Another Effin Hurricane - Get Prepared, Run for the Hills

So, we had a really great weekend. The couple's shower yesterday for my nephew and his fiance went off great and I think everyone enjoyed themselves, even the guys. Hey, you really can't go wrong when you invite the guys and beer to the party. Brent actually said it was ok, considering it was his first shower. Well, he did go to the end of one of my baby showers so he actually had seen one in progress before. Saturday we got a bunch of stuff done and all our shopping for the shower gift and things like that. Liam and Drake hung out at Drake's for most of the day so we accomplished a lot with only one child. I hit Office Depot Friday night and purchased $18.47 worth of school supplies for $2.64. Not bad if I must say so myself. It doesn't even put a dent in what they actually need on their lists but it was just stockpiling a lot of pens and paper and such for during the school year.

Christene and Bailee came in for the shower and they spent the night here last night and got up to leave at 7am this morning. Way too early for me, I went back to bed after they left. But Bailee had conditioning at 10am so they had to be back by then. In case she reads this, me and the boys are going to come and stay after y'all move. I can help you unpack and get organized. The boys and I cleaned out every little part of Ian's room on Thursday. Ian and I spent the better part of six hours in there getting all of his toys weeded out and going through all of his books. We organized his toys and book shelf and we had two blank bookshelves to work with so we got the books on those and have utilized every available space he had once again. I have a ton of books (he calls them baby books) but early chapter books and easy readers that I need to pack in a box. We then organized his closet and his clothes according to color. He really liked that. I was doing laundry on Friday and gave him a couple of shirts to hang up and he came back and said that he put the tan one with the browns and the kind of red one with the reds. I told him that was fine. I think he's proud of his color coordinated closet. oh shit. I just thought about something. Hopefully that's not a precursor to any homosexual tendencies... now I have something else to worry about. Maybe I'll go mess all the colors up and see if he freaks out. Nah, just kiddin. I wouldn't do that, I don't think. I'll let you know tomorrow what I decided about that whole dilemma.

Ian went to his cousin's birthday party with his Granny yesterday and had the best time. He talked about the party and the golf cart and having a water fight so I'm guessing he had fun. His birthday is August 18th so now he's already started planning his party. He said he wants a "crawfish slash swim party." I thought that was pretty funny. I think that would be fun for a family party but I'm not sure what he'll want for a school party once school starts. He's going to have the same kids in his class plus two more and one of them is our little friend Abby so I think that may take some of the first day jitters away. We'll see. Need to take Liam school clothes shopping soon but he won't speak of it. I told him if he doesn't go I'll just do all the shopping for him. They have mandatory uniforms this year so he is sssssooooo pissed about but oh well, he has to do it so I told him he may as well do it with a smile. I'm actually pretty excited about the prospect considering I cringe every time I think of how much $$$ I spent last year. He is ever so picky in his clothes, the brands, the way they fit, the way they feel which does not make for easy shopping. Ian is different and he pretty much says yes to anything. He does not have to wear uniforms until fifth grade but I've been buying shorts here and there when I go to the mall so he has some really nice ones already. So he needs shoes, underwear, backpack, lunch kit and shirts. I'm banking on t-shirt type material because it's sooo hot in August and September and they sweat so much at P.E. I hate to put anything heavier on him. He's already wearing some of Liam's shirts so that may work out, although Liam isn't willing to share.

This is a satellite image of Hurricane Rita that hit us in September of 2005. I think I still have PTSD symptoms from that whole evacuation scenario.

OK, so there's a storm in the Gulf of Mexico and Brent just called and said he thought the hurricane warnings were all the way up to Galveston. I'll have to check the National Hurricane Center and we may need to start making plans. That will be horrible because my little momma is at the rehabilitation hospital for physical, occupational and respiratory therapy which would seriously freak me out if we had to leave and her go somewhere else because of her oxygen dependence. She evacuated with me and the boys in '05 with Hurricane Rita and even though I bitched about it and was stressed out, at least I knew where she was and that she was being taken care of. Of course I think she regretted coming with me and the boys (I was wound a little tight those days) it was an experience none of us will ever soon forget. I bet she remembers Lenny and the "tube." She was hilarious and can be ruthless when she needs to be. Better go get some dinner started and finish the laundry I started this morning. Having a lazy day today that's for sure. But I played with the boys and watched Ian and his friends do ramp jumps on their bicycles until it got so freakin' hot you couldn't breathe. It's ridiculous. Those kids are liable to get dehydrated if they're not careful. Well, ciao bella.

I GUESS THAT ABOUT SUMS UP MY MOOD TODAY. HOWEVER, I REFUSE TO LET IT INTERFERE WITH OUR DAY. I AM GOING TO BE HAPPY TODAY, I AM GOING TO BE SWEET, I AM GOING TO HAVE FUN WITH THE BOYS.

OK, now that I've gotten my mantra for the day out of the way, I hope your day is great and I'll post more later. Lost my last post I'd been working on and I'm too peeved to re-do it so I may later after I get this huge list of errands out of the way.

I have a couples wedding shower is this weekend and I have some food to prepare for that so I guess I need to make a list of what I'll need and think about something to get them. The theme is Around the Clock and I have 5:00am so I'm kind of stumped on what to get. Any good ideas out there for a gift that you would use at 5:00am??

Guess I better get dressed and get the boys up and out of here. They bought new games the other day at Circuit City and they sure are eerily quiet this morning. Ciao!

Psychos and Talking Yorkies, And July Just Started

Can't sleep. It's almost 2:30am and I'm nowhere near being sleepy. Brent worked on the computer and bought new this/that and it's back in working order, tip-top shape. The poor man literally had to rebuild this piece of equipment and then go and buy another sound card because somewhere along the way ours was corrupted. He had to update the BIOS and cmos this and waaay too complex for me. Boring. But the good news is: I can hear everything now. I can hear the songs on my blog and I love that because at this point in my life, I love these songs or I wouldn't have put them on here. So, how was the fourth for y'all?? Ours was really pretty awesome. I wanted to take pics but my camera wasn't charged up so that blew big time. Brent's parents and his brother and my SIL and their two kiddos stopped by and they all popped fireworks. It seemed like the boys would never run out but we had a good time just watching all the fireworks going off around here. My brother-in-law bought a really pretty and big one that we did close to the end and that's the ones I like the best. Liam and Ian really enjoy the ones that are loud and louder and the more obnoxious, the better. Brent had bbq'd all day so when everyone left we stayed out until after 12:30, came in, ate again and we all took showers and watched some tv until the boys got sleepy. Needless to say it was after 3am before Brent and I got some shut-eye. They let us sleep in though and that was really nice. I really should have quick charged my cameras and taken some photos. I made a blueberry crunch for dessert and although I didn't eat dessert until about 2am, it was DELICIOUS. It was lovely and moist, and fruity and blueberryey ?. Brent loved it and so did the boys. Ian cannot get enough of it.

So, trying to find some fun stuff to do next week. I have a few things in mind for the boys but we'll see how that goes. Have a return on a computer software thingy from Circuit City and some errands to run on Monday, but other than that no big plans. My psychotic brother is up to his bad habits and to say the least, it's embarrassing. Have a little couth, gain some composure, act like an adult and check yourself back into rehab so you don't fuck away the next half of your life. I have no patience or room in my life for people that don't help themselves first so that chapter is closed. I'll just pull my Scarlett O'Hara thinking out of the closet that I haven't had to use for a long time and remember that "I'll think about that tomorrow." I used to be pretty good at it so hopefully time and age have been good to me and I'll be able to do it again. So, needless to say I won't be worrying about that.

I added Twitter to the upper right corner so keep adding updates. It's a pretty neat thing and I'm still trying to get used to it, but I can definitely see it getting more popular. I kind of messed around with it and you can go into Everyone and catch a glimpse of what others are saying and if you get interested, you can stay up on their updates via your phone and text into your updates. It was kind of cool so I might be adding to it periodically.

OK, so Brent and I had fun last night. I was outside watching them ride the four-wheeler and dirt bikes and then Brent took Ian riding on the Buell. That kid loves that motorcycle. He loves his daddy too but put them both together and it's a winning combination. OK, so no more blah, blah, blah about the boys and Brent. Anyway Brent rode up to me and said "How in the hell can I still be in love with you after all this time? We should be over this by now, right?" I don't know if it will ever happen but I'm just enjoying the ride while it lasts. And what a great ride it is....

UPDATE... UPDATE: Psycho bitch next door had a booty call and we witnessed it. Well, not actually THE booty call but I was out watering and Brent came up and said the guy on the motorcycle is there so we ran and looked and YUP, an actual booty-call.

I guess now I can sleep well knowing that highly disturbed, painfully ugly people out there in this world are getting a piece of ass every now and then too.

Oh and this piece of information I know you just can't live without: According to Tricia: dogs CAN talk. She called me this morning swearing up and down that Toshi wanted to go out and he was whining at the door and she swears she heard him say, hang on to your ass cuz this is one for the history books, dogs can TALK, she heard Toshi say "Maa Maa." You know, momma. WTF?? I think she's worked at the post office soooo long that now she's going postal. As in over the edge crazy. So, Toshi can now call her name when he wants to go out. I bet Maizee is all jealous and starts talking before long. You can bet your ass I won't be volunteering to bring that little sucker to his groomers anytime soon. Could you imagine driving down the road with Toshi in his little carrier all buckled up and all of a sudden he says "Bitch, you better not be dropping me off at the old dyke's house to get my balls washed!" To which I would reply: "You better shut-up or she'll find you in a pan of water on her stove when she comes home from work today!" Yorkies, aarrrhhh!! Ciao.

I Am What I Am or Am I? A Tale of the He/She Dilemma

Hopefully soon I'll have a new blog design. I've been thinking about it a lot lately and after the link from Kadie over at A Womb at the Inn (sane) I need some ideas bigtime. I don't want anything too cutesy, too girly, too boy(ey??), but just right. After really inspecting my site I realized how boring it is and it needs some action. Some oomph!!! Any ideas come to mind?? The boys' picture is cute, no, it's downright adorable and all, but who wants to look at them every time they visit my site? I do, but I'm sure no one else does. I know I've said it's my blog and I can whatever I want, but I want people to l-i-k-e it (whine) and I want people to c-o-m-e b-a-c-k to it. (more whine)


Of course, I offer no sound advice, no coupons, not even any real or practical suggestions to real problems. But I do like jokes about the dregs of society, hearing real gossip about people I know and don't know, and anything else that people really shouldn't say or do. I know people can be cruel and that's it... it's a cruel world. Grow some hide and roll with the punches. I have recently decided that I will not be controlled by what others think I should say, do, or how I should act/react to situations. I am tired of people wearing their emotions, political agendas and religion on their sleeve. I don't try and force anything down anyone's throat, don't do it to me. I like to read funny things and laugh. I LIKE to be entertained. I DO NOT LIKE thinking about serious stuff all the time, talking "feelings" hardly at all. You know I just realized that maybe that's why Brent loves me so much, deep down maybe I'm a man. Maybe I look like a girl on the outside (and the inside I guess because I did bear my own children) but on the rings of my DNA I may be a male. I may be a he/she that I have bad dreams about. Why else would I like nasty jokes, laughing at them and then trying to remember them to tell my sisters? Why else would I hate romantic comedies and movies that center around love.? Don't get me wrong. I loved There's Something About Mary and the ones like that but Definitely, Maybe was too boring for me. I loved Knocked Up, mainly because it was hilarious and I can definitely see the sexy humor in Seth Rogan! My favorite movie since Brent took me to see it years ago has always been Predator. I think it's the greatest movie ever and I just don't think many girls/women (am I a woman or a girl or a lady or a he/she??? I'll ponder that one later too) think that about this particular movie. It has the elements of excitement and mystery and the gore (which I love, the more blood and guts and scarier) the more I love it. I loved Wrong Turn. It's about some psychotic killer in-breeders and it is hilarious. I actually think it's a black comedy -- which brings me to Fargo. I love that movie, although I love, absolutely adore Four Weddings and a Funeral and Muriel's Wedding. So, now I'm really confused. Is I a girl or isn't I? Do I have to stop getting my mani's and pedi's and cut off my long brown, blonde, black, coco highlighted with red strips underneath hair? Really, I usually have about four different colors highlighted when I do get my hair colored and highlighted but it's not all ugly and punk or anything. Really subtle yet with a modern flair. Except for the gray that seems to be poking out all over as we speak. Do I have to cut it off into a mullet and stop buying and wearing my beloved MAC make-up? I dare not speak of such things. Maybe I can have some "man" things in my life, like porn, scary/gore movies, and hating when strange people cry in front of me and still be a girly-girl? Maybe I'm so used to being around all the boys and men in my life that I forgot what it's like to "feel" and have the "emotions" of a woman. Whatever, it's all bullshit anyway. In the words of Popeye "I am what I am." Was it Popeye that said that or one of the Little Rascals? hmmm. Ciao.

Oh, and by the way. I did the Walgreen's and CVS thing with coupons from all the websites I've been reading and it seems that I didn't do too good of a job but I am definitely making headway. I spent an out of pocket total of $123.46 and yet my total savings from in-store sales and coupons (both store and manufacturer coupons) was $83.62. Not bad. No pictures or anything like that because I bought a lot of stuff I'm not too proud about the prices. Like $16.99 for my Neutrogena Body Oil - sesame scented. I love, love, love that stuff and I hope they're making more as we blog!

And.... I'm not a lesbian. My friend just told me it sounds like I'm trying to come out of the closet. Nah, just wondering if its nature vs. nurture.

IE7 And Stapled Magazines Suck

Computers are getting in my way of being happy. I happily cruise the internet on a daily basis. I look at it as my R&R. Leave me alone for about half an hour and I swear it will be worth your while. However, when roadrunner can't get their shit together and the lady in the Phillipines from Microsoft totally wipes it out.... it sucks. Having computers and taking care of their maintenance and upkeep is a tee-total pain the ass. Do you know how little I would have on my mind if I wasn't thinking about running this or doing that or blogging about this or seeing if anyone posted a new article or comment on other blogs.... I'd actually probably be bored. So, in between these last sporadic posts my computer caught a bad virus and was totally screwed, now after all the hard work and hours on the phone with different people, I happen to be back in working order, oh yeah, that is if I don't want to listen to anything. For some reason in the transition my sound card was deleted and guess what it's telling me now ... that there isn't one there. Well I don't think the sound card burglar snuck in in the middle of the night and took it so it's freakin' there, you just have to know where to look or decipher is the sound card file is corrupted and then go to the cd and search for it there and ... blah, blah, blah. In other words, unless Brent decides to reinstall it anytime soon, I hope my blog has sound when you listen to it because it doesn't when I log on. Tired of everybody and everything. Getting away either this week of next. Can't decide but since Friday is July 4th and Brent' off, we may just decide to take off for a few days and let the boys play at their aunt's house. Not much going on here. People only truly care about themselves and their own inconveniences. They don't understand how truly they can hurt someone else's feelings by their actions. Needless to say, too long and boring to go into but I'm tired of trying. I actually tried to be nice and friendly for awhile and guess where it gets you ... no where absolutely friggin nowhere. People claim to be Christians but are they really? Do they even know the meaning of the word?




Brent has spent all day putting in his new stereo because I have yet to venture out and try my hand at the Walgreen's and CVS coupons to see how much I can save. I made my list, compiled my coupons and carefully arranged them. Saved about $10 at Walmart between coupons on organic milk and dog food so it worked out really well. The boys got the new game at Circuit City yesterday so they have been very quiet and enthralled with it last night and today. I think Liam stayed up most of the night but he was up early too. I hope he sleeps late tomorrow morning. Brent and Ian got up early and had the grass mowed and everything by the time I got up. He came and woke me up at 9:45am. I don't even know why I slept so late other than I was exhausted. We watched a pretty good movie last night, Mad Money, and we all enjoyed it. Even Ian watched it all the way through so I told them tonight they could pick which one. Been ordering them off of I-Control so they have a few to pick from. Ian wants to see Mr. Magorium's Magical Emporium so hopefully if he picks that I'll fall asleep. Nah, just kidding. I'll have to sit through it with great enthusiasm and excitement and tell him what a great movie he picked. By the way if you haven't seen Mimzy (I think that's the name) it is really cute too. He picked that one and we went to the movies quite a while back but it's definitely worth the rent.




OK, so we made our way over to Barnes and Noble the other day and I got the last one of the Stephanie Meyers series: Twilight, New Moon, & now Eclipse. Have yet to read one of them but the new one comes out in August and I think the movie in September. You know how I am from talking about it before: I'm great at buying; just not so great at reading. Bought the latest edition of Radar and I made Brent stay up late with me last night reading the 100 things listed on the back page. They changed their format and the magazine now has staples in it binding it together which is a bit cheesy if you ask me and they changed the fonts which I can't stand. Getting up the nerve to email them: like we wouldn't notice. Trying to get on the make the money bandwagon and cutting down on glue and binding I guess so now they're stapling the magazine like a pamphlet or brochure. Definitely do not like it so maybe I'll email them and let them know! How pathetic right? Actually worrying about the binding on a stupid magazine. Now I'm going to go worry about important stuff like greenhouse gases and global warming. But.... that's boring. I like the thought of terrorizing a magazine until they go back to the way it was last freakin' month!! Ciao!

18 Years and We Haven't Poked Our Eyes Out Yet??

I kid with the title, but sometimes I think it's so true.... don't you?

So, exactly 18 years ago today I married my best friend and the love of my life. I never really thought I could love someone more 18 years later due to the fact that everybody ends up getting on my nerves at one time or another, but I'll have to hand it to him, he's put up with me this long which shows his dedication and love for our relationship and our family. And for that, among many other things, I can honestly say that I love him more today knowing what kind of man he has become, instead of being in love with the man he will become.

"In An Instant"

by Rev. Melissa L Straub

Our soulmates exist

In this well charted life

When we find them we know

In an instant it's right

And although to some

It seems far too fast

Who are we to judge

When their hearts meet at last

For they have known all along

To whom they belong

Their souls come together

Like a well rehearsed song

Let us support and nurture

The love these two know

So that through their lives together

This love shall continue to glow.

He really surprised me by coming home from work and telling me to get dressed to go out for our anniversary. I was like blah, blah... the boys..., blah, blah, anyway he worked it all out and they stayed with Granny and Poppie and we flew out of this one horse town for a great dinner, wine, relaxation and a great conversation. We went to Tokyo and ate sushi and watched all the cooks perform at the gril. We had a great time, drank wine and not once did we interrupt each other to scream at a child or retrieve food or utensils that were being thrown about. Nah, that never happens. We made a stop for coffee, bras and underwear and then headed out to pick up the boys. Even though we were only away for three and a half hours, it made a big difference in our mood this evening and it was some R&R that was very much needed and thoroughly enjoyed. Happy Anniversary to anyone else who shares the same date. It's a good day, a nice even number to boot. Ciao.

Happy Father's Day

Just want to say Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there that I know: My husband, my father-in-law Bill (Poppie) and all the brother-in-laws and friends that your day is special and filled with love. A special note to my daddy whom I love and miss very, very much. Love and kisses to all.

Ian drew this picture of him and his daddy on the computer this morning. Since they look so much alike and I guess he sees it too and hears it all the time, he drew them exactly the same or close enough to it but you get the idea. The inscription at the top reads: "Have a happy Father's Day Daddy! I love ridding dirt bikes with you. I hope your Father's Day is filled with joy, love." Brent said I told him what to write and Liam and I both adamantly denied it. He did it all on his own. Actually, I had to turn on the printer because they print off all kinds of crap but other than that, it was all his idea. I can tell you that no one helped him write it or draw it and I thought it was pretty good considering he used correct punctuation, only misspelling "ridding" but the fact that he doubled the consonant on the end after he dropped the "e" tells me that he was at least trying to be grammatically correct. What can I say, he is my son too! We just cracked up after I pointed out all these little things to Brent who could really give a crap, he just loved the picture. I have to study it for a while and get into his way of thinking. He even used the correct "your" instead of "you're." Little toot seemed to have learned a lot in first grade!

A few words of encouragement I ran across that seemed to convey some sort of message: Your children love you unconditionally, accept it. Sometimes I see idiots who try and test the limits of their children's love and I personally find it disgusting. Man UP! Take responsibility and enjoy the love they give you. No one else in your life will ever give you that, except, of course, your parents as it should be!!! Now those are my words but I think the summation is fitting.

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." -- Sigmund Freud."





A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child." --the Knights of Pythagoras"





A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty." -- Author Unknown."





Father! - to God himself we cannot give a holier name." -- William Wordsworth.

My videoing skills have a lot to be desired but you get the idea.... I believe Ian BELIEVES that he is connected to his daddy. If you can see before I decided to show the sky the grin on Ian's face... he's such a booger!

We're off to Drake's birthday party celebration this afternoon and since it looks like a stormy day I guess Brent won't mind so much that he's not working outside on the deck. He was really disappointed about no one doing anything for his birthday so we'll see how he feels after his party. Got to get the planning done this week so hopefully by the next Saturday at the end of June we'll be ready. Let me know if you have any good ideas. They have inflatable palm tree drink coolers on sale at Party City which I thought about putting all the kiddo's drinks in, well, I guess all the non-alcoholic drinks. I'll try and get over there in the next couple of days. Ciao!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to BRENT!

Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my sweetie, Brent. His birthday was actually yesterday but my day was pretty full so I never got around to posting, although I did add a song that says it all. I let him listen to the song and he really, really liked it. We had a really great, extra special day and I think he was rather pleased. He's putting a new stereo in his truck and he has that all picked out we just have to go get it installed so who knows when that will be. We took the boys to the beach and played and they played soccer in the water. I think they had more fun with a tracking device from the Coast Guard they ran across than anything else. We looked for shells so now we have bunches and bunches of shells in glasses all around the house. I would post some pics but I forgot my camera. Which leads me to the story that Brent found my Nikon that I had lost -- well, I guess I just misplaced it in a rubbermaid box in the closet so now I have my Nikon back which cost a pretty penny so I can start using that one again and keep the other one in my truck for such occasions as yesterday. I even took out my video camera which I always leave in my truck but I recently decided to stop leaving everything in there in case it gets stolen and we had the truck serviced at the dealer so I had to purge everything, and quickly. OK, back to my sweetie's birthday. We had his mom and dad and my sister and nephew over for a shrimp boil. I had everything set up outside and Brent cooked everything outside but by the time we ate we just had it all on the table inside and dug in. The shrimp and andouille together was a real surprise to me that it tasted sooo great, but he added lemon and onions and potatoes and corn and it was a great dinner. Just like a crawfish boil except we used shrimp. We're thinking about doing crawfish this weekend if we can find somewhere that has them on such short notice. It's supposed to be really hot and it seems like the ultimate end to his well-deserved vacation. His mom always makes his cake and it was DELISH. It's his favorite and now I think it's mine too. It gets better every time we have it. Even Tricia said it was really good and I had to bring a piece up to the hospital with us this afternoon so she could eat it for her lunch on the way over there. YUP, me too. When we got back I had a huge cup of coffee and a piece of cake and Ian helped me drink the coffee and eat the cake but it was highly enjoyable. A few weeks ago he got a new mower so he said that was his birthday, Father's Day and Anniversary all rolled into one gift. OK by me, just don't go getting any silly ideas that I'll fall for something like that. Silly, silly man. Still planning his party -- but I have to reschedule with the people who have the catering center and decide on the food. I know it's going to be the BBQ but I just have to tell them which meat and sides we want. Me and Tricia worked on the invitations and the list the other night at the hospital and I'm going to see about a slushie machine for the kids -- then when it's all gone I can add liquor for ME, ME, ME!!! yeah. Sorry to divert my attention ... back to the business at hand. I started thinking about a really cold, icy, pina colada and ooopps there I go again. Note to self: must stop. OK, so where was I? Oh yeah so it's still on but when he goes back to work next week I'll know more because I can do all my phone calls and get the business taken care of.

Momma looked surprisingly upbeat and alert today. I think she's doing exceptionally well considering all she has been through. I don't want to go on and on about that because it gets me sad so please keep us in your prayers is all I ask.

Brent has been working on the deck around the pool this week, redoing his motorcycle and ordering new parts for it and I think, in general, trying to stay busy and forget about his birthday. But he'll be really happy when it all comes together and he can just sit back, relax and enjoy it. I asked him yesterday how come every year on his birthday he'd rather cook his own meal than go out and he said "because I cook it better." And in his defense he was right. We're going to miss him next week when he has to go back to work but Ian has summer rec and Liam starts baseball camp the next week, which Ian may go to but I didn't realize that Summer Rec and baseball camp coincided so he'll have to make a choice because the baseball camp costs a lot more $. I think they would both love it and then I could drop them off and go spend the day with momma helping her until it was time to pick them up around 4pm. Also looking in Lamar Superkids for Ian but I'm going to check their website now to see if any spaces are available. With Momma going into the hospital in May and the end of school, I forgot to look for the registration form and send it in. My luck it's already too late but we'll see. If so, I'm thinking about Wacky Science Camp which is right up the highway. I know Ian would enjoy it and get him interested in science. I also have two playdates worked out where I can switch off although I'll probably just keep them because that just feels more comfortable. I get really freaked out if I think the boys are going to be riding in someone else's vehicle on the highway and slam into a tractor-trailer rig and everyone ends up decapitated. I know it's morbid, gross, etc. but that's the way I think. So my friend sent me a list of free and/or inexpensive things to do with your kids this summer and it includes the Houston area so I'll be taking a closer look at it because it seems like everything they want to do all summer is $300 for each session. Yikes. And with two that is compounded and can get really expensive. I couldn't imagine having to do it for 3 or 4 kids. We're planning a mini-vacation for later on in the summer to get the hell out of dodge. Hopefully by then momma will be home and home health will be able to come in several days a week so assist her and then we're planning on a weekend away. I told Brent if he wants it then he has to plan it. Just let me know when and where. I'll be keeping my nose out of it so he can make all the arrangements. It gets really frustrating doing all the planning all the time so I shan't be partaking in that any longer. Nuff said hopefully. Does anybody else feel like that? Well, Father's Day is Sunday, and our Anniversary and my nephew, Drake's, 16th Birthday is Monday. He'll be 16 on the 16th. What is that called? I know it's special though so I have to figure out something he wants and he's a brat so he's not going to appreciate whatever it is I decide to give him.

On Monday, the 16th, we'll be married 18 years! I find that so hard to believe considering it seems like yesterday we were dating and childless. Ooohhhh, let me ponder those thoughts for a moment. We dated for 7 years before we got married. Anyway, he was my best friend, he still is my best friend and there isn't anything that I do not tell him. Even if you say "Don't tell anybody," everybody always says "well, besides Brent." Yeah, I guess it's a given that I'd never keep anything from him. So I guess the cat's out of the bag. Even if I say I won't tell him, I usually do. If not right then, it usually crosses my mind later and I end up blabbing it. But don't worry I usually tell him not to tell anybody and he NEVER tells anybody. Well, unless he finds out something then he tells ME. Which is also a given. Maybe I could find a babysitter and we could go out and have a nice dinner by ourselves and ponder the thoughts about what it was like before we had kids. At first you think the children are going to change you and your life is going to be different, but in the end your kids aclimate themselves to you. When we had Liam, I really don't think we stopped anything. Two boys is a little different now, but we're not half as boring as some of the people I know. At least I hope not. I do know after this week just how much those little boys are attached to their daddy. They do not want to do anything without him. I told them next week we'd go to the movies and eat lunch and they both decided we had to do that after their daddy gets off so he can go with us because Brent would like that so we have to wait on him, but if we want to go to the library, movie store or to the neighbor's to swim in their pond that was OK because Daddy didn't really care about that. Now how sweet is that? I kind of get it but then I kind of get sad about it too.

Book Review by a very bored, SAHM upon whom no one should actually base an opinion as "Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one" so here we go: Bought a great book at Barnes & Noble the other night. It's the Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine. It has over 600 pages of the most authentic recipes and stories about the history of Louisiana. The pages, well, you know how I feel about the pages... they are great. I cannot keep my hands off of them. They are thick, smooth, well-written and the photography is beautiful. I love looking at pics from the days gone by and the everyday life of the Acadians, Cajuns and just people, in general. If you get a chance to browse through it or buy it, it is well worth the money, well worth it. Brent liked it too and we followed the recipe for the shrimp boil and it was lovely, truly tasty in all aspects. My respect and admiration to Chef Folse for such a great book, a piece of literature in itself.

Well, it's Family Fun Night. Whoo-hoo! No, I'm really excited about it. Thinking it's Sports Connection or a movie night. Brent has to tidy up and take a shower so I guess we'll make our decision. I LOVE SUMMER TIME! I love that I don't hate Sunday evenings anymore because I have to get clothes ready for the week, locate lunches, go over homework, read with Ian for 20 minutes and all the other little nit-picky crap including making sure they get to bed on time when it doesn't even get dark until 8:45pm. If I didn't say it loud enough, I LOVE SUMMER! Ciao Bella!

P.S. We didn't get up before 8:45 all week and it was absolutely blissful. Hopefully next week they'll sleep even later!

P.S.S. or P.P.S. (?) How come other people can get away with short blogs about their daily boring stuff but it takes me a novel? Am I long-winded, do I have a lot to say or do you even care??

Wodless Wednesday is now full of Words!

Of course I have to be difficult so my wordless wednesday now has words... this is what I see when I think of Brent and these are the words that come to me when I think of Brent: love, light, my heart, solid, serene, happy, distinct. That's all I can think of now but when I see this picture I know it reminds me of Brent. 'Night sweetheart.

Is It Over YET?? How long can they drag out the end of school?

(Denver, CO where Brent is trying very hard to get adjusted to the altitude and enjoying every minute of the cool temperatures. Booger.)

Of course, it's not snowing there right now but this is the first picture I found. I'll try and post some if he remembers to take any.

Well, the last day of school is tomorrow and I for one couldn't be happier. I am sooooo exhausted and this will be another hurdle behind me. Monday started with a bang and Brent got to his flight on time. I then went to a mammo and ct scan with a friend and then spent the afternoon at the hospital visiting my lil momma with Tricia and Bailee. We had fun and cheered her up. By the time we left a couple of hours later she was laughing and was in good spirits. Brent called and he said the weather in Denver is beautiful and cool. God, what I wouldn't do for some 60 degree weather around here. Tuesday was Ian's awards in his classroom and Bailee went with me to see him. He did really well and received four awards and some pesos from Chile for an added bonus if you maintained above a 95 average. He was so proud he couldn't wait to get home to call his daddy and tell him about his awards. We dropped Ian off at his last game and then took Liam and Bailee with me back up to the hospital to meet up with the doctor and discuss our options about momma. It is very sad and depressing. Enough of that ... so Ian wins his last game and his granny said that he hit the ball all the way to the fence twice which is really good as it is on the big field. I told him I know his daddy is sorry he missed it. Poor little thing but he did well considering it was after 9:00 before we got home, showered and in the bed.

Today Bailee and I did all my shopping for the end of school treats, gifts and teacher gifts all before noon then took lunch up to Nana at the hospital. Ian went home with my neighbor to swim in their lake so after school I dropped Liam off at Tricia and Drake's and then we went back up to the hospital until about 9:00pm. Once again it's been a really long day. Bailee stayed here and took care of Ian and did an excellent job. She fed him Caesar salad with chicken and made a huge fruit salad and they ate that too. She let him swim so he said he didn't have to shower. It's the last day of school and he's going to be getting all hot and sweaty so what the hey! Sitting here trying to relax but it's hard when your mind is racing. Watching your mom wither away to nothing just breaks your heart knowing there isn't any way to fix it or make it better. I've finally come to the realization that maybe we are a lot alike.... If I can get one smile out of her before I leave each day, in the end that's all that really matters. Making the people you love happy.

God I cannot wait for my sweetie to come home. This week has been long and exhausting and when his plane lands you won't be able to wipe that smile off my face. He's my rock that I lean on when I need to and it is so disappointing to not have that; he's trying to cheer me up over the phone but it's just not the same. I miss Brent and I really need to get on the ball and get his party planned or call the place and tell them we're postponing it and the caterer too. I guess I can make that decision after school gets out tomorrow. Got Ian's teacher the cutest travel bag and jewelry from my friend. Hope she likes it. Picked up a few things to perk me up too. The necklace is pretty cute and some bangle bracelets that go with a lot of outfits. I'll have to put a link on here to her website. She's really reasonable and she is the sweetest person in the world. Better go print out labels for Ian's little gifts to his friends so I can get to bed sometime tonight. I'm about one tired bi-otch. Ciao Bella.