Bah humbug?

Why does it seem like every time I turn around there's someone that's seriously injured? I've heard of three reports just this afternoon. It puts a damper on the Christmas season when you have people you know in the hospital.

I'm trying so hard to get into the Christmas spirit. I make sure my radio is tuned to KSBJ so I can listen to Christmas music. I've gone Christmas shopping. I've been planning my Christmas trip. But I'm still not really there.

I love Christmas. It's my favorite holiday. So why does it seem that the past few years I haven't been able to feel it? Is it because I don't decorate?

That's it, I'm splurging on a tree next year. I don't care, I'll save my pennies. I want a really tall one, like the 12-footers. My house can handle it. I want a light-up star and twinkling rainbow lights. I want to drag all my decorations out and wrap my staircase in holly. I want to set out all my cutesy little Christmas things. And I want to do it all while wearing an apron, singing Christmas carols, and baking cookies. Like I did a few years ago. Before the Christmas spirit started evading me.

So, Merry Christmas! I'm going to turn on some carols now and try to find my Zen center in the sparkling world of non-bah-humbuginess.

Once-A-Monther

Why is it that when a crisis happens, I have to deal with it?

Don't get me wrong, I am competent and smart. But I am not a plumber. Therefore, when the hot water pipe burst under the sink and flooded my kitchen this afternoon, it meant that I couldn't fix it right away.

Which means that I spent my afternoon with a shop vac, mopping up the lake in my kitchen and dining room. And that I had to turn off the water in the house until it's fixed. And under my sink smells musty. Yuck.

I don't have time for this.

On the good side, though, I got my errands finished early, so I was actually home when this happened. It could have been SOOO much worse. Imagine coming home to a completely flooded house... umm... yeah. No, thanks. I definitely do not have time for THAT.

So, thus begins my preparations for our Christmas trip. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Hell in a Hand Basket

I can't stand to watch the news anymore. Thank goodness I don't watch TV. Because honestly, even going into the gas station and seeing the news there makes me want to vomit.

I'm thinking the direction our country/world is going is a recipe for a horrible ulcer for me. I can't get into it, because I'm tired of my blood pressure skyrocketing.

Neglectful

Wow, my poor blog. It has gone so unattended, that the weeds are waist high now. And it's all Facebook's fault. Because it's just so darn easy to be nosy on there, and see what everyone's doing, and let everyone else know what I'm doing. Minute to minute. Status updates. You know.

I'm sorry. There's really too much to write about. Remodeling, staying at friends' for a week, sickness and more sickness, organizing and cleaning, and the death of a friend. And that's just in the past 3 weeks, I believe. I'm so busy I really shouldn't be typing this, I've got a million things I should be doing.

So come find me on Facebook, it's easier to keep up with me there!

Where have all the bands gone?

Or cowboys, whatever...

Is it just me, or have marching bands taken an artistic twist? It's cool that they're playing classics and more contemporary genres, but really...

I'm used to marching bands ENTERTAINING. Most were very... well...

You'd have to be a musician to appreciate what they were playing.

I am, thankfully, but I couldn't help but feel for the people in the football audiences who aren't. I mean, Lizst is something they make before grocery shopping for a tailgate party, not a composer. But maybe I just came from a totally awesome marching band. In high school, our shows were things like the Beatles, Santana, things people would recognize from the stands.

Although band directors are still, very predictably, making the guard run cross-field on a whim. That's a comfort to know that some things never change.

That aside, I really enjoyed all the performances tonight, and I'm endlessly proud of my students. Such good form! Yay!

So this is what it means to be a soccer mom

Mom told me my life would change when Izzy was in school. Boy, did it!

I no longer have my precious angel around during the day. Instead, I have a to-do list about a mile and a half long, and obligations almost every night of the week. Yikes!

On top of everything else, our remodel is taking up a lot of time. Who knew I would spend a week looking at bathroom lighting fixtures? I feel like the stereotypical housewife spending months trying to pick out the perfect drapes. It's not that far off of a comparison, you know.

I'm also starting a Girl Scout troop with my fabulous leader Jenn (yeah, that's going to be interesting). Jenn... Jen... (two heads turn) What? And who knew how much work THAT would involve as well?!

I'm also training to be a "Money Map Coach", or one-on-one budget counselor, for Crown Ministries. It takes up more time than I thought it would on studying and research. It has also prompted me to reevaluate my financial situation, take new stock of our assets, and make some changes hopefully for the better. But this also involves time!

So my week consists of Fort Bend ISD Band Night, teaching, Girl Scout leader meeting, Girl Scout Parent Meeting, iScrap (if I can get it together before then), Izzy's birthday, and Izzy's birthday party, which are not on the same day. And somewhere in there I have to make room for maintenance like laundry and straightening, and I'd like to get our master bedroom cleaned out. Oh, yeah, and I'm making our costumes for the Harvest Party. Because I'm picky. And I honestly thought I would have time to make them myself.

Ha.

I need a drink. Tommy, anyone?

Let there be light!

And... *sigh of relief* we have power.

We escaped for the weekend to my Mom's, because the heat in Houston doesn't mix well with tempers because of a week with no power and no A/C. And no hot baths. And no cooked food. I, for one, blame the sodium levels in all the canned food. That stuff's just not healthy.

It was an interesting ride. I'm glad it's over.

But I'm still praying that those in Houston who still don't have power get it soon, because frankly all of Houston has lost its friggin' mind. I'm tired of people with short tempers, venom spilling from normally reasonable mouths (or keyboards), and drivers with a death wish.

But Izzy's back in school and things can return to semi-normalness. Which means busy. The two weeks of lessons I had to miss because of the hurricane I now have to schedule makeup lessons for, they rescheduled everything I had planned to take place within the next 2 weeks. Oh, joy.

So, here's some pictures to tide you over until normalcy resumes:

Izzy and Eli got all dolled up for the hurricane party


The boys boarded up the houses for us


I don't think that tree is SUPPOSED to lean like that...


Typical minimal damage in our neighborhood


Hurricane-style transportation


Our chef firing up our meal at Kobe while we were escaping Houston electricity-less heat

Still no power

It's going to be a while, too.

But we're fine! All our friends in the immediate vicinity have offered us all they have. We're staying in our house at night for the most part, it's nice outside and hopefully will stay that way (note to self - while online check the weather).

One thing that really awes me is the generosity of friends and family within our church. We have not lacked for hot showers, clean laundry, or a hot meal since our power went out. That along with people we love to lead us through powerlessness makes it bearable.

But we've become so reliant on TV, movies, etc, that sometimes I'm thankful for the break. While my daughter would normally be playing the Wii or watching a movie, instead we're cuddling and reading books together. The house is immensely more quiet and peaceful.

And thanks to my girlfriends, CLEAN.

We've had countless offers of houses with power to stay in, but there's a comfort in being home in our own bed that can't be beat, even if we have to rely on candles to make it across the house. :)

So we'll be fine, regardless of how long it takes to get the power back. It's stretching our creative muscles a bit, and that's okay with me.

Ike Update

Hello to all! Yes, we're alive and doing well. Ike hit us early this morning. Apparently we rode the west rim of the eye. We lost power about midnight, and Bry says the storm hit early this morning, although the kids and I slept through most of it hunkered down in our bedroom. Thanks to God, we have very little damage. We lost a few tree limbs that thankfully did not hit our house or anyone else's. There is a massive amount of debris in the yard and broken, hanging limbs from all the trees. We even ended up with a few shingles from our neighbor's roof in our yard! A leak in our chimney meant we woke up to a small lake in the livingroom, but we quickly got it cleaned up. Our neighbors lost trees, fences, and siding. 45 is impassable because of high waters, and they don't know when our power will be back on. We are currently taking a break from no power at our friend's house across Hwy 6 that got their power back already. And it gives us all a break from cabin fever. Right now cell phones are not reliable (and they don't want us using them unless it's an emergency anyway). I have been receiving voice messages but have been unable to check them. I have been receiving texts and cannot reply to them. I can't make a phone call at all. Bryan's work cell has been faring better, and he can text and receive some calls. I'll again when our power is back! Until then, thanks for you (very effective!) prayers, they were answered!

Prepped

I'm listening to power tools again. This time, it's the sound of all my neighbors boarding up their windows. My husband along with my two best girlfriends' husbands are going around helping because they have an air compressor and a nail gun, which cuts the time down by three-quarters. Bry managed to get the last of the plywood before they shut down Home Depot, and we're keeping the 2 sheets we need and passing the rest out to others that need it.

It's surreal driving through the neighborhood and seeing all the boarded-up houses. Even though it's supposed to get bad here, it seems everyone's prepared, and we were not in an evacuation zone. In fact, they urged us to stay here so the Coast residents wouldn't be hindered in their flight.

We've got ample supply of water, nonperishable food, and the like. The laundry is completed, and all but a small few of the dishes are done. Our mp3 players have radios on them, we've got candles and flashlights, both cars have full gas tanks, and we've got an emergency plan. We're well prepared, so please don't worry about us.

But, keep us and all others in the storm's affecting range in your prayers. It can't hurt. And I know a few people who are a little too calm and a little too nonchalant about it, and I pray for their safety and the safety of their families. I don't intend to run because I think we can weather it out, but we're playing it safe and erring on the side of caution.

As far as I know, no one in our area has left. In fact, traffic was heavier than normal, and Home Depot's parking lot was insane. Our Kroger is ahead of the game and has a constant supply of batteries, toilet paper, canned goods, and ice.

We both have cell phones, and Bry's laptop has wireless. I hopefully will be able to update you after the storm passes if his battery lasts. I'll post here as soon as I can. I know not worrying is a tall order for the Moms, but really, we'll be okay. It will be an experience.

Take care of yourselves, and if you're in the Houston area and reading this, please stay safe this weekend.

Love you all!

Stand Fast! Secure the Riggin'!

You know, I can't think of hurricanes without thinking of the hurricane scene in The Little Mermaid. Which just proves what a Disney girl I was/am.

I can't bring myself to get too worked up about this storm. I feel kinda silly, but maybe it's because of all the false alarms I've been through. I mean, even Rita, which until the last minute looked like it was heading straight for us, only caused a slight drizzle, and I evacuated for that. And felt like a total dummy. But at least I got to see my folks.

And, of course, it WOULD come right after we're finishing the exterior work on the house. My poor insurance company must be sick of hearing from me today.

First Day

Here's some pics from the first day of school!

Izzy was so excited. I knew she would be. It was the typical response... "Mom, why are you still here?" She doesn't need me... sniff, sniff...

So I've got a lot of things to keep me busy, and I'm just waiting for 3:00 so I can see how her first day went!


With Lilly


Walking to school


With Daddy outside of class


With Mommy outside of class


Mrs. Mayland helping Izzy find her seat


Have a great first day, Izzy!

Soccer Mom

I'm enjoying the last few hours I will have with no kids in school.

In one way, I'm so excited. I know I'll get a lot done with one child in the house. I know the Iz will make tons of friends and be so excited about school. I know she's ready and she's a big girl.

In another way, I'm sad. My little girl is no longer a baby. She reads and writes. She won't be around me all the time anymore. I'm going to miss her so, so much.

But that will make the evenings and weekends so special.

And I've fallen through, guys. Oh, yes. The black hole that is the Soccer Mom. I've signed up for the PTA. And the Voluteer group at the school. They were so excited to hear that I teach music so they can have someone to play piano at the school musicals.

I also packed Iz's lunch tonight, wrapped everything up tight, made sure she had healthy choices and plenty to eat. And put a note in her lunch box, telling her to have a good first day of school and that I love her.

Am I so June Cleaver or what?

Ah, it's all downhill from here. Just kick me when I get the band stickers with my kids' names on them put on the back of my MINIVAN, okay?

Homework Sucks

It's the perfect weather for hot tea and a book.

I'm a rebel, though, so I'm more in the mood for coffee and a magazine. So ha.

Too much or too little to do, either way it turns my head to mush and all I can think about it what happens to Rand in book five. Which is at my husband's work. Not like I haven't read it before. I know he won't die, 'cause he's still there in book eleven. But still...

Just holding on until the news comes. I hope it's good, I hope it's fast. That's the best way to get... money.

What did you think I was going to say???

Reading Urban Dictionary is actually pretty funny.

Blog: A meandering, blatantly uninteresting online diary that gives the author the illusion that people are interested in their stupid, pathetic life. Consists of such riveting entries as "homework sucks" and "I slept until noon today."

I hope I don't cause you that much pain.

Oui We Wii

So long with no post... there must be an explanation!

Oui, there is.

Wii.

And for anyone who owns one, you completely understand the mind-sucking void that comes on while engaged with this awesome device. Such that I spend weeks without posting.

Anywho, I get a break from it because *gasp* the kids are playing right now. My big game is Wii Fit. Because it's so freakin' awesome. Theirs is Mario Kart. No big shock there. Bryan's is Super Mario Galaxy.

But tonight is girl's night. Me and my best two girlies watching What Not to Wear, or something similarly feminine, while drinking girly drinks and eating strawberries with chocolate. And crafting. Oh, yes. Because it wouldn't be a night at Steph's without crafting.

And I DO have recent pictures, including my recent foray into purple glasses, and my obsession with making everyone try them on:








And, of course, Izzy loves her new mp3 player. So much that she walks around the house dancing.

By the way, did you notice I got a new camera? No more fuzzy pictures! Yay!!!

And pretty soon the inside of my house will look normal... thank you Jesus!!! I'll post before and afters after the work is done!

Hermmm... Procrastinate?

So there's iScrap tomorrow. I went into my loft tonight to locate my album and my small file with pictures ready to go. And it wasn't there.

I searched for about an hour. I'm pretty certain it's fallen into the void with the left socks.

So I looked for another one. Nope. My organization skills had extended only to that one little file. Oops.

Now I'm realizing that to organize all these pictures I'm going to need a very large accordion file and about three days. Seriously.

I should've started sometime before the night prior, methinks.

Some Pictures for You

Here's some recent photos from the 4th and Eli's birthday. Enjoy!


Eating the pizzas our little chefs made


Kiss the cook! (And the craft the kids made)


At the 4th of July golf cart parade


At the carnival the same day


The kids doing some climbing at the carnival


Happy Birthday Eli!


As for updates...

Izzy will be tested for Credit By Exam for Kindergarten next week. Pray for us... when did they start requiring so much of kindergarteners? I mean, did YOU know the difference between an author, illustrator, and publisher when YOU were in kindergarten???

Eli just turned 4. We started styling his hair a little differently:

It fits his personality a little too well.

Both the kids just finished VBS. First time for Eli, second for Izzy. I was a crew leader. We all loved it!

Need some home repairs and major prayer about them. Lots going on in the home department, and it's starting to wear on us. Some major decisions and paperwork ahead!

Sorry I'm so boring today, when I have a little more time I'll think of something cute to say. :)

Walking out of the home improvement store, I was hit with a sudden rush of warm wind. The sky was a murky color that it hadn't been a few minutes before when I entered the store.

I managed to make it home and get the kids and the dogs inside before the sky opened up, making me glad I'd run my errands straight from the gym, and that in those errands I'd forgotten to return the kids' movies. It's turning out to be a popcorn kind of day. I wish I had time to relax and enjoy it, but I'm caught in the mile-long to-do list that accompanies a last-minute decision to leave town for the weekend.

And if I ever get the hair-brained idea to have a birthday party at my house again, slap me. I'm tired of cleaning.

I'm hyphenating an awful lot today, which probably means I need a nap.

But the little monkey turns four on Saturday, and we will celebrate (again) in the midst of jet skis, fireworks, a big lake, and hopefully sunny skies. Because it's nice when everyone else is celebrating, too, even if it's not for the same reason. It means the hubby gets Friday off, and we get to see family. Maybe relax a little bit.

Haha.

Have a great Fourth!

(PS - I will have pictures up soon of the party, my camera is not so good so I'm waiting on the hubby to send me the ones he took with his Blackberry, which sadly are 100 times better than the ones our camera took.)

It's Official

I'm crazy. So any of you who were wondering can now know for sure.

I need to get to the gym. I feel bloated and gross and tired and cranky. And I know it's because my body is rebelling. I haven't been in almost 2 weeks. Yikes. Tomorrow morning the elliptical and I are going to form a close and personal relationship.

Things that were there no longer are... I'm wondering if I imagined them...

And above all, there's nothing like a good stress-fest to keep you up at night for a while. Makes you a hard person to be around, because I hate it when I realize all I've been talking about is my problems. I don't like being that friend who always complains. If I've been that way to you lately, I'm sorry. When I realize what I'm doing I feel so bad. And then I'm embarrassed. And then I crawl under my rock for a while.

Jamaica sounds good right about now.

Watched My Mom's New Boyfriend last night, and it was so surreal. Since it's located in my hometown, it was one moment after another.

Accch -- the Texas Street bridge!
Bllghck -- the Museum!
Fudge crackers -- the Revel!!!

Yikes. But amusing for Steph.

And I'm totally kicking Tom's butt for not letting me know that Antonio and Meg were in town for it. I would've made a road trip. Immediately.

Okay, I've got to go and reign in kids. If I still have any hair remaining later tonight, I may find time to update you on everything else. :)

Holy frijoles, Batman!

Summer is a time to relax, take a break, and enjoy life for a while. Slow down, rest, and recouperate.

*snorts*

Ha... haha... hahaha... hahahaha...

Okay, maybe that was getting a little maniacal. The first few weeks of summer have been anything but slow and peaceful. It's been a whirlwind of activity, and I'm beat.

Swim lessons, gymnastics, teaching on Mondays, hanging out with friends (yay!), friends moving back, birthday parties (planning and attending)...

Oh yeah...

And I'm going to have a bathroom again!

Thanks, Chris. You know we love you.

Anywho, I think I'm going to crash so I can actually make it to Pilates in the morning. Otherwise I'll start showing that bag of Fritos and bean dip I just snarfed.

iTunes Virgin

Wow. One sitting and it's gone. Whew. That went faster than a buttered jelly bean in an elephant's trunk.

In calming down recently, post-recital and best-friend-moving-back, I found a moment to actually use my iTunes gift card I received for my birthday back in March. Yeah, I took long enough, right?

Well, about a half hour later it's gone. And my player's not even close to being full. Wow. I told B that he could refill it for me for special occasions, and he mentioned that we have an anniversary coming up.

Holy crud, we do!

Good thing I purchased his gift a long time ago.

If I didn't mention it yet, my best friend's back!!!

I'm looking forward to only teaching one day, and getting several days off. I plan to try to keep it this way when fall starts. I can still fit in 16 students if I only teach 2 days, and I had 13 this year. If ALL my students take lessons again, not counting the one that's moving, I'll have 4 slots open for beginners. Yippee! Not bad for a part-time job that I adore.

I was just reading my playlist on my mp3 player, and I'm a weird cookie. You see genres, and it's about like this:

Hip-Hop
Alternative
R&B/Soul
Jazz
Pop
Rock
Comedy
Dance
Country
Christian

And then over and over again. I guess I just like music. I still haven't even copied songs off my existing CDs to transfer to my player, so I'm hoping when I'm done with that I'll at least have the thing half full. It's only a quarter full now. Love large memories. And I've been anxious to try my hand at having a soundtrack to my life. I can see grocery shopping to "I Like to Move It."

Anywhosit, I think I'm turning in early tonight. Got a day tomorrow. Another one, you know. They keep coming. It's some freakish cycle I haven't figured out yet.

Oh, and we've got some big decisions coming up. I need prayer for strength and the words of wisdom that need to be heard, and a heart open to hearing them. He's probably not going to be happy to hear what I've got to say.

Yesterday was weird. Totally off. Nothing exceptional, just off. Everything felt like it was the Twilight Zone. I was waiting for the truly weird part, and not just the expectation of the weird.

This morning has been medicine cabinet hijacking and chalk princesses. A failed attempt to get my guitar's strings put on, because Little Bit fell asleep on the way over, and my priorities shifted. Guess it will wait until tomorrow. Eating out because I thought we were going to get the guitar repaired, and regretting it when I got home because I could've just eaten here, and skipped the burger coma.

Ppppfffff.

I think it is another off day. Not as bad as yesterday, but probably not as good as tomorrow.

Crazy Me

So I'm in official countdown mode. In 9 days, 21 hours and 53 minutes, I will be giving my first recital as a teacher. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

I know my students will do just fine, and if they don't it's just a recital anyway, but I still worry. I know that things will work out and keyboard, sound, accompanist, and everything else will fall into place, but I still worry.

I am excited for everyone to see the students, though. Some of my friends will be there, some of the band directors of my students, and of course the families of the students. And my MOM, which is so beyond cool. I'm probably expecting about 50 people, which is great.

So, I might not be much fun to talk to over the next couple of weeks, unless you particularly like talking about what a pain recitals are to put together.

Oh, except I've got an idea for our next girls' night. I want us all to go and get henna tattoos. Because our moms won't kill us for that one. So if you're up for it, I'll post when we decide to do it and whoever wants to come is welcome.

Oh, and Eli decided to MacGuyver open the cabinet again tonight, and has been asleep since 4:00 because he OD'd on children's Benadryl. But it's okay, Gil at the Poison Control Center says he would've had to drink half the bottle for it to hurt him.

So it's been a quiet night.

Long Time No Post - or Something Similar

Ah, the moments we have to simply take a breath and realize that the impatiens in the front yard survived your absence...

Just got home last night. Long long looooonnng trip. Not days, just the amount of the days we spent in the car. Yesterday we left to come home around noon and didn't get in until almost eleven.

We took a trip to the northern part of the state to see the hubby's parents. We ate at Babe's, located at Cherry and 4th in downtown Sanger, where there is a funny little yard sign proclaiming Discount Goods and Crisis Center. I wish I was kidding.

On Saturday we left Texas to go to Oklahoma... my sister-in-law was graduating from OU with her Masters. Of course, as soon as we were across the border, I had to break out into song. You know which one. Bryan didn't find it very amusing, I don't think.

40 miles out of our destination we saw an exit for Wayne and Payne. Wow. Apparently Wayne lives west of 45 and Payne lives east. Remind me not to turn east.

Every single billboard mentioned that their location was an "Easy on and off." I thought this was just a little weird until I realized when we got into Oklahoma City that one road could have 5 names within the span of 3 minutes. I kid you not. Then it would be a great seller to make sure that the gas station you're going to was an easy-on-easy-off of Broadway/77 S/44 E/235 S/ 35 W.

And apparently their construction signs are made by the same people that do fortune cookies. One said, "Expect No Delays."

Thanks, 'cause I was really worried about that. I'm so glad you had a sign up to let me know that there was no construction ahead. So I can just concentrate on what name the road I'm on is using now. I'm thinking Sean Combs/Puff Daddy/P Diddy was a major contributor to the construction of these freeways.

And the van has been named.

Helen.

Is this the van that launched a thousand trips?

*snickers*

I think I'm just tired.

So I'm going to post one or two pics that have been delayed in posting, since I just now found my media reader. These are from my last night out with Steph before she had to go back to AZ. I was too busy to take other pics while she was here, and now I'm regretting it.



OK, maybe not. They're on my MySpace anyway until I figure out what's up with Flickr. I'm going to go drink some coffee before I pass out during my lessons tonight.

Travel

Note to southern Houstonites... if you want a good pita, go to the Pita Pit on 6 & Williams Trace. It's in the same building as the shoe hospital and the Smoothie King. They're awesome.

Leaving to day to commiserate (commemorate?... LOL) the graduation of my dearest sister-in-law from college. She's getting her Masters.

Thank GOD I have the van. Because the graduation is in Oklahoma. And we're driving there.

I'm going to go finish packing.

And if the accompanist doesn't call me back soon I'm going to pull out my hair.

Hmmm

It's been an interesting month. It's amazing how quiet the house is with only two children in it.

Tonight I experienced Vietnamese food for the first time, and I think I'm in love. I had lemon-grass broiled beef over vermicelli with all sorts of interesting vegetables and peanut sauce, with the most see-through shrimp spring rolls I've ever seen, and a taro tea with tapioca. As I previously stated, I'm in love.

And good gosh! I forgot all about my ice cream! I got some Vietnamese ice cream, too. Three small scoops in one big cup. I think I've also found my new favorite dessert place. Let me go get the ice cream, because I'm really craving it now. You can't resist the call of green tea, mango, and plum wine ice cream. See you later!

...

Now that I'm back eating my scrumdiddlyumptious ice cream, here's a little game I stole from a friend's blog:

The Google Game

1. Body: 1-Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search:
Jen needs to have a session or two with a therapist.

2- Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search:
Jen looks like she's gonna stab you with that fondue stick. (Nice... maybe I do need that therapist)

3- Type in "[your name] says" in Google search:
Ms. Jen says - Preach it, brother!


4- Type in "[your name] has" in Google search:
Jen has a (voting) eater's manifesto. (???)

5- Type in "[your name] wants" in Google search:
Jen wants to adopt.

6- Type in "[your name] gives" in Google search:
Jen gives thumbs down to new round of Survivor.

7- Type in "[your name] takes" in Google search:
Jen takes Angie's place as "other woman."

Now that I've had a moment to dislodge my tongue from my throat, thus causing the babbling in my previous post, I can explain.

It's been a hell of a week.

I have never been so exhausted in my entire life, I don't think. Not even when I had little Busy-Izzy's round-the-clock colic to deal with. Not when I was in DIQ with Mary Kay. Wowzers.

It began Tuesday night. I went to pick up my BFF from the airport at 11:30 PM, and she was delayed by about half an hour because they lost one of her bags. So she's in the airport with 3 munchkins in the middle of the night, trying to fill out a baggage report.

Wednesday we contacted every Medicaid dentist in the Houston area and finally found one that would take patients under 8. Drove forty-five minutes away to get the Medicaid paperwork. Then I taught lessons and did a wine study for a market research company, which was actually a lot of fun.

Thursday we woke our butts up at the crack of dawn and went to said dentist's office for a crack-of-dawn appointment, and ended up staying all day filling out six months' worth of paperwork and attending appointments to go with said paperwork. I came home and taught lessons, or what was left of them by the time we got home. I had to cancel some of them, so a shout out to Mo for breaking into my house to get the numbers for me. Otherwise I would have stood them up.

Friday was relatively peaceful, if you don't count six children fighting all day long. By that night I needed a strong drink.

Saturday I bustled them off to Nana's for the night, where they've stayed because now I'm sick. Have been since Sunday, and the boy, too. We can't risk it, her kids are having surgery tomorrow and can't get sick.

But hopefully I'll be able to see them this weekend.

*Takes a long breath*

I hate being sick. I know I've said it before, but darnit, you're gonna hear it again. I hate being sick. I hate being sick.

I've got too much to do. My recital is now in 6 weeks, and I don't have an accompanist. I don't have a head count. I'm freakin' out. And I have to schedule practice sessions with the accompanist and my students, and jam sessions with those doing duets and the such. God help me, 'cause right now I'm too tired and sick to do anything about it.

I just want to be better by Thursday, 'cause I want to go to Roots. I hate missing it.

And I'm rambling the rant of a sick person hopped up on DayQuil, who can't think about much without it turning into gobblety gook. Because I hate sore throats and running noses almost as much as I hate sore throats and stuffy noses. It takes away all my desire to look presentable, and only after I'm well do I wonder, Was I drooling in front of people? Good grief, I hope not.

And I refuse to take NyQuil, so nights are tough. NyQuil makes me hallucinate. I don't know why. But I distinctly remember taking it and waking up to see the alligator (crocodile?) with the red cape from Disney's Robin Hood standing at the edge of my bed and waving at me. All I could do was smile and wave back. Because seriously, how many times do you see a Disney cartoon standing at the edge of your bed?

I'm rambling again. I'm going to bed before I start talking about something embarrassing.

Harrumph. Gobblety gurrismo pfffblat. Manashama blllach.

I'm too exhausted to explain right now. Five more minutes, Mom.

It's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today was utterly surreal.

It began with quiet reading of books intended only for something to read, not to intellectually stimulate me in any way (some would call it junk reading, that mindless process where you read stuff that's fun). When my husband woke up, he pitched in to help clean the house. We tackled the livingroom and dining room.

But... oh my, THE CHILDREN. It was Invasion of the Body Snatchers. These kids had been replaced, I swear. They cleaned their rooms WITHOUT COMPLAINT until all that was left was for me to sweep them. Then we went to do some light shopping, and they tagged along merrily behind us, my daughter on my cell phone talking to Grandma and Grandpa, my son dazzling passers-by with his 1000-watt smile and a shy little wave. We then went to McDonald's for lunch (it was either this or Chick Fil-A, but Mickey-D's has cold coffee now). The kids sat quietly while I ordered, came in quietly, and ate quietly until they were finished, and then proceeded to play nicely with the other kids there. The only comments before this were:

Izzy: "Daddy, there are 15 people here."
Eli: "Can I have some ketchup too, for my fries, please?"
Izzy: "Mommy, I don't want any more blue juice [Powerade, for those that don't speak Izzy]. Can I have some ice water instead?"

WHO ARE THESE KIDS? Certainly not mine. It's been a little Twilight Zone today. Because we came home, Izzy quietly played her game while Eli took a nap, then we went to the park and Izzy learned how to swing by herself.

No fighting. No pushing. No hitting. No back-talking. No attitude. I mentioned the word "quietly" four times in reference to my children, and if any of you know them, you know how I must feel at an utter loss for words.

It was like seeing the other side. The way I know most other parents live on a daily basis, and even complain about. One or two extremely minor scuffles considering how they normally act, but the rest of the day... a breath of fresh air. Smiling, engaged kids. Friendly. Sweet. Obedient.

I'm still kinda floating. Especially since we got to go out for dinner tonight, and they continued to be good for the babysitter, playing Go Fish and Candy Land until it was time for bed. Bry and I got gussied up and went to the Pregnancy Resource Center of Fort Bend's spring charity dinner. It was amazing.

Speaking of which, visit their website by clicking on this sentence. I was amazed at the impact this organization is having. They are really making waves! We committed to a monthly donation, and both Bry and I want to carve out an hour here or there to go help them with whatever we can. For those of you who know me well, you know that this issue has always been a "button" for me. I'm very convicted and very opinionated. It will make my blood boil faster than any other, and it did long before I really became a Christian. My view always just made sense to me.

So check out their site, and if you can spare something, anything, please help their cause. I plan to donate on an ever-increasing level as my budget allows. And if I were to suddenly become rich, I can tell you that every single life-based pregnancy center in the US would receive an ultrasound machine on me.

Anyway, about those mindless books... I've been reading the demon series by Julie Kenner. Like I said, mindless entertainment. I relate to Kate. She's a stay-at-home mom balancing a toddler, carpools, her husband's career, and fighting demons. She drives an Odyssey (YAY!). She gives in to her kids too much. She *ehermmm* enjoys the man she's married to. And she loves her family so much that she comes out of retirement with a secret arm of the Vatican to kick major demon butt in order to protect them. Fun stuff.

I also just got done reading a few books by Philippa Gregory. I read The Boleyn Inheritance and The Virgin's Lover. Out of order, I know, but that's all the library had. I didn't have time to read Queen's Fool, but Dori, I'm taking you up on that offer to read it. Bring it to church tomorrow, okay?

Yeah, as if you're reading this thing at 10:30 on a Saturday night. *ppfffttt* Oh, well. Bring it whenever you can. I can wait, I think.

I've got a couple of other mindless books to keep me occupied until then.

Dumbcast

Dear Comcast:

I'm not lying to you.

I'm not just trying to get you to leave me alone.

I'm not being rude, withholding information, or yankin' your chain. I'm not a weirdo, a freak, or socially inept.

WE TRULY, SERIOUSLY, ABSOLUTELY DON'T WATCH TV.

I haven't really watched TV (except the spare show I download off the internet) for about 8 years now. I don't know the plot lines in most shows, I've never even seen an episode of Desperate Housewives or the Gilmore Girls. Ever.

I don't need cable TV. I don't want a package deal that would give it to me and increase my bill. I won't watch it. And if I do, I will get sucked in and my house will fall around my ears because I can't miss Oprah.

I know this, and I'm stronger for it.

Please stop calling me EVERY DAY.

Happy Birthday to MEEEEEE

So yes... one more year. I have now officially scaled the hill toward 30 and come across the top, and now I'm sliding toward the bottom with a pina colada in one hand, yelling "wheeeee!"

Even though I've gotten a little scraped on the way down, it hasn't been that bad of a ride, really.

And I'm talking as if I'm all that close to 30. *Chuckle*

This previous week was one that was disorienting enough that on Sunday, when I woke to the sweet bells of my children singing "Happy Birthday" on their way into my room with my presents, it took me a moment to realize that it was, indeed, that particular day.

I spent the morning at church, and followed it with lunch at a friend's house. I then came home to rest, and then had a few friends over for dinner. And even though my gifts were FABULOUS, nothing can compare to the best gift I felt that day... friendship. It took away the pang of loneliness that I had been existing in for longer than I care to admit, and reminded me that there are people that care about me. And over the course of the last 2 days I've learned of several people that I love that have plans (or are in the process of having plans) to move closer here. Some are fairly new friends in the grand scheme, others I've known much, much longer.

*Sigh* There is, after all, a superglue for hearts.

Reasons to Move to Houston

OK... I've heard of 4 people that I love dearly that are either moving back to Houston or moving for the first time. I wondered why, and in the skill of list-making I am a master.

1. Speed limits? We don't need no stinking speed limits!
2. We have "feeder" roads.
3. You're in the South. Like... WAY in the South.
4. The people are nice. No one shoots you for saying hello. Heck, they might even say hello back.
5. You can say "y'all" and not be laughed at.
6. We have NASA. 'Nuff said.
7. You don't need to spend any money on spas. Nine months out of the year you can just walk outside to feel like you've had a warm wet blanket thrown over your face.
8. All the cool bands play concerts here.
9. No one stares at you blankly when you say where you're from.
10. I live here.

Yep, sounds good to me.

For five satisfying days my house was kept in decent order. Laundry got done. Dishes were done every night. The kids' rooms miraculously didn't have any tornadoes blow through. The kids actually got along a lot of the time. I actually got to shower every day. And do my makeup.

The peaceful wind that blew through the Siler house was my Momma.

If you've never met my Momma, you're missing a lot. She's dubbed by the people who know her as the sweetest woman alive. I tend to concur. She's the woman who "adopted" all my friends in school, all of which lovingly called her "Mom" (even to this day). She stuck her neck out to make the best for me and my sister. When there wasn't a Girl Scout troop in our area, she started one. When there wasn't a flag sponsor, she took it on. She was always there, always supportive. Wanna dance? You got it! Wanna take piano lessons? Sure, babe! Girl Scouts? Rock on! All at once? And add FTA, AP courses, Honors Society, ROTC, Band, Flagline, and Clarinet lessons? Bring it on!

She's the incredible woman who was the rock during my turbulent teenage years (because whose teenage years weren't turbulent, I'd like to know, but it takes a special woman not to kill her children during this time). She was a guide, mentor, chauffeur, tutor, confidante, cheerleader, avid supporter, and I'm proud to say one of the best friends I've ever had.

I can only hope that I can be to my children what my Mom has been to me. I want them to have that in me, because I never take for granted what I've been given. When my friends gush about what an awesome Mom I have, I just smile and say, "I know."

I love you, Mom.

glitter-graphics.com

RCH

Every woman should own one.

Own one what?

I'm so glad you asked.

An RCH. The epitome of illusion... the Really Cute Hat. All hair woes end then and there. You can wear it when your hair won't do anything else for you, and no one knows the difference. Why?

Because they can't get over how cute your hat is, of course.

It's the ultimate distraction. A certifiable RCH will be well-fitted, of a unique and interesting style that flatters your face, and preferably in a neutral color. Subtly adorable, with little details that catch the eye. Not overboard or glitzy. Flexible enough to match almost any outfit, or so cute that no one really cares whether or not it matches. Because if they were you, they couldn't care less whether or not they were wearing black with navy, as long as they could wear that hat!

You know you've found a true RCH when you wear it and at least 50% of the people you hang around say something about it, even if they've seen it before. This is always a good measure to see if your RCH still holds its power or if it's time to retire your RCH and hunt for a new one.

Here is my RCH:


And since I'm in the picture-posting mood because I'm flying high on all the compliments I received on my RCH, here's some more:


Eli made a bed out of a laundry basket, a blanket, and a couch throw pillow, and actually fell asleep in it.


Izzy made a bed out of our game table chair, but didn't actually fall asleep in it.


Any time the camera is on, expect much ham.


Two hams don't make a monkey... or do they?


Caught in the act... I knew he had a crush on her!!! Moo-haha!


You might mistake this look as pensive, but really it's the look he gets right before he McGuyvers my medicine cabinet open with the cell phone charger's plug. I kid you not.


Izzy's hair from Libby Lu. Best $4 I think I've ever spent 'cause it ranks right up there with an RCH.

Hack hack sputter

So it seems my children have bronchitis.

But they don't seem to realize it.

So while I'm stuck at home and don't get to do fun things like go to Roots or have friends over, they're running around the house like caged monkeys. Destroying everything in their path. It has not been a happy two days.

Oh, and did you know that inhalers have stimulants?

Eli knows this now. Because he had an upper respiratory reaction to the bronchitis (what they call it when it's not chronic enough to be asthma). So he is on an inhaler until the bronchitis is gone. So there are three monkeys. Eli counts for two when on a stimulant.

Thankfully Friday is very close, and it will all be over. Thank God for super antibiotics.

The only way to spend the church's date night is drinking and playing pool

I felt almost bad telling people when we got back to the church to pick up our kids. But you know what? I had an amazing time.

We went to Frank N Stein's, a pub & grill that B goes to for poker games. It may sound bad, but it was a nicer place than I expected it to be. I mentioned this to B and he said, "What, you think I've been hanging out in a dive?" Yeah, he's so 80s.

The one thing they don't have going for them is their selection of girly drinks. I guess since it's a sports bar I'll let them get away with it. But only because they have a pool table that's only $1 per game. I settled for a rum & Coke. It'll do. Even if it isn't frozen. Or fruity. The bartender looked at me like I'd grown a horn right smack in the middle of my forehead when I asked if they had any flavored rum. Was that wrong?

We were joined by some friends mid-pool. We played two games, both of which I whooped butt on. The first game was lost by B sinking the 8. I legitimately won the second game by sinking the 8 at *whew* exactly the right time in exactly the right pocket. Because you know I'm good like that. I should even get Brownie points for taking that game to teach J how to play pool. She had never played. How can one be 25 and never have played pool? This kind of circumstance is beyond my comprehension. With instruction (because you all know how much I love to teach), she sank 3 of mine that game. Yeah, baby!

B claims that I have an "evil pool look." I laugh it off, but my sister swears it, too. Apparently when I'm concentrating right before taking a shot I look like the devil incarnate. How's that for a compliment??? ;)

We ate burgers, fajitas, onion rings, and fried mushrooms. Needless to say, no one was counting calories that night. As if the beer that we drank didn't constitute a meal's worth of calories anyway.

Today was SOOO hectic. After picking up the Angel Food order and getting my nails done, I went with Izzy and some friends to Central Market (my favorite place to shop!). I don't get to go there very often, so normal things are out of the question. Thankfully, CM has a load of not-so-normal things, and even some what-the-heck things. These are a lot more fun to buy.

Some takes of the day include a small sprig of fresh mint, orugula and mushroom pasta in bumblebee stripes, freshly made honey-roasted peanut butter (as in I watched it being made), lamb patties with feta and mint, strawberry apple juice, four small bags of various organic granolas to go with my yogurt (Hawaiian, strawberry vanilla, etc), and millet bread. What we don't eat of the bread I plan to give to Kai. Haha.

The friends that came to CM with me came over for dinner, and from our purchases we made raspberry chipotle chicken, fresh rosemary and olive oil red potatoes, and the most veggiefied salad I think I've ever seen, topped with a pomegranate hibiscus dressing.

Yummmmmmmmmmm.

I think I may be getting hungry again just thinking about it.

Before I eat us out of house and home on a CM-induced foodie frenzy, here's some pics from last night:


Me & J over dinner... very interesting trying to aim the camera at both of us over that huge table.


Apparently the mushroom-onion-swiss burger induces comas.


The Evil Pool Look, an attempt to capture the uncapturable. Although I've been told since I knew I was getting my photo taken, I toned it down quite a bit. Personally I think I look as cuddly as a bunny. If only the red eyes didn't give me away!!!

Review, High & Dry

I need something mindless to do.

I've been reading a fairly good book, Geisha, A Life, by Mineko Iwasaki. It blows the previous book out of the water. That one was Superior Women by Alice Adams.

Don't get me wrong, the book was okay. I just was not in the mindset to read something of that nature. To me, it was rather pointless and didn't end on any final note. I had no... Ahh, that was a good ending moment. In fact, when I finished the epilogue, I remember my first words about it... "What kind of crap ending was that???"

No one finds happiness. No one is settled. No one hugely changes. The characters are, in my opinion, static. Many remain the same in personality as when they begin. They paint a horrific picture of marriage and strongly favor casual and meaningless sex, endorse petty and shallow relationships.

The book could say a lot if I were in the mood. It could be a painting of what not to do with your life. But I was not in the mood for that.

I wanted a happy ending where all learned how to live as civilized, respectable people who grew into themselves and found their happiness in forms that did not destroy those around them. Where a fifty-year-old woman doesn't deal with the death of a close friend by spontaneously flying to Hawaii and engaging in a drug-filled sex-fest. Because honestly... I mean, c'mon!!!

Is that too much to ask???





It was a rather rough night. The kids were at their misbehaving best. I had no babysitter during my last lesson. The coffee maker broke. I didn't get enough sleep last night, I really needed that coffee. And I have a coffee date in the morning. I really need that coffee tomorrow, too. And I'm retaining water, so my rings itch. And I broke a toenail. And the dogs stink because they rolled in something muddy, and I haven't had time to give them a bath. And my mop broke. And the kids broke my husband's new umbrella. Complain, complain, complain. Tomorrow is another day.








Most of all, I just feel alone. I don't have as much time to spend with my friends. I am a social person, I thrive when I'm surrounded by the people I adore. My schedule (teaching four nights a week) doesn't allow for much social time. And I miss it. I can't wait for the summer. Even the lack of income every month from teaching will not dampen the joy I will have with the free time I'll be able to spend with friends.

And in the fall I'm going to be smarter and schedule all lessons on one or two days. Because I love teaching. I can't give it up, even if I didn't need the money. But it would be easier to dedicate a day or two to it and leave the rest for other things. I guess you learn best by making mistakes, right? I just have to keep telling myself... you live and you learn.

At the risk of becoming political...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article3412540.ece

The story of stuff

Stolen from Jeremey. Extremely important to watch. Makes me want to scream.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Coffee

I have read this several times, and I love the analogy.

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -- porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, some exquisite --telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the alumni had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said,"Notice that all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases,it is just more expensive, and, in some cases, even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciouslywent for the best cups, and then you began eyeing each other's cups.

"Now consider this: Life is the coffee; your job, money, and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The type of cup one has does not define, nor change, the quality of life a person lives. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God makes the coffee, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Enjoy your coffee!

News Flash!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23015839/?GT1=10856

Women find guys who help out with the housework sexy!!!








Well..... duuuhhhhh.

I'm posting the pictures last 'cause I know you won't read it if I post them first. Haha.

I actually experienced a Christmasy day the other day, sad to say it was in February. It had all the things that make me feel like it... snap to the air, smell of woodsmoke, etc. I've blogged about it before so I won't go into it.

Went to Dallas this past weekend, going again this weekend. Last weekend was the Ignite conference. It was incredible, and I got to see Dick Hoyt (linked to his website). So cool. The promotions for the associates and customers for the rest of the month are incredible! Can't wait to start saving people money and making money to do it!

Anyway, that aside, B and I cleaned up the house last night, and B scrubbed the recliner. Doesn't look like a snot monster attacked it now, at least. That's a great thing.

It shouldn't be a quiet week for lessons, but 3 of my students have tennis tryouts the day of their lesson. The week of UIL. The timing couldn't be worse. There needs to seriously be some communication between departments, here. They're making my life miserable.

On a positive note, the worship pastor of our church said he's getting me the nice keyboard from across the street for my recital. Because he's cool like that. So at least my accompanists won't be too mad they're not on a baby grand (you know accompanists...).

Valentine's Day was fabuloso. Poor B, he tried so hard to surprise me. Since I was going out of town on Friday, we celebrated on Wednesday. He hired a babysitter to watch the kids at 8:00 (when my lessons end). He had wanted to take me for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, but I had already fixed enchiladas (not my fault, I had no clue, and if I'd known I definitely wouldn't have fixed dinner for us). He then decided he'd just do dessert and coffee... poor guy turns his back and I'd made a pot of coffee and was having a slice of cake. He just can't catch a break! So we went out and got coffee anyway and wandered child-free around bookstores. We ended up getting a few new books, I got one that's written by a geisha and looks promising.

Kudos to my husband!

So here's the pictures, now that I've bored you to death.


The kids signing a card to Daddy. Izzy actually wrote "I luv you dad, Izzy." And please pardon my mess, I didn't realize how bad it looked until I saw the photo enlarged. Yikes.


My roses!!! Aren't they pretty? :) :) :)

Behind the Times

So why is it that I'm deprived of news? I don't have time to watch TV, we don't get the newspaper (we would if it weren't so blatantly liberal and made me angry every time I read it).

Because I feel left out when I'm just now reading this: <<--click link for article.

In January, a few months after Lee opened the Beijing office [of Google], the company announced it would be introducing a new version of its search engine for the Chinese market. To obey China's censorship laws, Google's representatives explained, the company had agreed to purge its search results of any Web sites disapproved of by the Chinese government, including Web sites promoting Falun Gong, a government-banned spiritual movement; sites promoting free speech in China; or any mention of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. If you search for "Tibet" or "Falun Gong" most anywhere in the world on google.com, you'll find thousands of blog entries, news items and chat rooms on Chinese repression. Do the same search inside China on google.cn, and most, if not all, of these links will be gone. Google will have erased them completely.

This article was in April 2006. I feel so left out! And so incredibly stupified. I'm almost too taken aback to be angry. Almost.

On another note, I have discovered that parents need less sleep than children because it's a survival technique. After the kids go to bed I finally have time to do the dishes/laundry and straighten, something that I can't accomplish (although Lord knows I spend hours during the day trying) while they are awake. Then I get a few hours' sleep and do it all over again. If it were not for that buffer period where they're asleep and I'm still awake and able to work, my house would probably be caving in from neglect.

And, actually, I'm thinking of banning myself from the computer while they're awake (excluding, of course, about 10 minutes in the morning to balance the checkbook and make sure there aren't any problems). I think this would allow me to get everything done and still have time to play with the kids, do homeschool on a regular basis, etc.

So wish me luck, this is no small task I've undertaken!

Brain Surgery

I received this e-mail, watched the video, and was floored. I'm now more than ever against de-privatizing health care. Any of my Canadian readers care to comment?

A very informative commentary! Please watch!

A Short Course On Brain Surgery Worth Watching... Could be our future? A short but poignant independent film on government sponsored health care systems.

Everyone who plans to vote for our new President in 2008 NEEDS to see this. Regardless of the person for whom they would vote. Please forward this to everyone you can think of as soon as you can. http://www.freemarketcure.com/brainsurgery.php

It's been a busy day. One where I'm happy to be home and take a deep breath.

I started the morning out with Pilates, came home for lunch, and then watched a friend's children while she went to a doctor's appointment. I ended up taking her oldest son home with me to give her a break for a few hours. Of course, my kids doted on him. He's younger than either of them, so both of my kids' maternal streaks came out as they were entertaining him. Incredibly cute to watch.

I then went to home group, where I reconnected with my friend to return her child to her. It's the first time I've been to a home group in a few years, and I loved being back. Lots of loving people and a great time together. I came home way too late, both of the kids passed out in the van.

Tomorrow will be a busy day as well, getting the Jeep cleaned out and ready to donate. Updating the tags on the Corolla. Mailing my tax forms so we can get our return process started. Running to the store for four or five essentials. And most likely another girls' night with Monica to finish what we couldn't when I was there last. Note to self: see what kind of wine I can bring this time, but make sure we do the eyebrow shaping before we crack open the bottle...

And Sunday will be the first time in over a year I'll have attended church services with my husband. They've switched the service times, and we'll be able to attend service together since he'll only be working one service in the children's ministry. I absolutely can't wait, I've missed it so much. Church is a different experience when your spouse can attend with you.

Cuteness of the day: Izzy is blossoming into such a cute little kid. She's trying to spell words now, and since she's learning her letters phonetically, she took a crack at some of her friends' names with "Awwww" results registering a 6.7 on the Adorable Scale. Gideon was spelled "Giydin", Shayla was spelled "Shaila" (hey, that's pretty darn close, you know). And when singing All-Star the opening line in our family is now "Somebody once told me the world is macaroni."

Awwww...

I have proclaimed February to be Siler Savings Month, since March will be pretty harsh on us with the first car payment and escalated insurance (which will drop to a reasonable level in April when our policy renews). God willing, we will be able to pull it off with little to no damage to our savings.

And in the midst of all this I have to find the money, time, and everything else to plan a trip to Arizona. Because I need it for my sanity, and Steph needs it for hers.

Lots going on. But I'm okay with that. I can prioritize better when I'm busy.

The New Baby

She's beautiful and wonderful and everything we'd hoped!!!



After a very quick decision and an amazing deal, our new baby was brought home last night. The paperwork isn't finalized, but hopefully it will be tomorrow.

In case you're wondering, I've been drooling over Odysseys for several years now. And now I have one. Yay!!!

It struck me as funny the differences between my reactions and my husband's. I was worried about the color, the interior material (leather in this case), and the little convenience features, which this particular one has quite a few. I loved the remote door entry, the space, and the air unit that auto-controls to your desired temperature.

My husband got it on the freeway, gunned it, and was pleased at its response. He messed with the arrangement of the seats (many, many combinations) and kept walking away to see how far the remote locks and entry would work. And he tested the back storage space to make sure it had room for hubby storage:



So this beautiful creature is now sitting in my driveway, and paperwork pending we will be donating our Jeep to the church this week. Because when you get a deal like we got, it no longer matters whether or not you get money for your previous vehicle. So if you're in the Houston area and need a car, see Lurie at Sterling McCall Toyota. We couldn't have gotten an Odyssey without him!

Distracted

Another reminder why I never answer my cell when it's raining.

I'm a careful driver. Especially in the rain. I don't like tickets, I don't like accidents. I don't want them, I can't afford them. And I have absolutely no luck anyway. Every time I speed even a little bit, I get pulled over. My husband can drive thirty over and never get stopped. I drive seven over and not only get stopped, but get ticketed.

The fact that all of my cars before this one were front-wheel drive also have something to do with it. I haven't had a lot of occasion to drive in the rain. I believe that rain is a great excuse to curl up under a blanket, read books, and drink chai tea lattes. I only get out in the rain if I have to. Which is why I've owned the Jeep for three years or so and have only driven it in the rain a handful of times. It's rear-wheel drive, which is definitely a different experience in the rain than front-wheel.

This is why I'm exceedingly careful. I don't let myself get distracted. I don't answer my phone. I don't play with the kids. I don't do paperwork.

And I guess that has made me lose my tolerance for those that do. Yesterday a 4Runner was in front of me on the highway near my house. It was raining. And cold. And he was completely distracted. Even from a safe following distance I could see him on his cell phone, gesticulating wildly, while shuffling papers.

He didn't look up at the yellow light until the last second before an intersection, and slammed on his brakes (dumb). He skidded and slightly fishtailed to a halt in the middle of the intersection while the light was still yellow, causing everyone behind him to slow down suddenly as well (dumber). I wasn't so worried about me, I had started slowing down long before he did, and left him ample room to correct his mistake, but I was worried about the huge RV behind me. Thankfully, he seems to be a careful driver, too, and came to a stop well behind me. 4Runner puts on his reverse lights and backs up practically on top of me. He leaves his reverse lights on and continues to gesticulate into his cell phone. The RV driver and I were of one mind watching this guy, so the RV flashes his lights at me, letting me know it's okay to back up. I thought that was a splendid idea, so I did.

The light turns green, and the 4Runner guns it -- in reverse (dumbest). He screeches to a halt, puts it in drive, throws up his hands like the world is working against him (poor guy's too distracted to realize it's only himself), and drives on. I turn right and get out of his way. If I hadn't backed up, he would have hit me. But I guess that just goes to show that it pays to shut up and drive.

200th

On Saturday I planned a girl's night in with my friend Monica. Our plan was to pamper and in general just be girls for the evening. And what's more girly than beauty routines?

We had a lot planned, didn't get all of it done. We started by drinking an entire bottle of Reisling. I'm not kidding. It was protection. Because then we waxed our legs.

I had never done this before. It's not pleasant. What is pleasant, though, is seeing all those little hairs stuck to the wax and knowing they're not coming back for a while. My reaction to the first yank was similar to Mel's in What Women Want. There was some grunting in pain, and if I remember correctly, some obscenities.

This led to more protection in the form of the girliest drink ever invented. It was a pina colada with passion fruit-flavored rum and frozen mangoes and strawberries. Yeah, it was really girly. But the two shots of rum we had before drinking this warmed me up quite a bit.

We then did pedicures while watching Adventures in Babysitting, which was a nice break. And I plucked/shaped Monica's eyebrows while teetering over the edge of buzz into drunk. That was interesting. I didn't do much because I didn't want her to look permanently surprised. I told her I'd save the rest of the shaping for when we were sober. I'd hate for a great friend to be a victim of drunken plucking.

We didn't have time for the facials or doing our toes since it got so late (a lot of our time was spent drinking instead of beautifying). So I guess it's a good excuse to plan another girl's night in!



P.S. There is a luncheon tomorrow... and God willing by tomorrow afternoon my husband will be a Microsoft employee!

No real update yet. Sorry, but you'll just have to wait until we hear something first. Unless you have connections at this company. Then you'd better tell us!

For some reason lately I've had the hardest time waking up in the morning. I can't seem to get up and get moving. I know that I'm not really sleeping from about 6 AM on, since my husband's alarm goes off, and the kids start stirring when he showers. I drift in and out of sleep until around 7:30. But I'm planning my sleep around waking up at 7:30. Maybe I just need to go to bed earlier and plan to just get up at 6. Laying around doesn't help me wake up.

Seems like it's going to be a busy spring. I'm teaching Crown, going to a Bible study, getting some work done on the house, teaching, getting things going for Izzy's school in the fall, Time Out, homeschooling, possibly joining a book club, possibly joining a home group and starting one of my own (Bryan's starting one of his own, too). I'm sure there's other stuff I've committed to and I just can't think of it right now.

So if I don't answer the phone, don't take it personally. I'll get back to you as soon as possible. BEEEEEEEEP.

We'll see

Hubby's interview went well today, we should hear next week.

It would be so beyond cool if the answer is yes...

Rambling

My new favorite color is the sky when it's sprinkling and the sun is setting, a menagerie of purples and blues fading into pinks and oranges, a cheshire moon smiling above it all.

What is normal? Certainly not my life right now. We have the semblance of normalcy, but we tend to evade it wherever possible. Birthday party today, was great fun. Dinner with friends. But my poor daughter apparently didn't drink enough water, ate too much sugar, played too hard, and stayed up too late, ending up with what seems like a migraine in a 5-year old, causing her to scream uncontrollably while holding her head and throw up until she was dry-heaving.

Finally got to try a Wii, also great fun. Could be dangerous to my budget. Thankfully I'm too responsible to just run out and buy one.

The evening was cut short by the migraine, leaving us unsatisfied with the short amount of time we've had with friends we've missed terribly. Hopefully we'll be able to hang out again tomorrow, there was a slight probing for our plans, as if they would like to be included. That would restore the balance of normalcy, I think.

And the job situation... hmmm... I just don't know. Too much to think about, the timing is weird, too many options. What's best? It's like having to choose from three cards, trying to get the highest one, and only knowing how pretty they are on the outside, but not the face value of the actual card hiding underneath. It's tough to be in demand, to try to decide which is the best offer for our family. One that will satisfy our financial needs while creating a good family atmosphere. There is one that is definitely the most exciting, but is as of yet the least dependable for a definite offer... after all, he's been through two interviews and is only scheduled for a face-to-face, but hasn't been through it yet or been offered the position. The job of the breadwinner is no light matter, it affects so much.

Yep, definitely going up for prayer tomorrow. I need direction. We all need direction.

And I need a new book.

Taffy Pull

We have some decisions to make. Nothing bad, in fact it's all so wonderful that we're scratching our heads and wondering what we did to deserve it.

Bryan is suddenly a very highly desired specialist in his field, and has three companies that want him, including the one he's about two-thirds of the way through his two-week notice with. And we don't know which direction to go, we're being pulled a different way every time we talk about it.

So please... please just pray. We need some divine direction here, a big neon sign that says which company God wants him working for.

But it's a little exciting, knowing that with a few of them we could get bigger and better offers because they want to beat the competition for his employment.

The bug has not passed me up, be sure of that.

But while most others are cleaning and organizing, my particular strain of this New Year virus has attacked my to-do list. The one where completing things costs money.

So I've sent my shoes to be repaired, ordered a new Dvix remote (we lost ours), got Izzy's 5-year pictures taken. Next is a new belt and oil change for my Jeep. Then I get my clothes altered because it's so much less expensive to have them taken in than to buy a new wardrobe, and then I have tailored clothing. Which is cool beyond measure.

There's some more expensive things, but they'll have to wait. Despite cries of protest from my other half, my son really does need a toy box. The big Rubbermaid box serves no purpose other than making a mess as he throws the toys out. He is either looking for a specific toy that because of Murphy's law is buried at the bottom of the box, or he's upending it to use it as a stool to get into things he's not supposed to be in. Either way, the Rubbermaid has to die.

I've also got some big things planned for our home this year. Lord willing, we'll get a remodeled master bathroom (those that know about this are probably laughing with glee), new siding and a landscaped front yard.

My lessons are helping with this. My New Year's resolution is to stick to our budget, so we can get done the laundry list of things we need to before Izzy starts school in the fall. Because that's going to take... you guessed it... more money. Better get it done before then, or it might be wait-listed!

So I've compiled my list and I'm ready to begin attacking. Now I just need the strength to fight the battles ahead with the other half... who doesn't like to hire outside help. I seriously see no other way. So, on come the gloves.

Tired/Frustrated Makes for a Crabby Mommy

I'm tired of laundry. I'm tired of dishes. If I look at another mess on my floor, I will scream.

I need a break. I need girl time. I need to get away for a while. I need help around this house. I need a good book and a stiff drink. I need a hot shower, one I can stay in until we run out of hot water, without worrying that the kids will have burnt the house to the ground by the time I get out.

I need my son to take a nap. I need my daughter to get an attitude check. I need both of them to clean their rooms without me having to resort to threats. I need the dogs to quit peeing on my floor and scratching at the door to be let in.

I need a maid.

That's it. I've discovered the cure for all my ailments.

I need a maid.

It's funny how freeing that realization is. I'm back into teaching, I'm still not getting any help with the house or finances, and I'm about to start teaching Crown again. I'm making a huge effort to go to the gym three times a week so I will have something for myself, to make me feel better. I'd like to start scrapbooking again, and I've found a V-Group dedicated to paper arts that I'm thinking of joining.

I can't wait for church to switch to two services, so I can attend with my husband again instead of by myself. For now he can't wake up early enough to make it to first service to attend with me. I'm tired of worshipping alone and listening to the message without my husband's arm around my shoulders. I'm sick of fixing coffee for one.

I want my house fixed so I can feel like I live in a normal place. I want the work done and I want it done yesterday.

I want Time Out to start again. I need the time with other women who know what it means to be a Mom. The most underpaid and underappreciated job in the world. I swear sometimes my husband thinks I have it easy. To that, I have to laugh... a bit maniacally.

I'm going to go shower now, and though it won't be a long one, maybe it'll be the refresher I need to get me through the rest of the day.

And in the words of my favorite heroine... "After all, tomorrow is another day."

I can't just leave it like that, you know.

My hubby kinda-sorta bumped a guy on the way to the ER. Which made my New Year's SO much better, let me tell ya.

But today was okay. In true Monty Python fashion, it goht beh-er.

The wife of the guy he hit called this morning and said that there wasn't any damage, so happy new year, and she hoped our son was okay.

And he is. Turns out it was a horribly mutated (I exaggerate) diaper rash that had caused abrasions and blisters. That's why he was screaming and writhing uncontrollably. Because you know that's what I like paying the big-buck copays to hear (that's sarcasm). So my hubby brought home a cute but very loopy three-year-old on pain killers whose bottom had been buried under a sea of Boudreaux's Butt Paste. And is it really considered diaper rash when they don't wear diapers anymore??? Is it just a butt rash?

Ahhh... but then there's the sleep that only pain killers cause, meaning it's been kinda quiet today...

And we found out that the hubby's job will (probably) pay him the vacation time for this year... yay! I see check-marks on our goal list already.

And, as a compromise to the rat debate, we adopted Kai (k-eye). He is not a rat. Because we have three dogs that are forms of rodent terriers. Not a good idea. He is a budgie. Who we can hang very high to keep away from children and dogs. He's white with a sky-blue breast and tail. He's already beginning to adjust, and was chirping at me earlier. As much as I wanted a pet rat (that's not sarcasm), it'll just have to wait until our dogs have gone to their next life in doggy heaven.

So it wasn't all bad, it just seemed so at the time. Some good things came along, and some things were not as bad as they seemed. Just expensive.

Welcome to 2008

So it's one hour into the new year, and we've rung it in by discovering that I'm recovering from strep, and my husband just left with my son to go to the emergency room.

Yeah, great start.

Happy razzle-frackin' new year.