Home again home again...

Once agin I am in one picture...was I really there. I am busy unpacking. I have so much to write about so, I will write again tomorrow. suspense!!!!

Beach

Well we made it in 6 1/2 hours to the beach. On the way we forgot to get gas, there is a stretch of 80 miles with no gas stations. We traveled with no AC the last few miles in 98 degree heat because we were terrified that we would run out of gas. We were sweating, I was on the verge of panic, but we coasted in on fumes to the gas station. Jeff got an earful!!!

Ella is terrified of the beach, she keeps thinking the waves are coming to get her. Claire loves it. So my vision of the girls playing together in the sand is blown. Today is our 6th anniversary, and Claire treated us with a 5:30 am wake up call. We are all sleeping in the same room until my brother flies home this evening.

WE are having fun for the most part, but it is so much work. Ella has decided that she does not like fish, but as long as we call it chicken she will eat it. Gotta go...someone has pooped.

Sally Sells Seashells by the sea shore

I have lost my mind. It is 3:30 in the morning, I went to bed at one and now can't sleep worrying that I have forgotten to pack things. We are leaving for a 7 day trip to the beach in a few hours. I keep checking and rechecking my lists. My hubby is so nonchalant about it all, "if we forget anything, its not like we can't just buy it down there." Very true, I wish I wasn't so darn anal. I can't embrace that philosophy.

We borrowed a portable DVD player from a friend to keep the girls occupied for the 6 1/2 hour journey. My hubby is irritated with that idea, since we as children were "forced" to enjoy the scenery and talk to each other. True, but I don't think he is aware of the non stop talking of a 2 1/2 year old and the whining of a 15 month old. Personally for 6 1/2 hours I would rather hear Elmo!!

I will still post at the beach, but will have to wait until we get home to update with pictures. I'm sure that we will have plenty of stories!

Free Swim

Yesterday it was a boiling 93 degrees. Ella wanted to go to the pool, but frankly I can't do two toddlers at the pool. Claire has no fear, and is too skinny to wear one of the little swim vests that I have. So, into the baby pool on the porch they go. I have been trying to pack for the beach their swim suits are packed away. The girls just went "free". They loved it. After swimming, I herded them into the house. I had not gotten their diapers on yet. I turned my head once, and discovered in a matter of 3 minutes both girls had accidents on the carpet. No good deed goes un punished!

I am working on grooming my brows this afternoon. I don't get it, I pluck one day the next I have unibrow. I am not of the hairy variety but eyebrow hairs spring up over night. Note to self however; do not drink wine while plucking.

What is that smell?

OK, am I the only one that this has happened to? Today I took Claire to Gymboree and I was lifting her up and caught a whiff of something... I couldn't put my finger on the scent. The scent seemed to appear whenever I lifted her up. I KNOW that I put deodorant on. I don't get it, the last few days I have been sniffing myself. I don't have serious BO or anything, but I do not smell fresh as a daisy. I think that my deodorant has stopped working. Seriously! So, today I dragged Claire to Target to buy a new brand. So far so good, we went for a walk in the 93 degree heat and no suspicious oder was lurking.

I have started packing for our week long trip to the beach. More to follow. Question? Is it bad if I just tell Ella she can tinkle in the ocean. I really don't want to have to attempt to get her up the beach in the elevator and to the room in time.

30 year old MOM's love NKOTB

Yes...that was one of the posters that a was held up during the NKOTB concert on the Today show. I couldn't help but giggle...that is so me! Joe, Jon, Jordan, Danny and Donnie sang some songs from the past and performed some moves that were so 1987. It was great. They have aged very well, their hair was neatly combed (no more mullets or rat tails), they donned black suits and white tennis shoes. Not too sure about the shoes, ruined the look in my opinion. The question that you are all wondering...so were they good? This was LIVE on the today show, I repeat live. It is my feeling that in the late 80's things were dubbed for a reason. They stunk pretty bad, but they looked good all except for the "dancers". What the???? Teeny tiny biker shorts and white teeny tiny bras. Nasty, not classy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-ntnChcHys

The cheesy music and choreographed dance brought me back to a time when:
* I couldn't wait to get my period * I teased my hair and only used salon selectives * Bonnie Bell lip gloss was slathered on my lips * I couldn't wait for my first kiss* my folders were coved in ink proclaiming my love for Joey Joe from NKOTB and Jordan* The sent of Drakkar and Polo cologne permeated the halls of the JR high

I actually went to two NKOTB concerts back in the day. One of which we thought that we smelled marijuana. It was probably someone reeking of too much cologne. I can remember screaming in "lust??" as Donnie gyrated on a speaker box in ripped blue jeans and Oh my gosh...they ripped exposing just a bit of his boxer shorts. Who would have thought back then I would be picking up my husbands boxers off the floor and not feel the lest bit of excitement at seeing mens underwear!

Shoot...I mean Shot

We have been busy the past few days. Jeff is working on a big project and I can't sneak into the office to use the computer. My laptop died last summer and well...it has been on the bottom of the priority list. The deal was I was suppose to rent out our castle moonwalk for extra cash. we have not had many takers. True, I have not been aggressively advertising, I really wanted it to be a word of mouth kind of thing. I think I need to step it up this summer and make some cash, because I NEED a computer!

Claire had her 15 month check up on Monday, a healthy skinny little thing she is. 10% in weight, much different than her over achieving sister. She got three shots, after her nap she was running a fever and very irritable. This was expected, but when the fever did not go away by Wed. afternoon, it was time to take her in. She had a raging ear infection. I am so sick of the doctor. Speaking of which, for her 15 month check we were stuck in that little room for 60 minutes. Trying to entertain Claire in that small space was enough to make me lose my mind. "Claire, please get away from the bio hazard box...it is not a toy."

Trojan Girl

me

Claire must be trying to tell us something. When she gets too quiet we know that she has been digging through Daddy's drawer. She has apparently taken it on herself to remind us that she does not want another sibling!

Potty Talk

I have been suffering from a bout of food poisoning, it hit me yesterday morning at 4:00 am. It was nasty. I kept having to scrub down the toilet, it was flowing out both ends. Too much info. Anyway, today I ate three crackers and drank a ton of water.

I worked today for the Texas Teaching Fellows and did not want to risk making a run for the potty esp. in a middle school student bathroom, so I opted to avoid food altogether. I survived, but felt like crap. Jeff did a great job with the girls and even picked up the house. Total Bonus points for him...could it be Mother's Day is tomorrow?

Just curious am I the only freak that after getting any kind of stomach illness that jumps on the scale just to see. Don't worry I am not turning into Karen Carpenter, but I have a this morbid curiosity about the whole thing. After over 24 hours in the bathroom...

On a positive note, Ella went poop on the big potty, so she could not make out any hidden pictures. I was thrilled because I HATE cleaning out the little potty. To buy her panties or not to buy her panties, that is the question...

Naked

At what age do we go from being carefree in our nakedness to being mortified by it? My girls run around thrilled to be free from clothes or diapers. When was that slumber party that you learned how to take off your bra under your shirt and whip it through the arm hole? It must be the end of elementary school or the beginning of middle school.

Remove my clothes in public and remove my brain. The few massages that I have had I find myself stumbling over to the table, fighting with the the towel coverage. I went to the gym today and went to the eucalyptus steam room. I fought with my towel the entire time, tripped while making my way to the shower. Once my husband questioned me about the nakedness in the locker room. I had to explain that as Seinfeld observed, there is good naked and bad naked. I don't care who you are but anyone crouched over rummaging through their gym bag looking for their panties qualifies as bad naked.

For those of you not familiar with the Seinfeld episode:

"So she coughed."

"Coughing? Naked? It's a turn-off, man."

"Everything goes with naked."

"When you cough there are thousands of unseen muscles that suddenly spring into action. It's like watching that fat guy catch a cannonball in his stomach in slow motion."

"You spoiled spoiled man. You know how much mental energy I expend just trying to picture women naked?"

"But the thing you don't realize is that there's good naked and bad naked. Naked hair brushing - good. Naked crouching - bad."

Hook em'

In my past career I was a gifted and talented teacher. One of my duties was to assess potential gifted students for placement in the program. I have always had several parents ask me how to tell if their child was in fact gifted. Now that I am a parent myself, I can see how we as parents desperately want our child to be unique.

Ella's teacher in school seems to think that her scribbles show some real talent. Yesterday, she surprised me with her creative artistic ability. We are in the throws of potty training and the past two weeks we have been batting 1000 in the poop department. (is there anyone else that HATES cleaning up the little potty after a poop, GROSS) Ella was stitting on her potty and I was in the other room folding laundry. She ran in so excited screaming" Go Texas, Longhorn Mommy!!" over and over again. What the??? I followed her cute little naked tushie to the potty and she pointed at the turd. It was shaped like a longhorn...seriously I am not kdding. I should have taken a picture. Gotta go... Ella is working on her next masterpiece...

Back to Life Back to reality

I'm back from my girls weekend. 10 women, 2 bathrooms, booze, and no drama. It was a blast! I did manage to drink a little more than I should have and make a ass of myself, but I don't think anyone really minded. If they did they can just talk about me later, although we did make a pact...what happened at the beach stays at the beach.

Jeff did a great job with the kiddos. Poor guy had food poisoning and still manged to have vacuumed the house by the time I got home. The girls and Jeff survived, the only injury was a black eye.

Got this from a friend sad to say it but we actually did say a few of these things on our trip.
25 ways to tell you are getting older:

1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can't smoke any of
them.

2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.

3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.

4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.

5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.

6 You watch the Weather Channel.

7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of "hook up" and
"break up."

8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.

9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."

10. You're the one calling the police because those %&@# kids
next door won't turn down the stereo.

11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.

12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.

13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.

14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald 's leftovers.

15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.

16. You take naps.

17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.

18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.

19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not
condoms and pregnancy tests.

20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good sh*t."

21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.

22. "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."

23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.

24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.

25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them
instead of asking "Oh sh*t, what the hell happened?"

Bonus:

26: You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign
that doesn't apply to you and can't find one to save your sorry old butt;

Outta Here

Tomorrow afternoon I leave for a girls only weekend at the beach. 10 mommies, no babies, no hubbies, no responsibilities...HEAVEN! This is a part of my Mother's Day gift. My hubby has learned through trial and error just how important mother's day is. My first Mother's day I was expecting something great. They have been advertising jewelery on TV for goodness sake. After trying to get pregnant for two and a half years and finally getting Ella, I assumed that it would be a special day. We all know what assume really means.

Ladies who will be celebrating you first Mother's day, make sure you let your expectations be known. I was so disappointed on my first, my hubby's response was..."well your not MY Mother." He honestly had no clue. In truth, he is usually the BEST gift giver. He has surprised me with trips, girls weekends, I am really lucky.

I need to get back to packing for my weekend.

BTW did you know that self tanning lotions have an expiration date. Who knew? I was trying to use up my bottle from last year, just call me Ms. Streaky. Tonight I will tempt to weed whack my legs and get some other maintenance taken care of, its a jungle out there!