Planning This Vacation!

So here's what's going on with our Spring break vacation: There is nothing going on.

Well, yet.

We thought we'd be going on a Disney cruise in February with both my brothers, their families, and my Mom. Turns out February is not going to work.

I REALLY want to vacation in March, and am HOPING and PRAYING that it works out!

I want to give my kids this trip of a lifetime and it's been so hard just waiting and wondering how it's all going to work out.

I've got my fingers crossed.

I am, I think, I know

I am: Becoming more and more type A as I get older.

I think: Other Moms don't take me seriously.

I know: I'm a good Mom.

 

I want: To book this Disney cruise!

I have: Everything I need.

I dislike: Torture, cruelty, crazy people who do bad things.

I miss: Rick.

I fear: Dying and leaving my kids behind.

 

I feel: Happy then stressed then happy then crabby.....

I hear: currently - Max and Ruby, the baby I watch screaming, Laila and Delaney talking.

I smell: Coffee - I usually always have oils burning though.

I crave: Beer

I search: The internet all the time for information - especially when people put stuff on FB that I want to know more about.

I wonder: Why some people have kids when they never want to be around them.

I regret: Every single time I came down way to hard on one of my kids.

I love: My husband.

I care: About what I look like.

I am always: Weighing myself, picking up the house, doing 10 things at once.

I worry:  That I will never be good enough to be an interpreter and all this school is going to be a waste of time and money.

I remember: Some things from my life - good and bad. I don't remember a lot though, generally speaking

I sing: Along if I know the words.

I argue: With people on FB like an idiot.

I write: Just for school.

I lose: My mind when I feel like I'm the only one who ever does anything around the house.

I wish: I didn't have to work.

I listen: Well. Even though I talk a LOT, I can be a really good listener.

I don't understand: Why my kids aren't afraid of me.

I can usually be found: On this stupid computer.

I am scared: Of the night, I always think I hear noises.

I need: To get in shape!!!

I forget: People's names and faces.

I am happy: Most of the time.

From This to This

It's over! We went from being completely down for the count to BACK TO LIFE! Last Friday we all finally felt like ourselves. The warm weather came (40 degrees!) and we were going, going,....gone! We went to the Zoo on Friday. We played family games Friday night. We went out for lunch with Bill's sister and her family on Saturday then went tubing at Three Rivers. My Dad and Mare came Saturday and spend the night with us. I can't tell you how good it felt to be normal again!

We're still really wanting to go on a Disney cruise, but are waiting patiently for a date to come that works for everyone. Keep your fingers crossed!!

Have a great weekend!!

Sick cont.

It is Thursday and I have been rallying all week. I've been so, insanely, tired and I have a constant heachache that even keeps me up at night.
I've been up in the morning getting the girls ready for school. I've had daycare kids, extra daycare kids, and a set of twins coming today for 4 hours as a favor to a friend who's provider is on vacation.
Why do I do this to myself? One of my daycare parents, who I love, is home for the 3rd day in a row now. I'm pretty sure in my 9 years of parenthood I have never had one single day to be at home, by myself, to be sick and rest. I don't have a daycare provider (obviously) and we all know I don't have a Grandma or Grandpa to watch my kids so I can die in peace.
I seriously want to feel better. I'm sick of having something to eat then feeling sick for an hour afterwords and I am definitely sick of this headache.
Let's just say that when I DO finally feel like myself again I'm going to get out of this house and do something fun!

Sick

Everyone and their mother has been sick since the holidays, it seems. Bill was sick ON Christmas Day and so were so many other people!
We were good for a couple of days then last Monday one of my daycare kids threw up all over the kitchen table at lunch.
Cue: Laila throwing up ALL night Thursday, a little on Friday, and once again on Saturday morning....and then I started in ALL night Saturday.
Gross.

I have spent days on end sanitizing and cleaning and changing sheet and toothbrushes and I am over it. Noone else is allowed to get sick. Period.

I know a lot of other people/families have been sick this winter, too. It makes it really hard to get together and have fun with anybody!

Hopefully the worst is over and we can all get back to normal.

If and When

IF and when I allow my children to use a phone of their own I will definitely take from this mother's rules:

Greg Hoffman is a kid who just got an iPhone from his parents. His mom, Janell Hoffman, wrote these [slightly edited] rules for its use:

1. It is my phone. I b...ought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. Aren't I the greatest?
2. I will always know the password.
3. If it rings, answer it. It is a phone. Say hello, use your manners. Do not ever ignore a phone call if the screen reads "Mom" or "Dad". Not ever.
4. Hand the phone to one of your parents promptly at 7:30pm every school night & every weekend night at 9:00pm. It will be shut off for the night and turned on again at 7:30am. If you would not make a call to someone's land line, wherein their parents may answer first, then do not call or text. Listen to those instincts and respect other families like we would like to be respected.
5. It does not go to school with you. Have a conversation with the people you text in person. It's a life skill.
6. If it falls into the toilet, smashes on the ground, or vanishes into thin air, you are responsible for the replacement costs or repairs.
7. Do not use this technology to lie, fool, or deceive another human being. Do not involve yourself in conversations that are hurtful to others. Be a good friend first or stay the hell out of the crossfire.
8-9. Do not text, email, or say anything through this device you would not say in person.
10. No porn.
11. Turn it off, silence it, put it away in public. Especially in a restaurant, at the movies, or while speaking with another human being. You are not a rude person; do not allow the iPhone to change that.
12. Do not send or receive pictures of your private parts or anyone else's private parts. Don't laugh. Someday you will be tempted to do this despite your high intelligence. It is risky and could ruin your teenage/college/adult life. It is always a bad idea. Cyberspace is vast and more powerful than you. And it is hard to make anything of this magnitude disappear -- including a bad reputation.
13. Don't take a zillion pictures and videos. There is no need to document everything. Live your experiences. They will be stored in your memory for eternity.
14. Leave your phone home sometimes and feel safe and secure in that decision. It is not alive or an extension of you. Learn to live without it. Be bigger and more powerful than FOMO -- fear of missing out.
15. Download music that is new or classic or different than the millions of your peers that listen to the same exact stuff. Your generation has access to music like never before in history. Take advantage of that gift. Expand your horizons.
16. Play a game with words or puzzles or brain teasers every now and then.
17. Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you. Stare out a window. Listen to the birds. Take a walk. Talk to a stranger. Wonder without googling.
18. You will mess up. I will take away your phone. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. You & I, we are always learning. I am on your team. We are in this together.

Cecelia's 9th Birthday

She's got the biggest, softest heart of anyone I know. Even her voice is soft and sweet. Her eyes look like the ocean - blue and a hint of green with love shining through them.
She's so nice to everyone - including her sisters. They torture her and she just asks 'why are they mean to me?'
She's polite and knows how to act like a lady. She never complains. She's a top student at school, but more importantly, knows how to be brave and kind. She got voted Role Model in her classroom recently, and didn't even tell us - the teacher did. That's just the kind of kid she is.
Cecelia Jane I love you more than you will ever, ever be able to understand. Happy Birthday!!!