Oh, hell no. What was I thinking ? Just as soon as I do I will jinx my beloved LSU Tigers.  Now, this isn’t to say that I wouldn’t absolutely love to go to that game. I’d love to go with my dear ole Bama friend. I think it would be a wonderful time and memory. Anyways, LSU is not going to lose, so I don’t have to worry about that picture. Do I ? 

    Yes, I was at the game Saturday night. LSU vs Auburn. That last touchdown made by LSU made my whole day. It was completely awesome and I still get chills when I think about it. I can see it vividly in my mind. The pass was thrown. The fans in the stands made this sucking in noise, holding their breath, waiting to see if the pass was going to be complete. OMG ! It was. We were jumping up and down. We were yelling. We were high-fiving. We were hugging our other season ticket fans on our row. Some of which are "sugar" friendly. Lots of sugar.

    My sister went to the game with me. We had a blast. I know I had a blast. I’m more than sure she did, too. She knows I love her, too. She wore some crappy "in style" shoes and they were "killing" her feet. What did the loving big sis do ? I swapped my super comfy, broken-in LSU crocs for her blister-inducing shoes.  Only a loving sister would do such a kind gesture, right ? She’ll pay me back. grins.

    I went to bed later that night than any night I can remember since having children. LOL. You know you’re 40 when you see the clock strike midnight and think "wow, I’m still awake at midnight."

    Here’s extending Bama some early sympathy. I’m sorry you’re going to lose. You all know LSU is going to win just to beat Nick Saban.  

    I have just found the "blog of all blogs". I have found my newest, bestest friend. sighs. She doesn’t even know I exist, but omgoodness ! she has an entire blog on Spinning. Here it is : Unleash The Power of Group Fitness.  I’m reading and reading and writing down playlists and I’m in heaven. You know this feeds into my "ipod" love, too.

    I’ve actually looked at the calendar and figured out which days I can go to Spin class. I do not know why I am so in-love with it, but I am. Some people get this way with running, I’m this way with biking. I’ve always loved biking. Ever since highschool. I still can’t believe my father would let me just go off for long Saturday rides - by myself. No cell phone. No anything. He had no idea where I was. Sometimes I would ride over to the next city and buy a drink from the little store. Good grief. Amazing I wasn’t killed or kidnapped.

    I had some really special rides in college, too. Geaux Tigers. My boyfriend at the time was big into cycling. We would get up on Saturday mornings and ride from Baton Rouge to the ferry and catch it and ride all over the little crawfish towns. What fun days. We’d stop at the produce stands and buy fresh fruit from the local farmers. Oh, to go back in time. Okay - I’ve totally regressed here.  

    I have this dream of riding the RAGBRAI.  I’ve had that dream since 1992 when I first learned about it . Guess I might better get started on my training, eh ? I wonder if I could do that this year ? It would be the perfect year. I turned 40 and I really want to do something to remember this year by. If that makes any sense at all. That would probably be better than getting my nose pierced, eh ? Yes, I’ve actually considered that, too. I talked to my sister about it today. We both think the little nose studs are so pretty. Maybe when I get to my ideal weight I’ll do that.

    Yes, I attended Spin today. Yes, I was in heaven. Yes, my never-regions are killing me. Will I go back ? Probably on Friday morning.  

Peace out, Babycakes.  

    I am beyond livid at my sister’s pediatrician. The pediatrician suggested to her yesterday that she put her 10 year old daughter on estrogen to stop her from growing so tall. WTF ? is what came out of my mouth when my sister called to tell me this. Neither of us had ever heard of this practice. If you google it you will actually find lots of "debates" over this practice. I can’t believe that there are parents who will do this to do their daughters. One of the long-term effects is inferitlity. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I honestly can’t believe that a normal (not specialized) peditrician would even suggest this to her patients. The pediatrician is tall herself and said she hated being tall while growing up. Uhh, not my problem or rather, not my niece’s problem.

    My niece is going to be tall. There is no doubt about that. Her mother is 6′. Her father is 6′4". I’m her aunt at 6′1". We’ve all done okay. I’m still just floored that this lady suggested this possible course of action. Who is she to play "God"?  Better yet, is she truly qualified to be suggesting this type of intervention. The pediatrician told my sister that right now she has four 8-year-olds on estrogen to stunt their growth. I’m pissed about that, too. What parents would agree to do this to their children ? Did they not look at any of the research from this ? Do they really want their 8 year old daughters in puberty at that early of an age ?

   I really need to step down off my soap box. I’m still pissed. I just think of all the tall tennis women, volleyball players - think Gabrielle Reese  - she is absolutely beautiful and TALL. Look at all the models. grrrrr. 

   I really hope that people educate themselves before choosing such actions. I’m shutting up now. I think.
 

This is one of my favorite photographs I’ve taken. It is of my eldest son and my middle nephew. They took the canoe out that day. (obviously)  I’m laughing inside at a funny memory with that canoe and my sister. She and I actually sunk the canoe, but in shallow enough water that it stayed sitting upright. We just sat there in it till one of the kids brought us buckets and pails to bail the water out. We were dying laughing and just praying that if anyone saw us that they would think we were just sitting still in the water and not actually stuck in the canoe.

 After canoeing that day, we sat on the beach and watched the sunset. There is just nothing like the gorgeous sunsets. Yes, in Michigan. I was quite surprised myself. I didn’t go to Michigan this year. Said I just wanted to stay home. I’m missing it. I think it is in the forefront of my thinking right now because summer is coming to an end. The kids and I will definitely go next year. Here’s looking forward to seeing my sunset again next summer.

Oh my goodness ! Tonight, I was on the floor rolling with laughter over something my eldest son discussed with me. He and I were having a discussion about how we like everyone and how we never make fun of people based on their height, size, color, etc. I told him that we love all people no matter if they are different from us or not. He replied, "well, you didn’t like me when I was different." I was very confused and asked him what was he talking about. He said, "well, I once was "brown" and you didn’t like me "brown" so you put me under those lights and made me white like you." My poor baby. I tried very hard to tell him that he was "brown" because he was very sick as a baby and had to be in the hospital. That he wasn’t born brown. LOL. He said, "I wasn’t ?". My poor child has been thinking all of this time that he was born one color and that we didn’t like him that color so we made him to look like us. It was truly an eyeopener. I could see how he had the misconception that he did.  A very serious conversation with my son, but a very funny one between adults.

  "I once was brown"

What a lazy Sunday. I did a couple of productive things, but that is truly it. Just a couple. Tomorrow(Marvelous Monday) starts our last full week of summer. Makes me so incredibly sad. My eldest is going to basketball camp and I will be spending a lot of time helping my sister with her newborn. Sighs. Summer has just flown by. I want about another month.

I hope to sleep well tonight. Not sure if I will after falling asleep on the couch this afternoon. It was that lazy of a day. And oh man, I hope to stop having these stupid nightmares. Last nights’ was rough.  

Zoe Jane was born today. My cutest, newest niece that I get to spoil. Yes, she is named after a song. Her father said that if she was a girl he wanted her named Zoe Jane after this song.  I think it is one of the sweetest things around. How many daughters get to say that their father picked out their name ?

It’s been a long two days for me and I wasn’t even the one having the baby. I’ll be glad to get a good night’s rest tonight. Sweet dreams, All.  

    I’ve had a great day today. It has been one of my best days of the summer so far. My eldest had his hearing appointment today. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting. Whew. What a relief. The kids and I had a wonderful day today. Just spent time together. It was a very calm day. I think me setting the "calm" tone with them this morning started the ball rolling.

    What made me so calm ? I think my cleaning all day yesterday did. I cleaned the house so well. I did laundry. I did organizing. I’m not done by any means, but I had a peace inside of me that things were okay. I truly wish I could "relax" about things like this, but I can’t. It’s not my nature.

    I’m waiting for the phone call at any minute that my sister is in labor. She doesn’t think she is going to go into labor on her own. I think she will. I think I’m nesting with her. LOL. My cleaning and organizing is all her fault.

    Tomorrow the kids and I are headed to Baton Rouge. I bet those little suckers are up at the crack of dawn. Lol. They are so excited. We’re going swimming - if the weather is good. Pray, oh please pray, for RAIN. Storms. Lots of lightning. LOL. I don’t want to put my swimsuit on in front of strangers. haha. Actually, the strangers don’t bother me at all. It is my friends seeing me that makes me cringe. Oh, rain. Glorious rain. We need rain tomorrow. (yes, I’m finally cracking up)

    Well, I’m off to do my nightly routine. Yep, I’ve got one. Same thing every night. Maybe one day when I’m old - I’ll change.

Peace out, babycakes ! 

I think there is no greater bond than between loving sisters. I don’t know what I’d do without mine. It sometimes makes me sad that my daughter doesn’t have a sister to form that type of bond with. People tell me all the time "but she will have a best friend". sighs. Will that be enough for her ? Would a mother as a best friend fill that missing sisterly bond ? I wish I knew those types of answers.

Tonight was my sister’s babyshower. We had the best time. So much fun talking with people I haven’t seen in years. There is just something nostaglic about going back to your hometown. Brings back floods of memories.

So far I’m making it okay with my crazy weekend. I hope tomorrow is just as nice as today has been.

Night night all.