Cutest Pet

Bart has entered his parakeet, Berry, in WITN's Cutest Pet contest. They would sure appreciate your vote!!!!
http://witntv.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?contestid=47645&pagetype=VOTING&SubmissionID=15842855

Lulu's Two Cents

Lucy and I were having a disagreement over her clothing today (as usual). She didn't want to wear the shirt that came with a shirt-and-pants set her Papa & Nana With the Boo-Boo got her last Christmas. She was trying to convince me that Papa would want her to wear the shirt she picked out for herself (which did not really match). I told her she was a nutjob. She said, "Mom, look. You're a nutjob, and you always be a nutjob." When I started laughing, she said, "No, no. I serious."
Lucy has a pair of pink rain boots that her friend Alyse gave her. She LOVES them! She wore them all summer, even when it was 95 degrees out and humid. She wanted to wear them to church, to the playground, the beach - everywhere. I had to bribe her to wear sandals. So naturally, yesterday when it was raining out and chilly, Lucy refused to wear the rain boots and wanted to wear her Crocs instead. So I had to put my foot down and insist that she wear the darn rain boots. Most of my strife with Lucy comes from disagreements over clothing and shoe choices, and the denial of candy as a breakfast option.
Anyway....Drake and Blake had a preschool field trip to the firestation yesterday. I took Lulu along and she and Blake held hands a lot of the time. She and Blake say they're going to get married when they're bigger. Before Thanksgiving, Lucy told me she had to share lunch with Blake because they were getting married "tomorrow". When I exclaimed, "Tomorrow?" she recanted, "OK, ok. We get married next week."
Phew! That was close. I'd have never been able to pull off a wedding with a day's notice.

I was abducted by aliens....

I wish I had a good excuse for not writing for so long, but I don't really. I LOVE to write. But too many summer classes + work + kids + stress made me hate to do what I love best. It has taken me over a year to even sit down at a computer for more than a few grudging minutes. What can I say? I have never pretended to be anything other than a basket case. I haven't kept up with my email (sorry, everybody if I ignored your emails!), I haven't posted pictures of my kids, I haven't done any online research that I absolutely didn't have to- nothing. I didn't even download any music. I'm still not convinced I'm over my computer-phobia. If it weren't for my iphone was the only way I stayed connected at all.

So........

My reason for re-joining the written world is a good one. It's simple.

It's for you, Dad.

I want you to be able to read all about my crazy days and your sweet/obnoxious grandkids when we can't be there to see you in person. If we could, we'd be there every day. But I know we would drive you crazy, and you would never get any rest.

I'm a really terrible telephone conversationalist, and not much better in person. But I don't mind writing...when I'm not being neurotic about computers.

So, Dad, I'm doing this for you because I just don't know what else to do. When things get hard, I've always written.

I love you and I'll see you soon!

Earl is Gone

I think we got a big gust of wind at about 2am last night. At least I won't have to water my plants today.

Waiting for Earl

I don't know if we'll actually get any bad weather from Hurricane Earl or not, but I do know that I risked my life today in extremely dangerous conditions when I made a trip to Walmart for bread and milk.

I've decided no more hard classes until my kids are all in school and I can actually take classes on campus. I hate online classes. It's taken me two weeks to get through chapter one of my Medical Terminology class. Unfortunately I have the first four chapters due in about two days.

Drake has a girlfriend.

Her name is Cinderella. She wears a blue dress. She goes places with us in the car, eats dinner with us, and does not like naps.
Luckily, imaginary girlfriends don't get cranky when they skip their naps.
Haven't been successful in getting a picture of the two of them together yet, but I'm working on it.

Sooooo

I feel so weird. I haven't typed for my own enjoyment for months now. My summer online classes completely burned me out and made me hate computers. At one point I seriously did not even check my email for three weeks. If you think I'm kidding, you have no idea how much stress I was under.
But it was such a fun summer once I decided that I was in over my head and started dropping classes. I really hate that I put so much on myself, but at least I know where my priorities really are and that what I thought I wanted to go to school for, I really don't want to do.
So, yea to lessons learned the hard way.

Let's see....
Skylar is being homeschooled. She just finished placement testing on Monday and yesterday and today we worked on finishing up getting her records sent to Southeast Academy. SEA is an online private school out of VA which we chose to go with rather than trying to go the homeschool route on our own. We pay a small monthly tuition and SEA sets up the curriculum (of which Sky gets to choose several electives) based on her test scores and past school transcript, grades the work (written and online), provides support, keeps the grades, provides the standardized testing and report cards, and a bunch of other stuff I'm leaving out. I'm hoping it will turn out to be a great choice. We just wanted Sky to have the organization and structure of a ready-made curriculum (not reliant upon her parents' poor planning skills), but still have freedom to go as fast or slow as she needs to, focusing on the things she needs or wants to work on. I want to be able to personalize her education to meet her needs, not the needs of public school.
Skylar plans on taking core subjects, as well as Spanish and (maybe next year) French. For her enrichment studies, there are lots of options. The art teacher at her former elementary school offered her the opportunity to come in and work on advanced projects as well as help with the younger art classes. She's getting plenty of PE in her dance classes. She's taking Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, and Pointe. The only other activity I'd like her to have on a regular basis is music. George could definitely help her out there, but we don't have any instruments in the house presently except for our keyboard. Sky said she'd like to take piano lessons, but we are already spending a small fortune on her dance classes. I dropped $150 in one day last week buying her pointe shoes, lyrical shoes, and a leotard. There is no way we can do piano lessons, too. Besides, I'm trying really hard to keep things as simple as possible (yeah right).
Bart and Drake and I are doing karate together. Drake is so cute! He actually does pretty well paying attention in class.
And Lucy, my "Miss Tippytoes", just had a birthday and is now actually two years old. Lucy dances around the house on tiptoe, just like her big sister, so she acquired the nickname "Miss Tippytoes". Even Drake calls her Miss Tippytoes. It's very cute.
Oh, and I don't know if I mentioned it, but since spring we have acquired a dog, two parakeets, and a cockatiel. I'm still not entirely sure how all this came about, but I will tell you it's kind of crazy but cool. The cockatiel is my bird, my early birthday present from George and the kids, and I named him Picasso. He likes to sit on my shoulder or hop down while I'm studying to nibble holes in the pages of my $200 text books. I don't mind at all - I think it's hilarious since the bookstore will only give me $10 for the things anyway, no matter how good the condition is. At least someone is getting some enjoyment from them.

Eat More Chicken

If you feel like hunting and catching your lunch:

http://conta.cc/a2mN3k

A couple of things

Sometimes you just get a reminder that you need to step back, look around, and remember what's important. After a bad scare with Bart last week, a visit to my psych, one really bad dream involving a drawbridge and being in too big of a hurry, and some tears of sympathy for a couple of friends who have recently lost loved ones, this is what I have determined:

What's really important to me:

#1) My kids - no explanation necessary

#2) My husband - since we're stuck with each other for a reallllllllllly long time, we'd better work on our compatibility issues

#3) The people who raised me, changed my diapers, loved me despite knowing me during my "big-hair" phase, or otherwise had to put up with me + hormones (parents, grandparents, siblings)

#4) Church and friends - they are the people who are really there for you & love you, after your family, of course, but you're not obligated to see them on holidays, special occasions, or buy them gifts

#5) Love - (this one needs some explaining since I've learned it can be translated two completely different ways, depending on whether you speak Female or Male. I do not speak Male, so I have learned by trial and error that Love can also mean Sex in that language. In Female, it almost NEVER means Sex, but usually always means a nice dinner, a movie, cuddling, an evening walk, holding hands, complimentary words, and even a new pair of shoes if you play your cards right---------- but this actually is probably the most important thing I have learned so far----------- Love means compromise whatever the language, so you have to be willing to do stuff you don't want to do when you REALLY don't feel like it because you love the other person)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#6) Possibly the dog - the jury's still out on that one, he peed on the laundry hamper today but he does this cute thing where he stands on his back legs and gives "high five"

#7) Sanity - it doesn't matter if I get everything done anyway if I get myself committed since the house will just be trashed again by the time they let me out, which leads to:

#8) Simplicity - if I'm not doing #'s 1-4 (and possibly #5) well, then it's time to cut back on the things that don't matter a hill of beans at the end of the day (this basically includes blogging, So You Think You Can Dance, keeping my toenails painted, and - luckily for me - vacuuming more than once a week). I am also using this one as an excuse for bombing my Precalc class this summer.

I'm not wise or anything, but after being with the same person for almost 14 years and raising a kid or four, you begin to notice certain patterns. Plus I just spent three hours in front of this computer doing Anatomy and Physiology homework and am pretty sure this is all a dream anyway!!!!!!!

It Figures

Wouldn't you know it? I decide to grow my hair out a little so that I can put it up in a ponytail on those days when I don't have time to blow dry and flat iron. And of course, my hubby tells me he prefers my hair chin-length like I got it cut last summer.

And this is after almost fourteen years of telling me that he likes my hair long. I've had it cut chin-length on several occasions before. Did he not notice? Did he black out for several years between 1997 and 2005? I just don't know. Is it because we're getting older? Does getting older mean you have to start liking short hair?

I've always liked a cute/sexy bob, but George has never been one for short hair on women.
I'm totally rambling, but I'm practically falling asleep at the keyboard after three hours of wading through quadratic equations and linear functions. Nothing makes sense. If my life were a function, it would be f(x)=-1. Constant, flat, unchanging!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brain is mush. I hate parabolas. Math is not a language I'm fluent in.

Guess where I went?

Yep. The hospital. Well, actually the Express Care, but it's attached to the hospital. Close enough.
That makes the third time I have been there in less than four months. This time, thankfully, it wasn't for Lulu.
I got bitten by a fire ant on my foot this afternoon, not a big deal. We get fire ant bites all the time. They hurt and itch like heck, but you put Benadryl spray on them and they're gone in a couple of days. This time, two of my toes and the top of my foot swelled up and over the neck half hour or so, I developed horrible itching and hives everywhere. It was so bad, even my scalp and the inside of my ears and my earlobes itched like the devil. My eyelids itched. It was gross. I didn't want to wear clothes because wherever my clothes touched, it was torture.
We had earlier gone to Skylar's non-dress dress rehearsal for her recital, and were headed home to get her ready for her very first school dance. (I don't know if she was excited about it, but I sure was). I was so looking forward to the whole thing - the getting her ready, helping her do her hair and paint her toenails, and giggling on the way over. I had bought her this really cute shirt to wear, and banana yellow nail polish.
I WAS NOT going to miss this, even if I swelled up like a balloon!!!!
It was close. By the time we got to the school, I was miserable. I couldn't stop itching for a minute, and the cafeteria where they held the dance was so hot, it was awful. My skin was so red and itchy and you could feel the heat coming off it. Hannah's mom offered to take Sky home for me if I wanted to go to the Urgent Care. At first, I refused to even think about leaving, but as the itching started to spread up my neck and face, I decided to take her up on her offer.
My Express Care experience was not too bad. I didn't even sit down in the waiting room, but was called right into Triage and given a room. While waiting, I got to watch some of Toy Story and The Incredibles on the Family Channel. In between the kids' movies were commercials for the Family Channel's "runaway hit" (their words, not mine), The Secret Life of the American Teenager. In the one commercial alone, the high school kids mentioned two different couples having sex and confronted a teen girl about a pregnancy. It's disgusting. The only thing more disgusting than the dialogue and plot is the acting. Shame on you, Molly Ringwald, for being a part of that!!!!
But I digress.
When the doctor came in, he said right off that I had had a bad allergic reaction to the insect bite. Luckily, it hadn't affected my breathing. He said that the swelling and itching wouldn't have just gone away by itself, that it likely would've lasted several days. I got a shot and some prednisone and they kept me for a couple of hours until they were sure that the swelling had gone down. I felt much better. I was no longer burning hot and itchy, just tired.
Once the swelling went down, my toe started to HURT!!!!!! And I was starving. Pizza Hut commercials kept coming on to remind me I had not eaten breakfast and had eaten very little lunch and even less dinner. (I had grabbed a couple of pieces of turkey bacon on the way out the door to take Sky to her dance).
Now I'm just whiny because I want pizza and even the back side of my ears hurt. Also, I hate fire ants, and I missed out on Skylar's first school dance. Oh, and I'm mad at George because when I texted him that I was starving and wanted pizza, he texted back "Sorry" and made me make my own canned cream of mushroom soup when I got home. And all of this after I didn't even flinch at helping him keep his junk iced with bags of frozen peas after his vasectomy!

MIA

I feel like I've dropped off the face of the earth. Honestly, the last two months have been so full. My brain feels like if it has to absorb one more piece of information, it will explode. Kind of like that Spongebob episode where Squidward turns the Krusty Krab into a fancy restaurant to impress his rival from high school and Spongebob becomes super-waiter. He knows everything there is to know about fine dining, but when he's asked what his name is, his brain malfunctions and he goes berserk.
Yep. That's pretty much me.
Let's see....for some bizarre masochistic reason I decided I would enjoy taking four (yes, four) classes this summer. That's in addition to working and trying to be slightly involved in my kids' lives and do my church calling, too. What was I thinking????!!!! Especially when one of those classes is Precalculus. I have literally been up until two and three a.m every night for the past week trying to complete homework and tests.
The good news is that I feel like I finally know what I want to go to school for, what would make me happy.
The ironic news: had I realized this just a few weeks sooner, I wouldn't be struggling to pass Precalc. I wouldn't even have needed to take it!
So bear with me while I ramble and post some really adorable pictures of some really cute kids.
It's nice to be back.

Spring Break

Wow! Where did Spring Break go? We had a ton of fun. George and the Big Two slept out in the backyard in a tent. The Big Two spent the night with Leslie-Grace and Mack. Sky went to the beach with a friend. We played at the park with Vanessa and the kids. Sky had a friend sleep over and they painted George's toenails pink. We colored Easter eggs and spent Easter with Mindy, Kevin, and the kids. Mindy & I took the kids to see "How to Train Your Dragon" in Kinston, which was a great movie & Lucy kept jamming little greasy handfuls of popcorn into my mouth. George and I caught up on DVR'ed episodes of "Chuck".
Thursday was really nice because after George got home from work, we went to Lowe's to look at flowers and things. Mom had given us a flat of really nice pepper plants which we planted and we also got some herbs and flowers. It was just so nice outside that we spent the rest of the evening after dinner in the front yard. We planted and watered and got dirty. Lucy discovered that the watering can was full of water and she bathed the front flagstones. Then she discovered that it was fun to splash in the little stream she created. Drake joined her and both of them splashed until they were very dirty. George carried the Little Two up to get a bath while the rest of us cleaned up the front porch. A cold wind blew up along with stormclouds, so we hurried up and went inside. George put Lucy to bed and Sky and I helped Drake plant watermelon seeds in this little Cookie Monster greenhouse George bought him. We thought Bart had gone in to watch TV with George, but by and by we heard a little tapping on the door. So half an hour after we came inside, Bart shows up at the front door, shivering. I had accidentally locked him out! I felt pretty bad, but he looked so forlorn and cute with his hair standing on end like a little hedgehog.
So it was back to work and school today, but the warm weather and the longer days keep reminding us it'll soon be summer break!!!!

Battle at Twilight

Last night, there was an epic battle with glowsticks for mastery of the front porch.

It was too close to call.

Lucy knows how to do "Ring Around the Rosies"!
It's so cute! At first I had no idea why she was toddling around and around in a circle on the kitchen floor and then plopping down only to get back up and do it again.
Then I realized she was trying to sing and I thought I could make out something like "ashes ashes we all fall down" just before she plopped her little diapered butt down on the floor with a big grin at me.
So once I caught on, I started singing too and we played Ring Around the Rosies for probably fifteen minutes without stopping. After we had "all fall down"ed, Lucy would bend her head toward me, catch my eye, and say "Gin?" And we'd get up and do it all over again, laughing wildly.
I love how kids can run with no apparent motive or direction, back and forth across the house, laughing and squealing like it's the funniest thing ever. I love how they can eat a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast every morning for a year and not get tired of it.
If I could just put the rest of life on pause and get reality off my back, I think I could literally spend the entire day doing nothing but playing with my kids and be the happiest person on the planet.

Skylar's glasses

My little Skylar - not only has she had the "my changing body" class at school, but she also just got glasses.

She's so grown up I could just cry.

George sent me this picture of her trying on glasses when they went to the eye doctor.

I used to tell Sky every other day or so, "All right, this is it and I mean it. No more growing up. You are not allowed to get any bigger."

Of course, she didn't listen to me.

Easter Egg Hunt

Pictures from the church Easter Egg Hunt last Saturday.

I took about a zillion pics of Lucy. This year she's old enough to realize that there is candy (or "na-na" as she calls it) inside the eggs.

Here are my handsome boys. They were a little disappointed that they only found a few eggs each. I was very happy about it, though.

I don't know why I didn't get any pictures of Sky at the Egg Hunt. I guess she was just too fast.

The Young Women's broadcast tonight was excellent. They're always good, but this one was especially moving for me. I definitely wish I had taken Skylar with me. She'd have loved the talks, too. It's hard to believe it's her last year in primary.