I Don't Have NoWhere To Sleep



This is what woke me up this morning at 2:00 amish. It was Allie and she was crying. She, obviously, needed to come and sleep with us since she had nowhere to sleep. This from the girl who will sleep anywhere. Hence the picture taken when she was about 3. She was tired, and of course could not let go of her cookies. It was classic Allie.

I guess she had fallen asleep in Kelsey's bed, and when Kelsey went to bed she put her on the floor. Not so great on a night it was 32 degrees on a pergo floor. Of course, her bed was open. But that was not good because Sophie was spending the night with Rachel and she would have to be alone. We can't have that.

So, she ended up in my bed and that was fine until Eric had to get up and go to work, at 3:30 am I might add (poor guy and it was cold!). Then, for whatever the reason, she felt the need to be right on top of me - or kicking me - until I got up at 6:30 am. Now she is still asleep and I am facing my day.

It always makes me eat my words when my kids sleep all over the house. In my home growing up, there were people everywhere but in their beds at night. One night I came home from a date and Patrick was sleeping on the stairs! Yes, the stairs! Who could let their kids get that out of control that they would sleep on the stairs? Now, that would be me.

So now I am off to WalMart, since I did not make it yesterday. I have a webinar with a prospect this afternoon, on my day off, and I have to get us ready to camp. The weather report now looks pretty dang good, and I expect a fun time will be had by all. Just another day in crazyville.

Still No Title

There is still no title box on my template, so I am just going to have to do it the old fashioned way. It is Monday morning and it is cold. (The picture is from last year when the HOA brought some snow into Lakewood grove - it is much colder today than it was then, but this is for effect)

I didn't have to get up with the kids, so I did not get up until 7:00 am - LAZY, LAZY. It was great. I need to get out and run, get home and shower before my Monday morning conference call for work.

This is the down side - the kids are here and I am going to work part of today and part of tomorrow. It is not so easy to keep 5 kids occupied while working. I have become accustomed to having the house to myself during the day. I need to finish up the shopping for camping and getting stuff ready for our nice cold camping trip.

So, hang in there and enjoy Monday.

Another Saturday

It was a day spent doing the regular stuff. Ryan has decided that he is going to head up a football game against the Kenningtons and the Joneses when we go camping. He has had the girls out there today learning plays and putting them through conditioning.

I am afraid that the bad Linford genes are coming out in him. Each year we have a family football game. It should be a nice, fun time correct? Well, when you have 10 type A personalities, plus spouses and some children, it is a blood match complete with team shirts (Go Semi-Precious Metals). Last year the game ended when Matt really messed up his ankle - I think he was just whimping out since we were beating him. But, that is just my opinion.

So, since there will be no Linford Game for us, they may still play since it is a Boys Only Linford Thanksgiving, Ryan is organizing the White Trash Turkey Bowl. The biggest problem is none of the other players are aware of his plans. It will be a sneak attack.

It just was nice to see him out there today with his sisters being nice and working with them. He is a great brother when he decides to be. Here is hoping that happens more often.

So, the new banner is a celebration of football and other Saturday sports.

The Banner, The Banner

You need to say this with the voice of Tatoo from Fantasty Island. For those who don't know who this is, you are way too young, or maybe I am way too old. I am having problems with blogger, so there is no title to this post. The box where you put the title is missing...Um I guess that is what you get for free.

I am still having problems with the banner thing - I can't find the HTML code which tells you to show the title of the blog to go away. I have put it in my banner, and don't want it to display under my banner. Oh well. It is a start, now I just need to try and get fancy.

I waited too long to go for my run and it was HOT. I did my 60 minutes and now I am tired. I still have a full day of soccer game, soccer party and Costco in front of me! I know you are jealous.

Hopefully it will get the kinks worked out so I don't spend soo much time working on the blog layout. I need to clean the house and work on some other stuff. Oh well, I am pretending I am learning something which is a good thing, right???

It is Friday and I have nothing to say

How does that title grab you? I am doing the regular Friday things - work, kids, house, get ready for the weekend, etc. But, this is the start of the Thanksgving holiday. My kids have no school for ONE WEEK. That means no early mornings. You would think I started early since I could not get out of bed this morning. Eric was on Seminary duty and he even stopped and let Ryan bring doughnuts for everyone, so I think that was covered.

I need to get cracking on the plans for the White Trash Thanksgiving. I think it is going to be fun, and I hope there is no burn ban for Bastrop. It will be very cold if we can't have a fire, and it is just not as fun. Since we have joined the ranks of the professional campers, many of our meals will be in the dutch oven. Of course, we the Pearson's don't have a dutch oven, but our camping partners the Kenningtons and the Joneses do. As a matter of fact I think Robert and Sterling are in a race to see who can be in possesion of the greatest number of dutch ovens at one time. They each have like 5-10 now. Crazy for them, good for us.

We are in possesion, however, of the most important part of the White Trash Thanksgiving - the deep fryer for the turkey. It is not trashy if it is not deep fried! We perfected the art last Thanksgiving and now Eric will get to show his deep fried expertise in Bastrop. It will be a different Thanksgiving, no football, but I am going to enjoy it.

BUT - I will miss the Black Friday craziness. Many times I am not looking for anything in particular. It is just fun to go with the million other crazy people who invade WalMart at 5:00 AM and try and grab up some little thing they can't live without. I still don't know what to get everyone for Christmas, so I guess it is best not to just buy on Black Friday without a plan.

So go and enjoy your day. I am going over to Becky's today and I am bound and determined that I will get a banner posted if it is the last thing I do. I have put something quick together in Photoshop - it is not fancy or great but it is a start. Now I just need to get in on the blog. Now if I only understood HTML. Here is the total of my HTML expertise < >. Should be fun.

A Crazy Wednesday, and a slow Thursday

I had a long Wednesday due to bad weather in Dallas and Houston, it made for a crazy travel day. I was meeting two colleagues in town who were coming from two different parts of the country. With delays into Dallas of three to four hours, it was good that I am good at a plan B. Everyone made it eventually and I was glad for the backup when the network manager was talking about DMZ's and forests (not the kind Bambi traverses). Thank goodness for technical guys (and gals). We had a great meeting with my prospect, and I hope that will translate into business next year. We will see.

I came home, after my 17 hour day, and was dog tired. I dragged myself into bed and was awakened sometime after midnight to the sound of throwup. Now, I don't do vomit well. Eric, the hero, got up and cleaned up the lionshare of the mess. In the light of day, I had a small bit left, but I heard him mopping and cleaning last night. I pulled the "pull the covers over my ears and pretend it is not going on" thing. It was Caroline, so today we are going to stay home, and I hope she will feel better. She has some kind of bug complete with fever. Here is to hoping it stays with just her - I don't think I can handle five children with the stomach flu!

I did come home to a clean house thanks to Ellen. I love Ellen. To have the whole house clean at the same time is nothing short of a miracle!

Picture has nothing to do with post, but I liked it. This is my first attempt to link to an image in my photobucket account, not load from my pc. It was much faster. I think that is the way to go.

Here is to hoping I don't spend the day cleaning up vomit! Aren't you jealous of my life?

But I Don't Want to Clean My Room

This is the refrain which I hear each and every day from Allie. It is getting on my last nerve. I think the baby of the family thing is going just a little too far. Even Caroline is easier to get moving than Allie. I guess we will just have to keep having her clean until she gets the clue that this is not negotiable. Do I look like a pushover?? Why does this child push me so?

Busy day today. Work, book club here for lunch and then the normal running around this afternoon. Such is my life!

Have a great Tuesday.

Weekend in Review

Oh that I had my camera with me so I could have snapped a few pics this weekend. But alas, no pictures - just a random picture of Patrick playing with the twins from this summer. They do love playing iwth him.

I did get my Photoshop Elements in the mail, thanks to my Costco coupon, so pics should be forthcoming. I am bound and detmined to get a banner by the end of the week.

We had Sophie's last soccer game on Saturday, and her soccer party. The Geckos won their last game! She had a pretty good game. Eric had to miss the last game because he was at a meeting for Stake Conference. We both missed the party, due to Stake conf, but she had a ball. She still loves soccer so we are going to have to figure out what to do with her!

Allie has one more game. I don't like how Klein does soccer for this age, so I will admit, I am not that into her stuff. She is having fun and that is all that matters, but we will NOT put her back into soccer at Klein.

We went to the Jones home for dessert after the adult sesion of conference to plan our White Trash Thanksgiving with the Joneses and the Kennintons. I am looking forward to it. Just imgagine the possiblities with a theme like that. Sarah made an execellet dessert trifle. It looked fancy and it was tasty. You can't beat that.

On Sunday we went to the earlier session of conference to watch Rachel give her talk. I think that is just cruel and unusual punishment to have a nine year old speak at Stake Conference. She did an amazing job, probably better than I would have done. The session was great, and I am glad we went.

After conference we went to the park to play soccer/baseball and then we had our family pics taken by photographer extraodinaire Sarah Jones. I am hoping there is at least one that will be good for our Christmas card. If we can find a good one I would like to get a bigger one for the house. We will have to see.

I am off to do play drill sergeant to three sleepy girls and get them out the door. Then its a run before my 9:30 am conference call. I am going to Dallas tomorrow evening and back on Wednesday. It should make for a fun week.

Laziness

I could not get up this morning. I don't know what the deal was. I am so tired. I should not be - I fell asleep last night at 8:30! I guess the daily grind is just getting to me. I even broke the rules of common decency and went to the bus stop in my PJ's. I am sure everyone is thinking "that is what five kids will do to you." Oh well, tomorrow is another day, and it is Friday.

I snapped this picture of Allie on her way out the door to school the other day. I just love the look on her face and her smile. She is such a happy kid, for the most part. She also has some drama in her, so she can turn on the water works when she thinks it will further her cause. Especially where her "daddy" is concerned. So, I have another drama queen. Can we survive??

Laundry

How can so few people create so much laundry? And the bigger question is how come I cannot keep on top of it? This is just a few loads from yesterday. It would be great if I could say that I would be caught up when this is folded, but no. Not even close. And Ryan does his own.

I have a friend whose husband is very particular about the laundry. When the clean laundry sits in baskets, similar to this, he makes a snide and not so politically correct statement about how this is not an acceptable way to live. I guess I am lucky Eric does not care. As long as something is clean it works for him. When you have to tell the kids to go digging in the basket to look for clean socks it is an indication to get folding. So, its off to fold I go.

Its' That Time of Year

I have a confession to make. I have a calendar obsession. Yes it is true. I love to buy and use calendars. I am always searching for just the right calendar/system for myself and for the house. This time of year I am on the hunt.

Many years ago I used the Franklin Planner system and I liked it. It was compact, allowed me to carry all I needed to carry and have what I need in one place.

Then, a year or so before I quit my job, they bought all of us Palm Pilot PDA's and told us we needed to use them. It was just a basic system, but I was not embracing the technology easily. I liked to write things down! Fast forward six or eight months and I had embraced it. I liked it and I was using it.

When I became pregnant with the twins and quit, this cheap place made me give it back. Typical. So, I was left without it again. Since I was not working, I thought I could go back to paper, and since I did not need to plan out each day, I thought I would look for the perfect monthly/weekly calendar. It took three years, but I found it.

Now, I am stuck. I need more than weekly. Should I go back to a PDA? Should I just buy the daily version of what I have now? Should I get a full Franklin? I don't want too bulky, but I want easy to use.

I am not one who "fasts and prays" over decisions - that is my sister. When I decide to paint a room I walk in and buy the paint (I will have looked at different basic colors, but then I buy). Laurie hangs the paint chips on the wall for an extended period of time to see if she will really like it. We are very opposite in our decision making. So, why am I paralyzed about making this decision?

If you have made it all the way through this rant on calendars, you should win a prize. The bottom line, I just need to make a decision and do it. I need to get something because I am needing to plan into next year, and I have no calendar! Oh what will I do?

Fumble Recovery by Number 84

So I am a little behind, but on Thursday night Ryan had a game against Klein Collins. He has been sick this week, so I was a little worried about how he might play - there is nothing fun about running around in freezing weather (OK 55 degrees) when you don't feel well.

On the last kickoff of the game, he came up with a fumble recovery. I must say I enjoyed hearing "fumble recovery by number 84 Ryan Pearson" over the loudspeaker. What can I say I really am one of THOSE moms. I hope he continues with football, because I sure like to watch.

We went to the HS game on Friday night with all the kids. Both of the babies feel asleep in the 3rd quarter. It was FREEZING (OK 50 degrees) 50 is cold here. So we were bundled up and trying to stay warm. The Cougars won with seconds to go despite the REALLY bad coaching and play calling by our fabulous head coach.

You might notice some changes to the blog. I am trying to step up my game and keep up with the Joneses. So, if all goes well I will continue to make some changes over the next week or so. We will see how far I get.

Off to go and make dinner, get everyone ready, and go to church for a restful(?) Sunday.

SCARY

When I was a younger mother, and very sure of what was right and wrong, I would have NEVER let my children dress as deathly or scary things. Ryan and I went rounds and round over the fact that he wanted to be the Grimm Reaper, dead things etc. I was just against this. I think he was 14 before I let him be something gross.

Fast forward to Halloween 2006. What do we have? Two children who were something nice, and two kids who were something gross. What has happened to my conviction? What has happened to my sense of right and wrong? I am just tired. It was easier to give in than fight. That does not bode well for the two coming up does it? I am sure that Ryan will turn to me when he returns from college and tell me that I am too lax with the twins, similar to what I have done to my parents through the years. Let's see, I'm tired with five - imagine ten!

So, what have we learned today? It is easier to give in than fight - at least in terms of spooky halloween costumes!

Halloween 2006

Well, we survived Halloween. This was the first year that Kelsey and Sophie went off by themselves the whole time - no family time for them. It is also the first year Ryan did not go out at all! He has been sick, so he opted to stay home. At 16 he is probably too old anyway.

Allie and Caroline are still in a great place - they wanted to go around the block, then their candy was too heavy and they were done. It was great. Everyone had fun, and no one got hurt, that is until we needed to brush out Thing One and Thing Two's hair. It was not pretty. Next holiday Thanksgiving.

And Cosmo It Is

After a very democratic, or survivoresque depending upon your view, meeting last night the family has named the cat Cosmo. Like the mascot for the Cougars or the first name of Kramer, your choice.

Everyone is still fighting over the chance to hold him. Of course, I have no desire to hold him or really interact with him. But who does he bug all day yesterday? Me. He took a nap on my feet. I kept pushing him off, he kept climbing back on. (Photo by Kelsey)

It is all hallows eve and since we had our dress rehearsal on Saturday we are set. Of course, we need some more blue spray and some more white face makeup since Kelsey, the Spider Queen, needs some as well.

I have purposely NOT bought any halloween candy yet - I did not want the tempation to eat the whole bag too soon. So, I will need to get this today as well. That on top of my "other job" and the day is full and it is only 6:00 am.

Happy Halloween!!

Sophie as Dead Bride

Now it decides to work!!

I Love Daylight Savings Time!

At least for the first few days. It gets dark at night and everyone will go to bed a little earlier, even though they complain, it is dark. Then, everyone gets up earlier. It is not as hard to push these folks out of their beds. The only down side is Allie has been up since 5:45 - that will not bode well for tonight.

I used the extra hour yesterday to clean up at least the bottom level of the house. Eric was gone at a Triathlon, so the kids had no one to complain to about having to work. We all worked for a solid hour, OK some of us worked longer than that, and we came home from church to a clean house. I can't tell you the last time that happened. Saturday is so busy with everything going on that we usually don't get any cleaning done, and there is lots of "kids alone" time which only spells disaster for the cleanliness of the house. Now if I can just get to the bottom of the top. Much harder since we have over a month of everyone just shoving stuff in corners since Mom has been gone. It's a project - as if I don't have enough to do.

This is Sophie's Halloween costume this year. Gone are the days when I can talk her into being something nice - everything she wanted to be this year invoved being dead or killing. We settled on the dead goth bride. It works.

Now, why did Allie wake up do you ask? Well, Eric has struck again. Those who know us are aware he has a knack for doing all things I don't approve of while I am gone. Or of bringing other living things into this house when I am not looking. While I was gone last week he got the kids a kitty. Yes, another living, pooping, eating thing. He knew I did not want any animals, but clearly my opinion does not matter. I have said I will not take care of the thing. He will need to take it to the vet and the kids need to handle the daily care and feeding. I am going to hold firm... We will see if I can. Kelsey took some pictures I will have to try and get them. The cat name debate is going on - some like Homer (I am going for creater of Illiad and Odyssey but they are going for father of the Simpsons), some like Cosmo (as in Kramer on Seinfeld), and the little ones think he should be tiger. I guess we will have to see.

Happy Monday
(NOTE posted without picture because of technical difficulties with blogger. I will try photo later)

Thing One and Thing Two

For many years now, I have been saying I was going to dress the twins up as Thing One and Thing Two for Halloween. I have never followed through. This year I actually did it. We had a "dress rehearsal" for Halloween at the church party on Saturday night.

They were pretty convincing... two things that come in and ruin an entire house - I think I can relate to that.

Travel is Glamorous?

Yesterday was one of those days that had me asking, why am I doing this? There was rain and storms in Houston. I was on a Continental Express Jet from Houston to El Paso. I knew there was no way the flight was going out on time. But, according to Continental the flight was showing as "On Time."

Now, although I knew this could not be the case, what choice do you have but to try and believe them? So, I get to the gate 30 minutes prior to departure time. What do I find? The flight BEFORE my flight is still there. Needless to say, the flight was late.

If you have never flown on a Continental Express Jet, they stick all of them in a pit in Terminal B and it is crazy cross section of the human race. There are lots of people who clearly do not fly very often. After jumping back into travel again, I think there should be two airports in each city - one for those who know what the heck they are doing and one for everyone else. But, that is a rant for another day.

So we finally get on the plane, everyone is on. We are sitting at the gate. Mr Friendly Pilot comes on to tell us we are waiting for catering to bring ice and cokes to the plane. They are running behind and it will just be a few minutes. 30 minutes later Mr Friendly Pilot comes on again and tells us we have now been filled with ice, but while we were sitting there a light came on with some sort of issue, so now we have to wait for maintenance to come and look at the plane.

Maintenance comes and we leave the gate only to find that we are like 25th on the runway trying to take off and since there are storms they are spacing the planes out more so it will be 45 minutes to an hour!

We do leave, and I do arrive in El Paso. I am now getting ready to meet with the El Paso Public Library, but this afernoon I get the opportunity to do it all again. And they tell my traveling is glamorous??? Clearly, I have missed those trips.

Joe Dirt

Today Ryan got to dress as his favorite character for Red Ribbon Week. He chose Joe Dirt - he just wanted to wear his mullet wig! The thing that scares me is how he can pull this look off. It is a little too natural. I think we have been in Tomball too long!

Glamour Shots by Kels

While I was gone last week, Kelsey did the lion's share of the entertaining of the twins. I guess one day, maybe encouraged by Napolean Dynamite, she decided to get Allie all gussied up and do a photo shoot. I am happy she was actively involved with her, but the pictures are slightly disturbing.

Where did Allie learn her alluring look? I think she is a little too good at it. Caroline was the one who liked to climb on the table and dance sans clothes, but this is a new thing from Allie. I guess we are going to need to watch her closely.

I did the should I run or not dance this morning in my head. I knew that if I was going to run, I was going to need to get up and out the door by 5:30. So, I woke up at 4:30 and the to run or not dance began. Well, I could run later couldn't I? I could go tomorrow? This went on for 30 minutes until I gave in, got up, made Ryan's lunch (which he forgot), and went out for a run. I love the feeling of being done with the run, not so much during the run. I get a big checkmark on my list for finishing that one!

Fall in Houston

The weather has even cooperated to make us feel like it is fall - cool and sunny. I even bought the twins jackets. Of course by the end of the week the humidity is coming back and the rain will be back.

Eric took the kids to the pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins this year. I did not go, but Kelsey went as the official photographer. She got her camera for her birthday and has really taken to using it. It is nice to see her wanting to document the events of her life.

She took one of the pumpkins to YW last wednesday and carved it. We just had to throw it out - it was full of mold. That is the real fall in Houston!

Monday

It's Monday again. Why does that keep happening? Every time I turn around it is Monday. I just went out for a run - ok, it was more of a walk but there was some running in there. I have got to get back on track for the 1/2 marathon! It was perfect weather, sunny and 50 degrees. I love it. These are the days you are glad you made it through a hot Houston summer.

This day will be made up of work, shopping and organization. Trying to get this family back on track. I was gone too many weeks in a row, and it shows. Thats fine because I am only out on Thursday night this week - back on Friday. After last week, I can make it through anything. Three demos in one week. It was killer. At the beginning of my career it was not uncommon to do five different demos in one week. How did I do that? I don't know. I guess youth does have something on this old age.

Happy Monday!

School Projects - OUT OF CONTROL

I think we have hit the bottom in terms of school projects. Ryan is taking advanced science - chemistry this year. Their project for this six weeks is to make a mole. Now in chemistry speak, a mole is a unit of measurement. But some teacher who had nothing better to do with their time, came up with the idea that they should make these kids sew a mole, name it and dress it in a costume.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH CHEMISTRY??? How does a 16 year old boy learn anything from watching his mother sew a mole? I tried to tell him this was going to be his project, but than I took pity on him. This is the dumbest thing I have ever seen. This is a waste of my time, his time and if they are taking time out of learning about real chemistry to do this crap, no wonder our TAKS scores have gone down!

Now, since he had to be creative, meet Elder Mole, a Molemon missionary. I am guessing that he will be the only one who is going to bring a missionary, so I guess he should get extra credit for creativity.

That is my rant for today. I am off the Dallas to demo at the Dallas Public Library. No pressure - it will just either make or break my year next year. No pressure...

The Tradeshow

For anyone who has not worked a trade show, it is quite the thing to behold. There are large shows, and small shows and right now I am at one of those smaller shows. This is a mix of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, the American Indian Library Association, Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, the Chinese American Librarians Assocation, and REFORMA, the National Association to provide library and information services to Latinos and the Spanish speaking. So much political correctness all around me.

Regardless of the show, at least as far as librarians are concerned, when we open they run through the convention center walking into each booth just asking what you have to give them. Excuse me? Can I tell you what we do, how we can provide you with service at your library? No, what can you give me? Can I have that pen?

Then you will have some people walking around who are serious and want to talk to you about what you do. But you can only talk to them in spurts when they are not in sessions learning about librarianship. So what do you do while they are in session? Talk to the other vendors and wonder why you are standing here on this concrete floor which is killing your legs.

I am next to this guy who is a kick. He sells some kind of library binding machine, so it is a transactional sale - people can buy one while they are here. He reminds me of a ginsu knife sales person - it slices, it dices and it even cuts through a can. He keeps stopping people, plying them with halloween candy, and going through his sales pitch. I am watching as some of these people are trying to be nice, but this guy will hardly let them go.

I have had some good contact with those I wanted to see, so I am good. I am here with my boss, who has decided that I can leave early. Yeah!! Instead of staying until Saturday afternoon, I am going home tonight. Good thing because I leave again Monday morning, and I will be gone all week next week. So much for my part time job...

My Little Diva

Caroline is a fashion plate - she has her own sense of style and is very particular about it. This morning she wanted to wear a dress from this summer that was on the short side. I tried to get her to put on a pair of bike shorts underneath. She wanted no part of it. She wanted jeans on under her dress.

Now here is the problem. She only has one pair of jeans and she wore them yesterday. I have not had time to get them additional pants. It has not been cold. But, she decided today she would need jeans and the other pair I found do not feel good to her. So up to the attic I trot to look for some clothes for this girl. Lucky for her I found a pair - although they were a little big in the waist, she liked them so it was ok. Of course the outfit was not complete without the necklace. All I can say is we do not have time for this in the mornings.

I am off to Dallas to attend the Joint Conference for the Librarians of Color. Should be interesting.

Tuesday

It's Tuesday - but it really feels like Monday because of the extended weekend. So once again I had the "It's Time to Make the Donuts" feeling when I got out of bed. I have a lot of stuff to do today, and I have to drive both the football and soccer skills camp carpool. Is it really evil to hope that the 80% chance of rain cancels both practices? What can I say?

This picture is from Cowgirl Day at preschool last year. They both looked so cute with their hats on. Even with her fake smile, Allie makes me laugh.

Have a great Tuesday - or Monday.

One Foot In Each Camp

For Kelsey's birthday, what she wanted to do was go to Build-A-Bear with her friend Taylor and have each of them build an animal. This was what she wanted to do for fun. She loves this bear and loves to hug it. This tells me she is still a little girl, or at least does not want to move to the realms of a young woman.

Then I got a call last night from Eric. I guess Kelsey was on AIM and chatting with a group of friends. She said there was a young man who was being treated badly by a group of kids at school, and they were continuing their harrassment online. He signed off by saying he was going to kill himself.

Now, for some reason, Kelsey could see that he was truly distraught. She told Eric that he needed to call this boys mom and make sure he was OK. Now, this is where Eric does not come off so well since it was during The Office, and lets just say he was not overly quick to jump up and help out. Kelsey called the home, and no one answered, so Eric told her to call 911.

He told me that Kelsey was very calm and clear on the phone with the police. Our local Lakewood Grove officer heard the call come out and came over to our house to see what the deal was. Kelsey, calmly told her what had happened and gave her the address.

I do not know exactly what was going on in this home when the police got there. This I do know, the officer called back to the house and told Kelsey this boy's mom wanted to say thank you and that Kelsey saved her son's life.

So, maybe she is not still a little girl, but a maturing young woman. Or maybe that is the joy of being twelve - you can have one foot in each camp. I am proud that she acted on what she felt was a serious situation - even when her dad did not jump up and help her. Her compassion is one of her wonderful traits. I hope she will remember this and when she is faced with a similar situation, she will act again. Good job Kelsey!

Greetings from EWR

Oh that I had a camera phone. The cross section of humanity I can see while sitting here at the le Petit Bistro in the Newark Airport is worthy of documentation. I find myself asking the question, as I do so many times, do these people not look in the mirror before they leave the house??

Not that I am Stacy and Clinton or anything, but having a big blub of stomach hanging out of your pants or skirt or shirt is just NOT attractive. Uh-oh. Could it be that I am just getting old and that I have become my mother??!! Say it isn't so.

I am off to Syracuse in a few minutes. I am looking forward to cooler weather. It is always interesting to go to the home office when you are a remote employee. Some people treat you much like a Big Foot sighting - we thought you existed but we were not sure. I will just have to do my part to leave an impressions. Oh wait, maybe not such a good idea!

Enjoy your day.

Sisters and Daughters

Here is a picture of all of us. Is there a family resemblance? I don't know. I can see it a little. It is hard when you have to take the old lady factor into account. What can I say? I too was young once.

This will be a busy day since I am getting ready to leave again. This will be a long trip, Tuesday through Saturday. For the most part I can control my travel and it is not too hard. There are times, however, when it is show season and I am gone way too much. This is such a time. I will be gone this week, next week, and some of the week after. Of course, Kelsey is trying to guilt me. Here is our conversation upon my return last week:

Kelsey: Is it true that you are leaving again next week, or is that a rumor?
Carrie: Yes, I am going to Syracuse next week.
Kelsey: So you will be gone again?
Carrie: Yes.
Kelsey: So are we ever going to have a mom again?

As my friend Robert says, Nice. Here is what she is missing - guilt does not work on me. I am very guilt free about most things. Oh well, my orphan kids will just have to survive without me for a week. I am sure it can be done!

The Next Generation

Picture of Sophie at the BYU vs TCU game. She went with the Hansens. Let the indoctrination begin!

Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Go Cougars

I love college football. It is SO much better than pro. The spirit of the game, the frenzy of the fans. And I think it should go without saying that BYU football is the best. It is, after all, the Lord's University, no matter what my brothers think!

I had the chance to go to the game while I was in Provo. It was so much fun. You might think a score of 30 something to zero would not be that fun of a game, but that was totally fun. To be in the stands cheering, enjoying the beautiful weather, watching the Cougars win.

I went to school in the late 80's and early 90's when the Cougs were really good. We had Steve Young, who I missed by one year, Ty Detmer, a series of bowl wins and one Heisman Trophy. I must admit the last few years it has been hard to be a fan. They have consistently lost and have not even been bowl bound in the last few years. However, anytime you get the chance to see them play live, in LaVell Edwards Stadium it is worth it. I think they are on a roll now, and I have great faith in their ability to be a better team. Regardless of their overall standing, they made for a great afternoon in Provo for a group of sisters looking for fun.

Go Girl - A Sisters Weekend

I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with my sisters. It is kind of an interesting thing because I have four sisters, and the five of us have an age range from 18-38. I have a friend who started this a few years ago with her sisters, and it has become an annual thing and she loves it. So, I thought it would be fun for us.

Since there are three sisters attending BYU right now, my sister in California Laurie and I flew to Utah to be with them. I love BYU, so this was not a hardship for me. We got to go to the Brick Oven, or Heaps, or Heaps of Pizza depending upon your age and time in Provo. We did the bookstore, the BYU vs Utah State football game, and the outlets in Park City. We were going to go up to SLC and attend Music and the Spoken Word, but someone would not get out of bed!!! So, we just attended some random Provo ward. It was not a student ward, which would have been the most fun, but there was some great people watching going on.

Add all that with silliness, sleep deprivation, and general fun and merriment and that is our weekend. We also met both Megan and Michelle's roommates, (Melissa's left us alone at their condo). We even got to meet a cute boy who is Megan's friend. All in all a great weekend.

Laurie brought all of us Go Girl energy drinks. They were actually very tasty and that served as our theme for the weekend.

It was fun to renew and continue real friendships with my sisters. Since both Megan and Michelle were born after I went to BYU, I have enjoyed creating relationships with them. Living close has helped, but as we all get old, get married, work professionally, go to school, have kids etc the age gap is not so obvious. Of course this could just be me pretending that I can hang with the youngsters. I can accept that. I kept pretending that Laurie and I could be mistaken for students - OK it is a stretch but you can't blame a girl for trying!!

Megan's roommate was nice enough to take pics of all of us. I can't wait to get those. For now, you get to see the goofy ones.

You Go Girl!!!

Happy Birthday Kelsey!

September 24, 2006. Kelsey turns 12 and goes to Young Women for the first time! Hard to believe my little baby is growing up.

Yesterday I was sitting in church, some random Provo Ward, and the couple in front of us had a little baby girl who looked like Kelsey did as a baby. It brought back memories. She was such an easy baby - she was so happy all the time. I could have her sit down next to me on the floor, and I could make phone calls. She would sit and keep herself entertained for hours.

Now, she is this beautiful YW. Here is a snapshot of Kelsey at 12.

Some of her favorites:

Food: PeiWei Sweet and Sour Chicken
Book: Where the Red Fern Grows
TV Show: Suite Life of Zach and Cody
Sport: Running
Color: Pink
Store: Abercrombie

Happy Birthday Kelsey!

The Preteen Girl

We have a teenager - he is a boy. We don' t know nothing. Now we have a pre-teen girl. It is baptism by fire.

Each morning she gets up and gets ready. She is the only one leaving at that time, so the bathroom is all hers - and let me tell you she takes the WHOLE thing. Each day, when she leaves, I walk into her mess. It's not bad enough that she has to have makeup, lotions, potions and hair accoutrements, but she does not feel the need to clean any of it up. EVER.

This is the same girl who, when told to make her bed, has to unload a pile of crap to do it. She sleeps in bed with books, pens, food, whatever is there. It is amazing what she can do. Now if she would only clean something up every now and then.

The minute she walks in the door, if not before, the phone rings. And rings. And rings. Then she needs to get on the computer to be on AIM while on the phone! Usually after the sixth or seventh call I say that is enough. I mean, how much can one girl talk?

On the up side, she is very good at helping with her sisters. She is very capable, and many afternoons opts to help with the babies instead of doing something else more fun. She tries to be helpful, and really does help.

I guess this is all normal. She turns twelve on Sunday. Hard to believe, but it is coming whether I want it or not.

US Soccer Team Watch Out!

Monday night we got off easy and only had one soccer practice/scrimmage. The Geckos, formarly the Wildcats, did great, but lost. We have some real talent, but still don't always have girls who want to play their positions. This causes them to run too much, wear themselves out, and fall apart. Oh well, they are only nine (and I am starting to sound like one of those moms - help me now).

While there I was speaking with Sophie's friend Rachel's mom, she has a name and it is Becky. She told me that she had a conversation with Rachel who was sad because they are moving and how could she and Sophie still be on the US Soccer Team together if they did not live in the same place! Becky told her they could still each work hard and make it to the US Soccer team from their respective states.

So, after the game I snapped this picture of the two of them. In many ways, Rachel was Sophie's first friend here in Texas. Right after we moved here, we were invited to a 4th of July party at a ward member's home. Of course, all the kids tended to be drawn to the "toy room", so that is where many of the moms found themselves as well. Sophie was three, so a new bounty of toys was great fun for her.

While upstairs in the toy room, Sophie and Rachel found each other and started playing. I do remember that they played well together especially since they were only three. Well, of course, a few weeks later they split the ward and we were in different wards.

Sophie and Rachel still seemed to find each other. They were in the same class for preschool, and continued their friendship. They attend the same school, and although they have not been in the same class, they have continued being friends. They have performed in the talent show together, played soccer together, and think that the weekend must mean they need to be together. They are BFF.

I am not sure what will happen when they move - there will be a big hole in Sophie's life. She will make other friends and go on, but will miss Rachel. They will both just have to hold on a few years - I am sure the US Soccer Team will be bending over backwards to take them!

Sprained Ankle

So I am a clutz. This will not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me. This time, however, I have really kind of hurt myself.

While I was in the Austin are last week, I decided I needed to go and run. I had a great run last Monday, and I knew that if I was going to be able to deliver the 6 miles that was required of me on Saturday, I needed to do it. The weather was great - cool and no humidity.

Many times when I am out of town I will just run on the treadmill. If I am unfamiliar with the area, I get a little nervous about running outside. Well, the treadmill did not work and has been mentioned, it was great running weather. I go outside, take two steps, twist my ankle and go down.

Now, I would love to pretend that I went down gracefully, or rolled out of it like Sydney Bristow on Alias, but alas no. I ended up flat on the ground, scrapped knees and hands and a throbbing foot. I even tried to be cool, don't know what I was thinking here, and "run it off." No way, I am too whimpy.

So it swells, and I do not take the recommedation of my sister, the trainer, to wrap it in an ace bandage to help with swelling. Each day, however, the pain is less and even though swollen, I just keep going and getting stuff done.

Now it is Monday, and it aches. I am thinking maybe I should have wrapped it, and tried to stay off (like that is an option with five kids). All I know is I need to come up with an exercise alternative because I was on a roll. Maybe swimming. I will finally listen to Michelle and take a few weeks off. She said maybe after a week I could hit the eliptical machine. Running will be a few weeks away.

Just as I was getting in a little grove - when after three miles I did not want to die - I am grounded. And it is Monday...

"I see you are drinking 1% is that because you think you are fat?"

Title has nothing to do with post, the kids watched Napolean Dynamite on the way home from the football game last night, and I listened. I must say, even now, that movie makes me laugh. It is so weird, yet somehow funny.

Yesterday was the first day of soccer games. We drew all afternoon games. Not so great in Houston in September. The picture of Allie is in the fourth quarter, and no she did not pour water on her head - that is just how hard she was working.

We signed Allie up for soccer at Klein instead of the YMCA for the fall. Jared Hansen was kind enough to volunteer to coach since Eric is coaching for Sophie's team. So we show up to the first game and Klein does this weird thing. They split each team up into two teams and each team plays with just four players - no goalie. My question is, who thought of that? What is this teaching them? Why do we not want to teach them the rules, teach them about the team, techniques and skills? It seems lame to me, but she likes to play so I will keep my feelings to myself.

Sophie's team lost their game. It was hot, and the kids were dragging, but I must brag. I think Sophie played the best on the field. She has really worked on her soccer skills and I think she is getting quite good. She has some good ball handling skills, she looks to pass and help out the team, and she had stamina for at least the first half. Part of our problem is we only have 10 girls - only two subs. We will have to work on getting more girls.

We finished up the night by taking everyone to the Tomball vs Cypress Creek football game at the great and spacious building, also known as the Berry Center. I will say, that complex is beautiful. They have a jumbo-tron with instant replay. THIS IS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PEOPLE!!!! It was great to sit and watch the game, see the cheerleaders, the band, the drill team and the whole football experience. I think even the little ones had fun - at least for a while.

As predicted Tomball got their head handed to them 28-7. Their only score was in the 4th with less than two minutes to go. I am sure all the second team defense was in for Creek, but at least we were able to do something. I love football of all types, but really enjoy HS and College. It was a great evening.

There was one disturbing feature. There are two guys on the flag/rifle team who march with the band. Jazz dancing, flag twirling boys. They were good - maybe better than many on the field, but were just a little disturbing to me. I am all for equality, my father-in-law even called me a femi-nazi once, but the image of those boys twirling those flags is a little bothersome. Maybe I am more old school than I think.

It's Time to Make the Donuts

Now this is going to really show my age. Dunkin Donuts had an ad campaign while I was in high school about the baker for the donuts. They would show him stumbling out of bed in the morning saying, "It's time to make the donuts." I don't know why I think about that, but I do each morning as I haul my tired self out of bed. What I really think is, "It's time to make the lunches." Now I just need the guy from the ad, Fred, to come and make the lunches for me!

I am off to the Fort Bend County Library for a "Kick the Tires" demo. I am not sure what will happen, but it should be an interesting morning to say the least.

Happy Tuesday!

Now It Really Begins

So far, it has just been a warm-up. I have been able to run around with the kids one at a time and find a way to get them to their stuff - because most of the stuff had not really began. That all changes today.

Soccer practice really begins for Sophie and Allie. They have practice at 5:30 PM, and I have to drive the football carpool at 5:00 PM. It sounds like it should all work, except that the high school is 35 minutes away from home, and soccer is about 15 minutes. It is a good thing we have good neighbors to help us.

With Sophie practicing three times a week, Allie once, and Ryan everyday it will get hectic. Of course, that does not take into account the church activities and Kelsey and Caroline. Luckily for me, Kelsey is running this fall. She and I are going to do a 5K this fall, and she is looking at doing drama club, yearbook club, or some such thing for school.

Caroline is just along for the ride. She wants to be everyone's cheerleader - literally. She went to Ryan's game last week in her BYU Cheerleader outfit, and spent the time during the game down low and cheering.

Add to all this I am going to Austin overnight, and Eric has a late night meeting and the full effect comes into play. Game On.

Buc-ee's

There is a chain of gas stations/rest stops in Texas named Buc-ee's. One of their claims to fame is the cleanest restrooms on the highway. The thing is - they make good on those claims. There is one in between here and San Antonio, and another in between here and Austin. We managed to hit both this last weekend.

I don't know what it is, but Bucee's makes me smile. Maybe it is a bright spot along the road. The restrooms are, indeed, very clean. There are tons of treats, to choose from, and you don't have to worry about creepy people helping you. It just makes a long trip fun. And since we all know a long car trip is not my idea of fun, any bright spot helps.

Speaking of bright spots, I actually had 2 mintues of "zone" on my run yesterday. For those who are not runners (or joggers) the zone is a place where you feel great in a run. You are not hurting, or wishing the pain would stop. You are not thinking, " how much longer?" You are simply at one with being outside running, and you enjoy it. It is the bright spot, much like Bucee's.

Now, zone is hard to come by. I don't think in the last month I have had any. For the most part it has been torture and pain. This time the zone lasted two minutes - but that gave me hope. It is possible to have zone again and MAYBE, just maybe, I can have a run with more zone than pain. That might be asking too much, but it is all I have to hold on to. So here's is to a small dose of fun - where it be zone or a gas station with a beaver as a mascot!

The Only Way to Travel

Eric has this fantasy. It is the dream of the car trip. Let me tell you that I spend more time with all the kids than he does and the thought of being cooped up with bored children for an extended period of time makes me think "Pass the Zoloft." He, on the other hand, always thinks that a car trip would be so great. The longer the better. In times past, after a few hours the kids would get crazy, and he would get cranky, and I would be singing the "I told you so" song in my head.

Then, we got a new car with a built in DVD player. Let me tell you, this is the only way to travel. All five kids, glued to the TV and quiet. We can show movie after movie after movie. This allows for hours and hours of quiet kid free travel. For those of you who think that allowing my kids to watch hour after hour of movies is wrong, judge away. I can handle the judgement - sitting in my quiet car.

Labor Day Fiesta

Eric has a sickness. Really, it is true. He has an issue at summer holidays. I don't know if this is a backlash from his childhood, or just a new issue. During the summer holidays, Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day, he has to go somewhere. He is NOT satisfied with hanging at home, swimming and relaxation. NO! We must go and do and it is not good enough if we are not exhausted by the end of it.

I, on the other hand, am perfectly fine with the relaxation holiday. (not sure what that says about me, but it is true) It would be fine with me to hang at home. 18 years of squabbling later, we usually go somewhere for at least a few of the summer holidays.

This Labor Day was no exception. He had this whole weekend planned with a trip to Austin for a few days, going to Fiesta Texas and maybe even Schlitterbahn. Luckily cheapness and time constraints won out and we just did the Austin and Fiesta Texas part of the weekend.

We drove to Austin and stayed with our friends the Twiggs who have moved to Austin. They are one of the few who would open their home to a family of seven. We had a nice evening with them, complete with amazing BBQ dinner, and then left for Fiesta in the morning, Labor Day.

Now. I must admit. I am a Disney snob. Lets be real, NOTHING will compare to a Disney property for amusement park fun. The Six Flags group tries, but does fall short in the creation of magic. But, I will admit, I am not an adrenaline junkie. I don't like the roller coasters, I won't do the roller coasters and I will stand strong! Therefore, Disney is fine with me. Eric and Ryan love the coasters. I don't think Ryan has ever found a coaster he would not do. It does scare me to see him do some of this stuff, I know it is irrational, but I can't help it.

So, off to Fiesta Texas we trudge. It is chuck full of wild coasters to please the junkies, and has plenty of kiddie rides for the little ones. It was a great day. Park attendance was low - note to self Labor Day is a great day for Fiesta Texas. There were clouds so we did not think we would pass out in the heat. Everyone got to do what they wanted. Six hours later, seven tired people piled into the car for the trip home.

We arrive home dog tired, and had a time getting going yesterday. I guess by Eric's standards that makes it a success.

Persistence

This needs to be my battlecry to keep on running. We did 5 miles today, and although it was much cooler, less humid, the last 3/4 mile was killer on my legs. It is clear that my legs cannot handle the increased mileage. I think I need to hit the weight room, and do some work. I am not sure I will really do it, but it sounds good doesn't it? I guess the other alternative is to increase the miles. Who wants to do that?

I love this picture of Kelsey, also reminding me of persistence. She did a kids triathlon a few years ago, and we had done a really crappy job of preparing her - that is Eric had done a crappy job since that was his job. She got into the water, and the look or determination is great. Now comes the persistence. She swam her heart out, and was one of the last ones out of the water. She did not give up and kept going. She ended up doing well.

So that is the battlecry - Persistence and Determination.

TGIF

It must be Friday - all three girls wore their cougar tee shirts today. Too bad we were late and I was only able to snap a pic of Sophie at the bus.

Thank Goodness It's Friday!!! I am so tired. This schedule is killing me. I have had something each night this week, and I am very tired. I have not even watched my shows for the week. You know it is bad then. It will be nice to stay home for one night. I have had one of those weeks where I have been spinning my wheels all week, not feeling like I am accomplishing much.

We have finished up the tour of the back to school nights. I had to miss Ryan's because the rocket scientists at the administration of TISD scheduled the high school night the same time as the first football games. When I asked them why they did that, I was told it is always this way. In fact, it is not. That is just indicitive of what I am working with here.

Ryan had his fist game, and they won. He was frustrated that he did not play more. Hopefully that will change as the season progresses. It was fun to be back out watching football. Too bad it is HOT HOT HOT. It will be nice when it cools off a little more and watching the game is enjoyable.

I am going to try and get on top of things today. It is amazing when the mom is gone for a few days, how everything falls apart. I guess it is job security.

Time Moves On

Don't ask me why, but I decided to go back and find some old pics on my old hard drive (I think it was the thought of finding old pics of Ryan). I was able to see all these pictures of the twins as real babies. It made me a little sad, but it also made me wonder how we made it through. I have pics of them sitting on tables, or under tables like this one.

I had a basket that was full of toys for them. They always pulled all the toys out and sat in it, just like in the picture. I wish I had taken the time to take more pictures then. I look at these few that I did manage to get and it makes me laugh. It does help me to remember little things they did. That time was such a blur of diapers, bottles and trying to survive. But now, I wish I had been better at taking picture of everyday things. I guess this should be my resolve to do better!

It's Monday Again

Monday is always hard! Why is that? Last night with the Emmy fever, we were not really ready for this morning, and that made everything worse.

Yesterday Ryan blessed the sacrament for the first time. I think he was a little nervous, of course he would not admit that. I was nervous for him. I can only imagine that it is hard in front of everyone. He did it flawlessly. I was really proud of the young man he has become. He is a regular teenage boy who make us nuts sometimes, but he really is a great kid who has his head screwed on right. Knock on wood that does not change. I wanted to post a pic of him as a little boy, because sometimes that is how I still see him. Of course, I do not have any digital photos of him at that age. This is one of his favorite pics.

Attempted to run this morning. Hot, humid and sore. Not good. We are supposed to get a "cold front" on Thursday which will mean lower humidity. I just need to hang on til then.

6:30 am, 81 degrees, 90% humidity

These were the conditions under which I attempted to go and run this morning. What was I thinking? I kept waiting for Sarah to call and tell me she couldn't make it so I could try and go back to sleep. She didn't call, and I went. It wasn't pretty, but it is done. Next week we are up to five miles already. Don't the Champions people know it is hot out there?

This picture has nothing to do with running, or heat. But it gives me hope that it might cool off at some point. This is when living in Houston is hard. You are sick of the heat and humidity and you have one more month of really bad, then it gets better. This picture was taken last "winter" when the subdivision brought in some snow for the kids to play in. It was an unseasonably hot day and all the parents are in shorts, and the kids are in hats and gloves because come on it is snow. My kids keep asking to go and see snow for real. One of these days we will have to give in and take them.

Here is to hoping the next month goes quickly, and the cool comes at last!

5:00 AM

The alarm went off at 5:00 am and I thought, as I have the last few mornings that being the parent stinks sometimes.

As a teen, like most, I took for granted what sacrifices my parents made. I got a job and of course it was no big deal for mom or dad to come and pick me up each night from the mall at 10:00 pm. It is no big deal to get them to drive me to my friends houses at all hours of the day and night. It was no big deal to take me to dances across the state. I just did not see this as a problem. And might I mention that the whole time I was a teenager, there was always a baby in the house. From the time I was 13 until I was 18 my mother had four children. So, add in the fact they were up at night with babies which just makes me tired thinking about it.

Well now I am the parent and let me tell you it is a pain. Of course I want my son to attend seminary - heck it is a sacrifice for him to get up each morning at 5:00 am, go to seminary, go to church, practice football and then come home for homework. But, why do I have to pay the price? Once again, I do not remember that in my mother's contract.

Of course, when football is done I will want him to try and get a job, but again sacrifice on my part. And he is just the first. Imagine our horror when we have FOUR TEENAGE GIRLS under one roof!! (that is a big what were we thinking)

So, I guess the point to all this rambling is a thank you to my mom and dad for the sacrifices. I hope at some point, my children will have teenagers and they will have the same feelings - gratitude for the past and exhaustion for the future.

The Down Side of School

So I love having the kids in school. They are not fighting with each other, because they do not see each other all day, we are on a schedule and everything is great - right? Great except for one thing. The fact that my children, like most children, think that magic fairies live here and their sole reason for existence is to pick up the kids dirty socks and backpacks. Why is it that they feel the need to walk in the door, immediately take off their socks and shoes and dump them with their backpacks in the middle of the family room?

We were living a sock free summer, and I must say this is the down side to school. All of a sudden they have to wear sneakers every day for gym. Where there are sneakers, there are white socks. Since I have five kids, and the random husband socks, that means 12 socks laying around each day! Why can they not pick up their own stinky socks? I don't remember reading in my mother's contract the clause about picking up dirty socks. Is that what my friend and former boss used to refer to as "other duties as assigned"?

I guess like all things in life, you have to take the good with the bad. I will take the schedule, and the peaceful house for a chunk of the day, and spend my evenings asking each child, at least 5 times, to please pick up their socks and hang up their backpacks. It could be worse - I could have six kids!!

The Revolt

It did not take long. I thought we could bask in the glow of the school excitement for at least two weeks, but I'm afraid it isn't so. The kids have revolted. They are already too tired to go to school. This is not good since we are only in week two. It will make for a long school year. Maybe if they were not out so late last night, DAD, then they would get up easier. Who knows. All I can say is I need to quelsh this revolution before it gets too out of hand.

This was Allie's reply to my 20th request to get up and get going. I started at 7:00 am, after Kelsey left and at 7:20 this was as far as we had come. I don't blame her. Seminary started today and I am tired too. I wish I could stay in bed and give someone the one-eyed hairy eyeball, but alas, I am the mother. I guess we keep working on it and hope for the best.

Nirvana

According to the dictionary, the definition of Nivana is an ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability or joy. That is what I am feeling right now. The bus came and took all the kids to school this morning - that is the three buses since we depart in three waves. Although I was worried about tears, mine not theirs, I can tell you I am just enjoying the peace and serenity which can indeed exist in my own home when I am alone.

I love to be on a schedule again. It was great to get up, run, make five lunches (OK I don't love that part), make 5 breakfasts (first day of school treat), get all five off to school by 8:15 AM. Now if I can just keep it up all week. I am sure by Friday I will be tired, and not quite so euphoric, but for now I am just going to enjoy the peace.

It Happened

It happened. I knew at some point it would, but I have been avoiding dealing with it. I was at Costco buying a coke, you can't beat $.88 for 44 oz, and I saw a really cute little girl, about two with pigails. She had big blue eyes and it hit me - I will never have again have a cute little two year old with big blue eyes. I even had to blink back a few tears. Now don't get me wrong, I am estatic that my babies, and yes we do indeed refer to them as the babies, are going to kindergarten. I have been waiting for the day I can put all 5 kids on the bus and waive goodbye. The beautiful yellow vehicle leaving me with quiet.

But, that also means no sweet little moments with these little ones who have not been jaded by the big mean elementary school. What can I say it is a Cybil moment. One the one hand, total excitement, on the other a little sadness. I guess that life is made of these bittersweet moments. It is that whole progression thing. It gets me everytime.