Tickets to Florida State Seminole football game: $158.00
Gas to and from Tallahassee: $80.00
Two Nights in Hotel room from hell in Tallahassee: $300.00
Hot Dogs, Cokes and Popcorn at the Game: $31.00
Foam #1 Finger from Souvenir Store: $4.00
Hearing your five year old ask “Is it almost over?”seventeen times Doing the Wave and the Tomahawk Chop With Your Kids at Your Alma Mater While Watching Them Actually WIN a Game for a Change: PRICELESS
GO NOLES!
This two and a half week hiatus from blogging I’ve been on can be blamed on several things.
First, it has been an exhausting summer. I did not sign the kids up for any camps or activities because I THOUGHT we would have moved to North Carolina before summer was over. Turns out that is not what happened. You know the old saying about the best laid plans? Well, that applies here. So the kids and I spent a boring uneventful summer at home. A lot. Together. Can you say shoot me please because I cannot stand another minute of this bickering and complaining another minute longer? I was so there.
This summer was unofficially dubbed by me The Nicktoon Summer, since that was what the kids spent most of the summer doing really…watching Nicktoons…so we made a last ditch effort to salvage what was left and went here. Why Nicktoons you may ask? Well, apparently this is where we can actually reach a happy TV medium in our house. Turn on Hannah Montana, Allison is happy and Trent is not. Turn on Power Rangers, Trent is happy and Allison is not. But turn on Spongebob Squarepants and let me tell you, all is right with the world. In fact, we got to know Spongebob, Timmy Turner and Jimmy Neutron quite intimately and the hours moments spent with them (Ouch, I know I have been a bad mom) were some of the few truly blissful ones we had around here all summer.
The trip was great. We spent a day at Sea World first, which the kids loved, and then went back for another day since they enjoyed it so much. (read: they stamp your ticket and you can come back absolutely FREE for another day! YAY!) Sea World is very “show oriented” so it made for a good place to be on a hot day, since you are either sitting or in the shade for most performances and many activities are indoors. Allison liked feeding the dolphins, which was way cool since they literally come right up to your hand to be fed. And Trent liked the Shamu Express kid size rollercoaster. Brett must have, too, because he rode on it with him every time!
The hotel was great though. Really perfect for our age kids. It is just like a hotel built around a waterpark and we were thoroughly entertained the whole time we were there. Sitting poolside with a margarita (in moderation!) in hand while the kids played on the waterslides was just what we needed. The best part was the room, though. They are all suites and the kids have their own room fully decorated like one of the Nicktoons they love. A little commercial, I know, but who cares? Some of the rooms even have bunk beds! All in all, it was a nice reprieve and we will definitely go back.
Then, just as we returned school began. Just like that. In the midst of getting uniforms, buying school supplies, and having parent teacher conferences there was just no time or energy to even think of writing a post. The start of school was really good for both of them and it is the first time that they are at the same school together, which is so nice. The really awkward part was that since I gave up my teaching post since we thought we were moving, I was no longer on the teacher side, just the mom side. And it was wierd, sad, and yet a relief all at the same time. Brett took a couple of days off so we could have some couple time and that was a bonus.
After that it was just me. For the first time I can remember in a really long time I have spent time in my house with just me. All. By. Myself. After being here all summer with two kids, it was refreshing. So I found myself soaking up the moments of quiet and independence, until the phone rang. And now I am on the sub list at school. So I will be subbing for a few days, but I am feeling more like writing and I am back at the keyboard.
And I can’t wait to catch up!
Okay. Can someone please tell me why I am the ONLY person in this house who seems to be able to acknowledge the ring of the telephone? It rings and rings and rings and no one in this house moves to answer it, EXCEPT ME. There are three other people living in this house, but if mom doesn’t get it then it does not get answered. Period. Someone who is not me could be sitting on the phone and still not answer it and I will have to run in from three rooms away and pry it out from underneath someone’s fanny to do it myself.
Is it possible that our telephone ring is like a dog whistle and I am the only one with sophisticated enough hearing to actually hear it?
Nope. Because when I asked why no one else answers the phone, here’s the answer I got: Because it’s always for you anyway, mom. Argh!
End rant.
Today is Father’s Day. And as if that were not reason enough to celebrate, it is also Brett’s birthday. AND he is 40!
He has done a little moaning about the fact that he is getting “cheated” and I am getting off easy since they both fall on the same day, but I know him and he really is just teasing me. While Brett does not agree with me, I think it is extremely fortunate that we are celebrating both on the same day.
There are lots of great guys out there, I know. I just feel so lucky to have him. I mean really, really lucky. So celebrating the fact that God graced the Earth with this wonderful man 40 years ago today, and the fact that he is an awesome Dad all at the same time makes this a super special day.
So in honor of all that he is to us, Allison, Trent and I came up with a list of 40 things that make him special to us. (See if you can figure out which are from the kids and which are from me.)
We have a fun day of treats planned for him and he deserves it!
1. He makes yummy food.
2. We like to play fight with him.
3. He is patient.
4. He is good at reading stories.
5. He makes us laugh.
6. He can fix almost anything.
7. He is the best cleaner in the house.
8. He is really smart.
9. He is extremely passionate about animals.
10. He takes out the trash.
11. He has the most wonderful little flecks of gray coming into his hair.
12. He can be amazingly calm on the outside in the most stressful situation even if he is not feeling that way on the inside.
13. He gives good hugs.
14. He is fun when he tucks us in.
15. He calls us on the phone when he is not here.
16. He pets the kitty.
17. He puts on music and dances with us.
18. He is always interested to see what I bought when I go shopping and never complains about how much I spent.
19. He brings us lunch at school.
20. He does laundry when he is working at home.
21. He always has dinner ready when we get home from school.
22. He is handsome.
23. He doesn’t get too mad when we tickle him.
24. He likes to be silly with us.
25. He washes and cleans out the car for date night.
26. He brings home People Magazine for me to read when we go on trips.
27. He fills the tank up with gas because he knows how much I hate to do it.
28. He is extremely honest.
29. He dresses nice when we go out to dinner.
30. He takes us to cool places.
31. He’s a good golfer.
32. He appreciates fine dining.
33. He plays fun games with us.
34. He helps with math homework.
35. He makes the best parmesan chicken.
36. He is a good listener.
37. He makes funny drawings.
38. He smells good.
39. He works hard.
40. We love the way he loves us.
We never go to the beach, but yesterday was gorgeous here. It was the perfect day for the beach. A cloudless sky, about 85 degrees, a little breezy. It was Memorial Day weekend. This is what people DO. We felt guilty, so we doused ourselves in sunscreen and went.
We packed up three kids (our two and my neice), five chairs, six towels, fifteen drinks, two large sandwiches, seven little bags of snacks, fifty-two beach toys and one umbrella. (This is why we never go to the beach.) I haven’t been to the beach since I had kids and been able to actually sit. I have to say that bringing the third kid is the answer to that problem. I got to sit and watch three children have a ball running up and down that beach playing in the sand and the waves. They played and played and played. Happily. (Why don’t we ever go to the beach?) Until three hours later when they decided that they were ready to go home. So we packed up the earlier mentioned list of items, had one temper tantrum about who was carrying what, had one meltdown that the walkway was too hot for bare feet, had two arguments about who was showering first (AHA! This is why we never go to the beach), showered off said children and went home. We now have sand from one end of the house to the other and all over the van. We have two buckets of shells that will go untouched until they just miraculously disappear. (hmm…I wonder how that happens?) And we have little tiny pieces of shell bits all over the shower floor. (Other reasons why we never go to the beach)
I guess I should be grateful to live so close to such a beautiful beach, but we take it for granted. I feel guilty again. I think when we move we will love to go to the beach. We will be grateful we have it to visit.
We actually had someone call to see our house today! It has been well over a month since we even had a call, much less an actual person in the house. We are not having much luck.
We put our house up for sale in January after making a huge decision. Back in October, Brett and I decided that it was time to try life somewhere else, somewhere else being North Carolina. We have lived our entire lives in Florida and thought maybe a change of scenery without too bitter of a winter might be good. We are tired of the exhausting routine of two working parents and trying to keep up with the “keep up with the Joneses” mentality of where we live, so we went to visit North Carolina in November and came back so excited! The lifestyle is so different from ours and seems to really fit our values. The cost of living is so much less than here and the amount of house you can get for the money is astounding. We would have my very best friend like a mile away, too! So we went back again in December and decided to build. We picked a lot and chose all of the things we wanted in the house and they laid the slab within a couple of weeks.
Things progressed pretty quickly with that house and by mid March we went back to walk through. Oh my gosh, we were so excited, but so worried that our house in Florida hadn’t sold. Everything was on contingency and if our house didn’t sell then we couldn’t close. The house is a two story and is 1000 square feet more than what we have here for half the price! I wouldn’t even have to work to afford it. The thought of being a stay-at-home mom after 16 years of teaching was really appealing!
Well, the closing date came and went and still not even a single bite on our house here. So we’ve lost the NC house to a back up buyer, and though we can start the whole process over again, we are disappointed and frustrated. And the market here is terrible. There is just no one looking to buy.
So we will cross our fingers today and say a prayer that maybe THIS person will have some interest! I’ll keep you posted….
I had a tough time getting up yesterday, because I had a long day on Thursday since we had Author’s Night at school. This is the night where all of my first graders come to school with their parents/grandparents/friends and read aloud the book that he/she wrote and published this year. Teaching writing is one of my favorite things and helping first graders write is a hoot. The things they like to write about really amuse me. First of all, their scope of what an actual problem is is pretty limited, like things being lost or broken, or going to a scary place. We had stories like The Missing Lizard, The Missing Ladybug, The Lost Snake and The Big Bad Ghost. So cute. And the spelling is even cuter.
So anyway, Author’s Night is great, but I was at school for about 12 hours on Thursday. Of course, by the time Friday morning rolled around I was tired, but after a “big beer” at Buffalo Wild Wings Friday night I was exhausted.
So I am laying on the couch watching Dateline and I am so relieved that it is Brett’s turn to tuck in Trent. (My turn to tuck in Allison. We alternate every night.) All of a sudden Trent runs in screaming and crying, “Mom, Rufus is peeing on MY bed!” Rufus is our cat. He is the most lovable lap kitty you have ever met and he is all we have left after putting our other cat, Tucker, to sleep in March. So I jump up and run into his room and Brett is holding the cat up off of the bed and he is literally peeing everywhere. Eeeewww! It’s going all over the quilt, the blanket, the sheet, the stuffed animals, Brett’s clothes and it smells horrible. Brett takes the cat and carries him to the front door and tosses him out, and I scoop up the bedclothes, etc. and head for the laundry room. Just as I am going down the hall, I hear this awful gagging sound and Trent starts THROWING UP! The smell grossed him out so bad that he’s throwing up! And in comes Brett and he STEPS in the vomit and HE starts gagging! A pretty picture, isn’t it? Apparently they were just reading stories and the cat just squatted there on the bed!
So needless to say we have piles of laundry…….but here’s the thing: What do we do about this “cat peeing on the bed” thing? I mean, we love Rufus to pieces and I would hate to get rid of him, but we can’t have a cat peeing on beds! Gross!
We are in a dilemma with this one. Anyone have advice?
