Happy Birthday, Joe!

I've only known you for a few years now, but I can honestly say that I truly love you as if you were my own. I wish there were words to tell you how much you mean to me, what an amazing spirit you have that just permeates your being. You are never out of my mind, or my heart. I miss you, Joe.

Happy Birthday, Beanie!!! Welcome to 'Teen-ager-dom'!!! We love you.

Wordless Wednesday

Bah-Humbug

That would be me this happy holiday season.

Tom and Joe won't even be here until (hopefully) spring. I didn't even want to get a "family" picture made this year because it would just have two empty spots in it. That's not like me... an opportunity to have even more pictures to slap in frames around the house? Miss it? Nah... never! Yup. My three looked adorable, sweet, deceiving. It just didn't feel right.

Juggling being available for the kids, working, trying to build a business = no money this year. What's new, right? Oh, one funny, tho... guess who got a speeding ticket? Here's a hint: it wasn't me! Mr. "Jodie, you drive way too fast. Here, you just sit over there in the passenger's seat and be quiet while I set the cruise control on 60 mph. I don't care if we're on the turnpike and the speed limit is 75! Check out my gas mileage graph on my Palm!! Oh, look at yours - down, down, down. Slow down, Darling!!!" had a lil' bit o' lead foot... in a school zone, no less!!!! Yes, folks, there is a God... and she gave me a well deserved high-five last week, the day he called asking where in the hell the insurance verification was! I'd laugh harder if it wasn't going to cost us so damn much.

Sigh...

My first Christmas morning without my kids. Without watching their little faces go from all sleepy, gooey, squinty-eyed to Wow!!! in 3.2 flat. Goes with the territory, I suppose. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

I know! How about we just skip Christmas this year. Yeah! I'll go to bed on the 24th, and wake up, and it will be the 26th and it will all be past me.

Maybe we'll get that winter camping get-away afterall...

transformed

I picked them up from school on Wednesday, a little bit early since Mac had an Awards Assembly (which she SWEPT thankyouverymuch - I'm not proud at all!!!) and escaping from that parking lot even 10 minutes early can literally save my sanity. Ever try bitching at the woman who blocked your car in when said woman can't understand. a. word. of. English.? Not fun, especially when the counselor had her arm across my chest, waving the other mother on. Can you tell I was pissed???

So, we get home a few minutes earlier than usual. They promised homework completed and to give me 'Mommy time with coffee and Steve' - a MUST, especially for what they were about to demand from me...

Into our bedroom we go, an hour later, these three 'creatures' emerge...

allow me to introduce...


Princess of the Underworld

Jack Sparrow

and...

Scary Witch

My cute little blonde-haired, blue-eyed kids became black-haired (one with dredlocks!) wannabe scary creatures. I'll give them creepy, maybe even freaky, but scary... nah. But I'd never tell them that!!!

Now, what was scary... them, upon returning home way too late for small children on a school night, much too full of sugar for any 200 pound adult... confinement in a shower for what seemed like an eternity... trying desperately to find the blonde hair they were born with (it appeared, several shampoos later, although, my bathtub will never be the same!). Thursday came, with them still bouncing off the walls. And Friday? They were all Steve's! ha.

My "baby"

It's hard to believe that nine years ago today, I was in the hospital, anxiously awaiting the birth of my first-born... would it be a boy or a girl? I won't rehash the long, drawn out birth story, although, I remember it like it was yesterday. Detail after detail.

At 3:36 pm my daughter entered this world. And life, as I knew it, changed forever. And I couldn't be happier!

Happy Birthday, Mac. You are growing up so fast! What a beautiful, strong, intelligent young lady you have become. We are so incredibly proud of you, darling. To put it into words simply would not justify. I love you!!

(Edited to add: in my effort to be efficient, I wrote this post last night to post this morning, so the date is wrong - when time allows, I'll fix it - but in the meantime, it should be October 23rd!)

Sherry

I bet that when she was born, forty-three years ago, her mother imagined a wonderful life for her daughter. A wonderful, long life, full of happiness and love for her daughter. As all mothers, I'm sure the thought of out-living her daughter simply never crossed her mind.

I bet that with the birth of each of her own four children, she, too, imagined long, full lives bursting with happiness and love and contentment. Four lives that she would have the honor of sharing, of being a part of for a very long, long time.

Early yesterday morning, Sherry lost her battle with breast cancer.

It's not fair. It's not fair that her mother has to experience every mother's worst nightmare... burying your child. It's not fair that her husband had to become a widower at too young an age. It's not fair that she didn't get to see three of her four children enter high school, that she didn't get to see any of them graduate, go to college, get married. Their own children will never get to meet their grandmother. It's just not fair.

And it's not fair that my sister, only in her thirties, now has to face life without her best friend.

I'm angry. But mostly, I'm sad.

I know there isn't much I can do. So I do what I can. I spend the extra few cents on yogurt to get the ones with the pink tops. I buy pink ribbon apparel whenever I can afford it. I joined TeamWhyMommy. I click. And even though I don't have two nickles to rub together most of the time, I donate every. single. time. I'm. asked.

I want this to end. I don't want any more children to lose their Mom way too early. I don't want any more husbands to be left alone. I don't want any more women to lose their best friends.

I want to help find a cure.

So, Jen, if there's anything I can do, or if you just want to vent, yell, scream, talk, cry... I'm here for you. And I'm so, so sorry.

(My sister, Jennifer, and Sherry - October 2006)

Slowed to a (non-existent) crawl

That would be my blog. I knew I would slow down once school started, but jeez! I didn't think I'd actually stop! I bow to those of you who really can do it all... kids, work, running from here to there and everywhere in between at warp speed, and blog! Not me. Seriously, I've even stopped drying my hair in the morning. I rely on the gentle breeze from the car window and the can of White Rain I keep at school to complete my beauty regime.

The kids are doing well at school. Mac has settled into her routine. Who knew third grade would be so hard? And demanding? Man! the homework that kid has! We've established the "20 minute rule" for her. After school, she gets 20 minutes to herself to 'unwind' (read: chill out so she won't scream at everyone). In that time, she doesn't have to do anything at all. Her room is off limits to the others and she can just sit and veg... watch tv, listen to tunes, nap... whatever she wants, in order to emerge a kinder, gentler Mac. It seems to be helping, even though we have to remind her once in a while to take it. "Mac, step away from the knife drawer, pull the Diva off of your left foot, and go. to. your. room. NOW!"

Unfortunately, however, it would seem she's inherited her mother's OCD gene, as far as school work goes (trust me, it could be put to waaaaay better use in that wretched bedroom of hers, but I should really pick my battles). She usually doesn't have to be told to get started on homework and if she gets stumped, look out!!! She enjoys a challenge, does Mac, we just need to teach her how to embrace the challenge, rather than spewing pea soup and doing that head-spinning trick. She's going to be just fine... and I can't imagine it possible to be more proud!!!

Mr. Mic... my darling son... is certifiable! Seriously. Six years old... in first grade... and he's already tried to 'change' the weekly discipline report from his teacher. He honestly thought that he could take a ball-point pen, scribble over the numbers his teacher wrote in sharpie and add stars... and that I wouldn't notice!! I don't think he'll be trying that again!!! He is reading at a mid-fourth grade level and smokin' all the others with his AR (Accelerated Reader) points, even his older sister!!! (we won't go into what kind of sibling rivalry that evokes... 20 minutes, Mac, 20 minutes!!!)

He's playing soccer again this year and what a difference a year makes!!! He's gone from the little lanky kid who was only on the field to either dance or attempt to take flight... clueless that a game was going on around him... to one of the best players on his team!!! Not only is he right in the middle of the action, kicking and often emerging with the ball in his control... but, he can often be seen actually anticipating the play and calling out for his teammates to pass it to him or running ahead to make a steal from the other team's Neanderthal. Next on the list, Steve's going to teach him how to tackle properly (even though I've told him this is really soccer, Steve... not football!!!) He scored his first goal yesterday!!! (the only game I couldn't be at all season :( )

The Diva. Oh, The Diva! Steve reckons that once she gets the school to learn her rules, she'll be just fine!!! She's come home with 2 yellow dots (they get stop-light colored dots each day for behavior... green is good) so far, the first one had her in complete and total devastation... the second, well... all I can say is that if a kid scratched me on the face, I'd tackle her ass, too!!! She's over that and just amazes me more and more every day. I'm over the crying in the morning because I'm sending my baby off to school, thing. She's got the world as her playground and she is loving life!!! And I wouldn't have it any other way!!!

Autumn is desperately trying to make its appearance here in Oklahoma. Cooler nights are beginning to creep in and we would LOVE another camping trip before winter. Not sure if it is going to happen, but doesn't stop us from hoping. Planning Mac's 9th Birthday party (she finally settled on a skating party... personally, I don't care, as long as it's not at home, so I don't have to do all the cleaning). Trying to save every penny so we can get Tom and Joe across the pond by Christmas. Anyone know how I can get two tickets from England for, oh, I don't know, about 20 bucks each???????

So, to all two of you out there who pop in from time-to-time... thank you, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I don't get in here much for your reading pleasure. I know how riveting my life is and how you just long for that edge-of-your-seat play-by-play that is my life... I really promise to try to do better, but I can tell you right now that I won't!!! Maybe I'll make a pact with myself... at least one post / week? Even if it is just a couple of lines saying why I'm not posting. Fascinating.

(Meanwhile... for your viewing pleasure... the loves of my life...)