Oh What a Difference a Day Makes!

Disclaimer: The blog entry you are about to read can (and should) be considered a mother's ranting, venting account of the past two days.

Alright, Thursday morning the stars were aligned and I had one of the most productive mornings that I've had in a while. I jumped on the treadmill before the kids got up, I attended a short meeting at school, went to the library and picked up my book club's next book, went to Hobby Lobby and got some paint for the Pinewood derby cars the girls are building with Jeff, went to Costco (and while shopping got my tires rotated), went to Target and Harvest Health to return a couple of things, and headed home to eat lunch by myself. (Cue the Hallelujah Chorus!) This all was accomplished in about two and a half hours. I have to admit, I was feeling a little bit super-mommy-ish. I knew pride would get me again.

Then came this morning, rearing her ugly, snow-covered head. Zach came in bed with us (again) and took about an hour and half to fall back asleep. He decided to fall back asleep right at the exact minute that my alarm was going off. NICE. I got up and decided to make the girls a plain bagel with cream cheese (Paige's favorite.) They both were dinking around during breakfast and I told them to get eating to which Paige responded with, "These don't taste like Panera bagels." Oh, bite me. Then we go to get dressed I remember that since it's a leap year this year, Zoey's very clever teacher told the class to wear green so they could leap like frogs today. Cute. Where the $%^& is a green shirt? I look in the closet and pull out one that she has outgrown. Yeah --- that's not making the cut for Miss Princess. After many tears, one look at the clock, which now says the bus is coming in 4 minutes, we pull one out of her sister's drawer. She then informs me that she doesn't need me to make her lunch because she is having a pizza party at her school today. (Did I mention she watched me make her lunch this morning?)

The pre-bus morning activities ended with Zoey sprinting to the bus in tears and me asking Paige why she is so nice at school and not at home. Way to go Super-Mom!

You know you're on vacation with kids when ...

• You ride in the lazy river when it's only 65 degrees outside.
• You meet your hubby to "talk" in the hotel bathroom.
• You watch your kids chase bunnies across the resort and laugh.
• You give one of your children a lice treatment with the hotel shower cap and mayo.
• You have to tell them to stop watching Sponge Bob for a few minutes so they can get out of the car because you've finally arrived at the Grand Canyon. (And they respond loudly, "NOOOOOOOOOO!")
• You watch your kids go to the dessert table ten times and you decide they are a great cover for you and your sweet tooth.
• You see their eyes light up over God's creation or hear them giggle together in the car. God bless 'em ...

One more thing. O.K., more than one.

Alright, it's after lunch. I am still in my bathrobe doing laundry and avoiding packing for our trip and I thought I would give you the highlights of our week & Valentine's Day. (I knew you needed one more post to get you through the week without me! Yeah, right.) :)

• My husband gave me a lovely note to wake up to that said I was beautiful and thanked me for everything I do. Then I got to thinking, does he love me just because I do everything around here? So, I asked him why he didn't just write I love everything about you. His response? "Trust me honey. I didn't give it that much thought when I wrote it at 6 a.m." 'Nough said. ;)


• The kiddos I put on the bus every day got me yellow tulips. Love flowers. Love yellow. Way to go C & C!


• I put 12 love notes (4 per kid) inside of balloons and then blew them up and my kids popped them to see why mom and dad love them so much. (Thanks to Hip Moms for the idea.)


• Went to the Casting Crowns concert last night. Very good. They're not DCB (David Crowder Band) but they did rock!

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day. Love ya. (Well, some of you I love and some of you quite honestly, I barely know.)

Does this post make me look fat?

Alright. If Eve was asking this back in the Garden of Eden then it makes sense that I'd ask, "Does this bathing suit that I'm trying on in the dead of winter make me look fat." ;) We leave for Arizona in a few days and while I'm thrilled to be getting the rock out of snowy Michigan, I'm less than thrilled that I will be wearing a bathing suit, with no tan, and with a few extra pounds on me! I know. I should quit my whining & have fun on vacation. Cya bloggers.

Beautiful or Ugly?

Quick opinion poll: Do you find these pics from around our neighborhood

to be beautiful ... or just plain ugly?

Confessions of a SAHM (Stay-At-Home-Mom)

This is my second or third posting with this title. I must have a lot to confess.

• If I get dinner made before my husband gets home, I think I deserve The Mother of the Year Award or at least some kind of medal. (I'm not joking. He's the grocery shopper and meal planner.)
• I bake homemade cookies because I like to eat the dough. The kids and hubby think I do it because I love them so much.
• I unbutton the top button on my jeans while sitting at the computer. (See above confession to know why. Cookie dough = doughy belly.)
• I think my son is one of the most lovable kids in the world. And so do all the ladies at church who he walks up to and hugs randomly.
• My kids let me sleep in. My neighbor Patti woke me up today by calling to see if I wanted to go sledding with her and another neighbor (at 8:45 A.M. --- NUTSO LADIES) and I told her I'd have to decline since I was still in bed.
• I threw down my Wii remote and stomped upstairs after my husband beat me in every game we played last night. Seriously, darn boys and their video game prowess piss me off. (another quick confession: I'm a bit competetive.)
• I found the four most romantic words I could ever say to my husband, "I like to shovel." (That really got him going!!)
• I'm still pumping my fists while I'm running on the treadmill. ;)

Dear God

Smallest snowmen in Michigan.

Please stop the snow machine and if it does snow again this winter, could it come during the day so the buses can still run in the morning? Thanks.



And God, thanks for having someone invent the Wii.



And thanks for the "Holy Spearmint" (Spirit) as Zach likes to call it.