I'm Baaaaaaaaaack!!!

Nothing like waiting almost SIX MONTHS, huh?

So much for my "posting every day of summer vacation". I think that lasted to Day 10 or something ridiculous!

I hope you're not expecting some amazingly exciting reason for my absence. Because, really, I've just been lazy. period.

Let's see...what's been happening since June...
Well, Brett turned 14 in July, Jeff is now 43, we've now been married for 18 years and I'm 41.
I took a job in July and I'm still there. I know. Believe it or not. It was a funny story. I get a call around 2:00 from this guy asking me if I'm still interested in a job I applied for back in March. I said "Sure, I'll come in and interview" and he asked "How about today?" So, I hurried up and put on some nice duds, ran down to the place and started work the next day. Meant to be, I believe. I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY ADORE MY JOB!! Even I cannot believe it. I'm the executive secretary, administrative assistant, human resources, business office manager for an assisted living community here. I am in absolute LOVE with every one of our residents. I am blessed to work with the staff and I would be shattered ever to leave. It's only part-time 20 hours a week, which is perfect with the kids' schedules and it gives me some "Mom time" still. I honestly can't say enough good things about where I am and what I'm doing. I am completely fulfilled everyday. And, believe me, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop--but it hasn't yet ;)

Lili is in 3rd grade, Brett's in 8th. Yes, my little man will be in HIGH SCHOOL next year. AAHH! And Lili only has 2 more years in elementary school! My goodness, I never thought time could go so quickly. Amazing.

We're geared up for Christmas this year. All decorated and a lot of shopping done, so we're trying to relax and enjoy it all and watch lots of movies. We already watched "Elf" over Thanksgiving. I look forward to that movie every year! It's so cute!!

Lili's at her grandma's and Jeff and Brett went to a college hockey game, so Mama and the dogs (and cat) are snuggling in for the evening. Mama's exhausted from her 1/2 off Goodwill shopping today! The bargains I found--outstanding!! :)

I will TRY to keep this updated more frequently than I have been. I'll post some pictures too. Promise!

Back in the Saddle

We just returned from Florida a few hours ago.
We had a magical Mousketeer time.
Took 632 pictures.
Will post them all soon....just kidding :)
Off to bed.
'nite.

Day 17: Good, Clean Fun

The kids and I cleaned the house today. I should actually say the kids cleaned the house today. Yep, believe it or not, all I cleaned was the guest bath and the master bath and they did the entire rest of the house. Lili cleaned the kids' toilet and shower and Brett cleaned the rest of the bathroom. Brett vacuumed the whole upstairs, Lili mopped the downstairs, Brett took out the garbage, Lili dusted. They were actually asking what they could do next. AMAZING!! I guess kids can do more than we expect them to. Huh.

We had a nice steak dinner with Meemaw and Peepaw who then took the kids to their skating lessons.

Productive day :)

Day 16: What, is it April?

Wednesday was rainy, windy and chilly, around 65 degrees. Blech. It seems that we can't go more than 12 hours without rain and as soon as it gets up to normal temps, they fall a good 20 degrees the next few days. By the way, the lawn looks amazing.

We pretty much spent the day close to home. I watched a couple of good old movies, "Born to be Bad" (Cary Grant--yum!), "The Secret Six" (Jean Harlow--sexy!) and then the family watched "Furry Vengeance" in the evening. It was a cute movie. Not ONE single curse word or entendre. Amazing, isn't it? A good family movie.

Gearing up for our trip. So, so sad to leave the dogs and kitty behind, but they'll be in good hands with Jeff's mom. I hope :(

Day 14: MORE Shopping!!

I can't believe summer vacation is 2 weeks old already! It really has flown by. We're just so busy (usually doing nothing) all the time. Not enough hours in the day.
Tuesday the kids and I headed out shopping. Again. We had some stuff to return, some other stuff to pick up. After Jeff got home, he and I headed out shopping. Again. Kidless, this time.
To be fair, we are getting some things together for an upcoming vacation.

WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

This will be the first time for the kids. Jeff was there over 30 years ago, I was there 24 years ago. We're going with my parents, too. Built-in babysitters for the nights!! (just kidding. no I'm not!!) We wanted to go while Lili's still enchanted with the princesses and while Brett's young enough to appreciate everything magical, yet while they're both old enough to remember it. Who am I kidding? Who doesn't love Disney World? Jeff and I are just as excited as the kids.
We have an itinerary all mapped out, a couple of 'unofficial behind the scenes' books, and SIX matching T-shirts. Yes, we'll be those people.
Can't wait :)

Day 13: A little bit of shopping

Dummy and Dummier

Meemaw and Peepaw came over Monday to take the kids to their skating lessons. They came in a little early and took us shopping. The kids (and I) got some bathing suits. Old Navy had all their suits for $10!! I just couldn't resist. I now have 3 new suits for this summer. Brett has 2 and Lili has 1 plus the dozen or so from last year. Jeff, of course, has the same one from about 3 years ago :)

Day 12: More of the same

Sunday was another day spent at the pool house. We went to church (HI CBC!!) then came home and laid out in the sun, which actually was out for the entire day, believe it or not. The kids swam again and the rest of us cleaned up the patio and did some furniture painting. And that's about it. It was nice to get a little tan and get some much needed work done. We headed home in the evening where the dogs completely crashed. It's so cute to see Rocco Mr. Ball of Unending Energy laid out on the bed oblivious to any noise or action. It's like when your kids finally go to sleep and you appreciate them all over again!

Day 11: Pool!

Brett MADE me take a picture of this bug. It really was kind of neat. The picture doesn't do it justice. I was metallic silver and huge. I've never seen anything like it. It was like Manga bug or something.

Our pool is FINALLY FINISHED!! I love the new liner. I really like the darker blue with the speckles. When the sun hits it, it looks so nice and tropical. The water temp was actually 80. We couldn't believe it was that warm. We're used to opening the pool when the water's 60, nice suprise!

The kids could not wait to go in. They jumped right in and started like fish. It was amazing to see how much Lili's grown over the past year. Last year it was almost to her chin and this year she's just gigantic looking! No more swim vest in the shallow end!! Yay!

I think Brett and Lili spent more time underwater than above it. Lili can do a pretty amazing summersault and front and back flip. She can stay under forever . So much so that we're always a little worried she's never going to come up. She takes the 'Little Mermaid' thing veeeerrrryyy seriously!

Day 10: Ehhh....

Did a lot of nothing today. Kinda just packed for the weekend and laid around...again. The kids didn't get dressed again till around noon, which isn't so bad considering they haven't been gettting up till about 9. I think we're getting into a habit. I ran to McDonald's for lunch (eaten in their pajamas) and then made sure to TiVO about 36 hours of movies since we got HBO, Showtime and Cinemax free for 3 days. I now have 19% memory on my DVR :)

We decided to go to the pool house Saturday morning instead of Friday evening, so we were able to watch a couple of movies that night. 'Jaws' and 'Clash of the Titans'. 'Jaws', in honor of the pool being ready and in anticipation of swimming and 'Clash of the Titans' because it was a good ol' butt kicker of a movie. Does anyone else root for the shark in 'Jaws'?

So, Day 10 is in the books.

Oh, do you like my haircut? I've been wanting to go shorter and I think I finally found a place that can do it right. whew.

Day 9: Mom-cation!

Not a lot of mommy time today. The kids stayed at our house with Peepaw while Meemaw and I went shopping. I never, NEVER go to the mall. Too many people, too many crying screaming kids, too much overpriced stuff. But, it was nice to go there since I haven't been there since last fall sometime. My favorite part is the food court and the Chick-Fil-A is always yummy. Meemaw and I got LOTS of summer togs for the kids. They've both had a big growth spurt this year, so it was lots of new shorts, shirts and shoes. I can't believe how much fun it is to shop for the kids. How unselfish of me :)

After Jeff got home from work, we all went to the newest Chinese Buffet. Always a crowd pleaser. Lili always always gets Lo Mein noodles, harboiled eggs, green beans and corn. Brett always always gets pizza, hardboiled eggs and bacon wrapped lobster bites. It's super yummy for everyone! Later that evening, Mee and Pee took the kids to their skating lessons and Jeff went to a Men's Club Meeting at church, so mommy had the house all to herself again for 1 1/2 hours. Of course, I didn't know what to do with myself...craft? watch TV? read? What to do, what to do? I think I watched the season 3 finale of Dexter and let the dogs outside 5 times and that was about that. Whooping it up mommy style!

Once again, I think we'll be spending the weekend at the pool house, sans internet. I'll check back in next week.

Have a great weekend :)

Day 8: Groceries and Short Cuts

Before

After

Before

After

Today Lili and I went grocery shopping. Brett wanted to stay home, so I let him. Lili and I had some chocolate donuts, stopped by WalMart, Meijer and the bank. We went home, picked Brett up and went to Steak and Shake for lunch. While we were there, we decided that this would be a good day for a hair cut. Brett's been talking about ridding himself of his mop, and Lili suprised us by saying she'd get a hair cut too. Up to now, her "haircuts" have consisted of 1/4 of an inch off the bottom, but today, she got several inches cut off. It's amazing how old she looks. She LOOOOOVES it. She keeps swinging it around and bouncing saying how much she loves her hair. I told her she looks 10 and she's just thrilled! Brett looks older too. It's amazing how much a quick 5 minute hair cut can do. Cool!

Day 7: Library and McDonald's for Snacks

After sleeping in until TEN O'CLOCK (!) We hung out at the library for over an hour, Brett on his laptop and Lili on the library's Mac computers making funny faces and movies of herself. Yep, just what the library's all about. What? They have books there? Huh.

They just LOVE getting treats from the library vending machines so they each took $1. Yikes!! I couldn't believe that they've raised their prices so much. $1.25 for a regular sized candy bar and $.80 for a 5-stick pack of gum! Well, thank goodness for good 'ol Mickey D's. $1.00 for 3 cookies and 59 cent ice cream cones. And, of course, hazelnut iced coffee, this mom's crank.

We had a fun time, as you can see.

Day 6: Yawn!

Monday was a really, really lazy day. We laid around in our pajamas till after lunch. Rocco was even sacked out on our bed until 2 or so. We did venture out, just Lili and I, so we could spend some of her money on a "Dragon Ball Z" DVD. Season 9, I believe. Whatever. I hate those cartoons. Give me Jabber Jaws, Scooby Doo and Captain Caveman anyday! While we were at Target, I scored some nice polo shirts for Brett for $1.74! Could not beat that.

When we came home Lili watched like every episode of her new DVD and I pretended that I was exhausted from the kids and all I had accomplished when Jeff came home :)

Day....whatever: Bad, BAD Blogger

OK, so it appears I've crapped out by day four ! I warned you that I wouldn't have internet for the weekend and darn it all, it's mid-week and I still haven't gotten back to the computer. We've been busy, I guess.

I'll condense Days 4 and 5 since it was actually "day 4, repeat". We had a yard sale at Meemaw and Peepaw's Saturday and Sunday. Saturday it was HHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOTTTTTT! Like 500 degrees with a million % humidity hot. Mmm, Mmm, good. Not so much fun when you're moving boxes and bags, but it sure beat the heck out of another 60 degree and rainy Saturday. Sunday was another yard sale day. Nice weather again, a little cooler. We all made some money. Brett now has $102 in his "I get to go to Europe envelope". He has a chance to go to France, Germany, etc. through his school next summer and we're trying to start saving the money now. I was pleasantly suprised that he let the money go so easily rather than spend it all. He must really want to go on the trip.....and don't think I'm not going to be angling for a chaperone position. Hey, why waste 3 years of HS and 2 years of college French? Mais, non!

So, that was about it for the weekend. Lots of time spent with Meemaw and Peepaw. Got rid of some stuff, made some money and stared out at our pool that's unswimmable. We got a new liner and it's not quite ready yet, so it was a little swampy looking all weekend, about 1/2 full of water. Yech. I've never seen that side of it before. No likey, likey!