Playing Catch Up

ahhh....lots to catch up on...rather then overwhelm you with a bunch of stuff right now this very minute....I'll try to catch you up in little bits thru the week.

First...took a crazy, impromtu trip to CKC in Tulsa over the weekend. I had a girlfriend in dire need of some help....and I happened to be available. Looking back...it was a good trip. Her classes went very well and everyone seemed to really enjoy them. Actually getting to Tulsa....now that was a whole nother story. We were suppose to leave Bloomington, fly to Chicago...connect....fly to Tulsa...arriving about 10pm. Easy enough!! NOPE!!! We ended up staying in Bloomington about 4 hours longer then we were suppose to...our flight in and out of Chicago was cancelled...booked another flight to Atlanta...then Tulsa....those....they were delayed!! We ended up barely making our flight out of Atlanta to Tulsa...arrived in Tulsa about 3 am....and were up and smiling by 9am teaching a couple hundred woman to Mod podge!! Craziness!!!

The boys are back to school all week this week....I am welcoming the calm in my house...the girlie...well, she starts preschool next week....hmmm!! 5 hours a week....all to myself...what will a girl do with all that time! Seriously...I won't even know where to start!

Brian started teaching his night class...on top of his regular job...AND....his freelance job. Of course he teaches on Monday and Wednesday....GUESS which nights Logan has soccer.....yep...that was a toughy..right. Monday...and Wednesday!! Doesn't it just figure! So any thought that I may have entertained about having a life on those days....nope...shot right out the window. But soccer does make the evening go bye faster with Brian being gone...that part of it is OK with me.

OK....I should go...gotta get the boy ready for soccer practice and do spelling words before we go. Remind me tomorrow to share a little about JR High....and the lunch program! It's a doozy!

woohoo....

TODAY....was the first day of school!!! I can't tell you how excited I was to see those two boys...backpacks in hand...walk out that front door!! TODAY...I get my normal mom life back...as normal as it can be anyway!

Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my boys...I love spending time with them...BUT, I am also an advocate of year around schooling!! There is such an age difference with my kids that after a certain amount of time...no one gets along with anyone...they are all in such different places right now...the conflict between them can get intense.

Anyway, we survived the summer and they are all back in school, doing their own thing, with their own friends, and there is a new calm that has been restored in our house!!

In other news...I am taking an improptu trip to the CKC in Tulsa, Oklahoma tomorrow...not exactly what I had planned, but I have a girlfriend that was in desperate need of some assistance...so...I AM GOING to Tulsa!! Never been to Oklahoma before...not sure how to dress...what to expect...you know...the normal, travel to a new place kinda thing. But, I know it will be a fun time...hoping to see some of the new stuff that's out while i'm there. I'll be back sometime on Sunday.

I guess that's enough blabbin' for the night...guess I'll catch ya up on Sunday when I get back!

Today...

Today, outside....

Rainy...
Muggy...
Sloppy...

Today, me...

Tired...
Crampy...
Lazy...


Today, to do

Lounge...
Veg...
Nap...

Tomorrow...

???

A big day...

Today was a BIG day at our house...for
parents and child alike. Today we escorted
our boy to his new home....Junior High!!
I can say that we all seem to be handling
it ok...but it is a big...no HUGE step. I'm
not a hovering mom...so it's not like that...
it's more that WE (hubby and I) have a
child this old. He is really beginning a new
chapter of his life next week....the chapter
that we won't get to be main characters
in....that, I must say, FREAKS me out a little
bit. You spend so much time trying to
teach right and wrong...explaining that
there'll be grey areas to navigate through.
Hoping that they will be able to make the
right choices, if pushed. I feel like all I
can do is buckle up and hold on tight...
this is going to be a CRAZY ride.
FOR ALL OF US!


I took a quick second while we were getting
his locker together...and looking for his
classrooms... to snap a couple of pictures.
You'll notice that the first picture isn't
focused very well....that's because I was
trying to whip my camera out of my purse,
focus, snap a pic, and get it back in my purse...
all before the HUGE red flashing lights and
sirens started above his locker...screaming
"I'm so uncool, my mom's taking pictures"....
yep, we did it, but had to sacrifice focus.
I'll take it...atleast I have...something...to
document the day.

Walking thru the halls I couldn't help but
think about my own Jr. High and High School
years. They were mostly good times...some...
maybe even great!! I remember how independent
and strong I felt...like nothing could stop me...
THEN...the shear horror of what is to come set
in....smacked me in a head like a wrecking ball.

When I was that age NO ONE!! could tell me
what to do...or even suggest it! I was going to
do, what I was going to do, like it or not!!

WHAT in the HELL have I gotten myself into???

Not sure that I am ready to deal with teenage
drama, hormones, and god only knows what else...

This journey...this...is going to be tough.

I can only hope that it's tougher on Mom and Dad...
then on...the boy!

Things...

Just a few little random things from the week....so far.

HOT, hot, hot....it is hotter than snot this week...UGH, I hate to sweat!

Took the boys to see Transformers last night....I was expecting to like it, but I loved it...It was really, really good....of course with super hotty Josh Duhamel in it...how could it not be good!

Gonna go crop this weekend with some girlies...trying to preplan some layouts and get pics printed.

My hubby lost his wallet last nigt...again....(he usually looses it about once a year)...they found it at the theater....only after he cancelled everything in it...of course!!

I have no car to go anywhere today...hubby's car battery died yesterday...so...I've got no wheels at the moment...to hot to go anywhere anyway!!

I've got to go to WW tomorrow....but it's been to hot to get out and walk...hopefully the scale doesn't reflect THAT!!

Got the cutest stinkin' pair of shoes the other day for only 5 bucks...so stinkin cute in fact....that I may just have to post a pic of them later!!

Coffee...is my saving grace today....Just can't get movin'....except to the kitchen for a refill.

Need to fold some laundry today...don't want to, but don't like the mess of baskets laying around either....guess I'll get them folded.

Did I mention how bloody HOT it is!!! YUCK!!

That's probably enough randomness for the moment....But...if you read this and are up for a photo challenge...go to the WHY NOT link on the side of my page and join us for the challenge!!

When did this happen...

As you grow older, there are little signs along the way, that remind you that your youth is passing you by. Sometimes it is the one, mushed up cheek wrinkle that seems to stay on your face for an hour after you wake up. Or maybe its when you realize that the push-up bra you have is no longer an "OPTION" but is now a "NECESSITY"! What ever your signs are...they're right there...everyday, taunghting you with another year under your belt.

Well, this weekend a seemingly simple event REALLY made me feel my age. My hubby's friend was down from Chicago. He came over to the house on Saturday night. We all hung out, drank a bit, and generally just had a good time. We finally made it to bed about 3am. BUT...we were back up at 6:30am with Lily....UGH! Now...here is were the "old" comes in. Used to I could bounce back from a late night out like a champ. I am a night owl by nature, so staying up late and functioning the next day was never an issue for me. WHOA.....talk about reality check. It is now Monday morning and I still feel like I have a lack-o-sleep hangover!!! I spent yesterday forcing myself to walk around so that I wouldn't fall into a coma!! I seriously felt ill all day...just from a lack of sleep! When the hell did I turn into my grandma??? What's next for me....Dinner at 4pm, bed by 8pm, and moving to Arizona to become a snowbird!!! YIKES!

So this morning, while taking my coffee via an IV, I kissed my hubby goodbye as he shuffled out the door. I find myself sitting in my chair, listening to Matt and Meredith report on the news, checking e-mail and blog stalking some fav's. My butt is firmly planted in this chair with little to no hope of it moving for the majority of the day. Astornauts fly around the world from their seat, so today I am mothering my family from my seat...!! Like it or not!

Have a good one!

embracing womanhood...

So yesterday was suppose to run down like this....Fishing clinic with the boys at park, go to Jolene's to p/u new Basic Grey and Tim Holtz Ink container, lunch out with kids....then home.

Didn't happen that way...

I woke up and made the executive decision NOT to shower since we were fishing and since it was going to be 98 degrees out. Thought I would just wait until we got home. The morning hair was slicked back into a pony and didn't look all that bad. The legs....well....they were a good 2 days past needing to be shaved, but we were fishing....my kids weren't going to care. The clothes were a comfy pair of work-out shorts and a tank (that has seen better days) with the built in bra....cause I refused to wear a bra in this heat!! Out the door we went....

then my cell phone rings....it's my FIL saying that the clinic was cancelled!!! WHAT the heck! Now what are we going to do....and the drama from my oldest, who was SO looking forward to this, was at best....horrific!

So we went over to the in-laws anyway....My sister-in-law and her boys were down from Chicago for a visit, and they were going to fish too. So we decided to meet and make a game plan for the day.....ended up that THEY were going to take all the kids to the park...feed them lunch....AND take them to the pool in the afternoon....without ME!! woohoo...I suddenly found myself with a free afternoon and no kids!!

This is were the whole womanhood thing came into play...incase you wondered where I was going with all this....

Remember back to what I looked like and what I was wearing....yep....pretty much a big scum-bag....NICE! But that didn't stop me....I decided that I was going shopping for clothes...I am down 25 lbs so far and things are getting to big to get by with. So I get into the store and immediately see 5 racks of clearance stuff....a big WOOHOO!! Found a bunch of stuff that I loved and headed to the dressing room. Tried on some yes's and for sure no's! Then I found myself standing in front of the big 3 sided mirror in this cute little skirt and halter....admiring 1, how stinkin' cute the outfit was, and 2, that the size of my ass had significantly decreased!! I was in my own little heaven for a moment....until I looked a bit higher and caught my reflection looking back at me....YIKES...crazy hair, hairy legs, and altogether disheveledness....The lady working at the store probably thought I was a shoplifter. BUT THEN, I looked at the outfit again and realized that the bad hair and hairy legs didn't matter. I was posing and twirling around in this outfit like a kid...looking at some long lost curves and shape that I have been missing for a long time....and feeling fantastic about it....I was seeing the woman in that mirror that I had felt like for years, but that never seemed to be looking back at me!! It was a HUGE victory for me, and a reminder that the journey I'm on both physically and mentally are SO worth it. So my lesson for myself today is.....Embrace womanhood....the good, the bad, and the HAIRY....Today I felt the best I had in a long time...despite the need for shampoo and a good razor.

And....the best part....I got an entire outfit for $12!!! Man I love a good clearance rack!!