I am a machine.

Getting ready for a trip without the kids is quite the task. But, what a blessing. I need that kick in the BEE-YOU-TEE-TEE to get things accomplished. I've cleaned out the garage, organized closets, made trips to the Goodwill, etc. Stuff I should be doing anyway!!! This is why I LOVE company. My house is never cleaner.

Went to bed last night at 1 am typing 12 pages full of info and schedules and meal ideas and phone numbers for my sweet mamacita. It's a book! I know she can do it because I can't even keep up with her, but my schedule is crazy and putting it on paper validates that.

The kids are sad we are missing Thanksgiving with them, so we are having a simplified T-day dinner tonight with Martinelli's (that always makes everything seem special) and a Costco rotisserie chicken dressed up like a turkey on a bed of lettuce (like my vegetarian husband and kids will eat a 20 lb turkey...not!). We pass out 3 candy corns on each plate and go around the table telling 3 things we are grateful for.

We always do a T-Day skit, dress up like pilgrims and Indians, read T-Day jokes, and poetry by the kids. Lots of songs. Love that stuff! We do a program like this for every holiday.

T-day 2006:

Tomorrow we leave for Hawaii! We are going pimp daddy style flying first class thanks to my live-on-an-airplane-husband earning gold status on the airline. I selected the hotel because it is ranked the best in Hawaii and this is all coming out of award points Russ has earned at work. We are WAY too cheap to do any of this stuff on our own.

I am feeling so incredibly self-indulgent leaving like this and of course have a bit of guilt/worry added to the mix. I am not worried about the kids too much because they are in THE best hands, but I worry about the stresses placed on my dear parents. Thankfully, my friend punched me in the arm yesterday when she found out where we were staying and started jumping up and down and screaming with excitement (her mom has a house nearby). That was just the boost I needed to get me excited to pack. Who likes packing, really?

Alyssa to Chad: "Why do you write in your diarrhea?"

(He was writing in his diary.)

6 Quirks TAG
1. Link the Person who Tagged you. http://www.apartyof5.blogspot.com/
2. Mention rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know or leave a list of names at the bottom of the post
Wow.. limit it only to 6..

1. I can be indecisive about certain things. This has some great blessings like the fact that I can't decide what furniture to buy so my bank account stays full while I am continually trying to decide what to buy! My husband LOVES this about me. I can shop all day and not buy a thing. The downside...an undecorated bedroom (like college days style...it's really bad), a kitchen that needs redone, an empty music room...etc. My friend said once, "I can tell in my neighborhood the people that barely could afford their house because their front rooms are empty and they have no furniture." I was like, "Maybe it's because they just can't decide!" Another bonus, I'm easy to get along with because I'm not so opinionated.

2. I do laundry EVERY day (yes, Sundays too...I'm a sinner).

3. My favorite thing in the world are clothes that feel like pajamas (elastic waist bands should be required in all clothing!!!). I have some work out outfits/lounge wear like this and I'll wear them all day and even sleep in them that night if I'm really tired.
4. Sundays to me are the most exhausting days of the week. I am always completely wiped out all day. I can't figure this one out yet.

5. I'm addicted to milk. I get shaky when we are running low. When I drink it I feel it run through my whole body like a rush of energy. It is amazing.

6. If I find a penny I throw it away. It takes too much time to find the right place for it when I am on a roll getting things done. I figure if I throw 100 pennies away in a lifetime, all the time I saved is worth that buck!

I tag Stephanie, Lindsey, Jessica, Megan, Bridget, Cheryln.

PS I just told Russ on the phone (he's out of town) that I was blogging and he said, "Are you writing about your SEXY husband?"

Karate and Cats

I was shocked when one of my dear friends told me that my blog inspires her. It made me feel like my blog is not portraying the real me, the real stuff that happens every day. It captures just a wee snipit of my days and I choose to post mainly happy positive stuff. My blog even inspires me! :)

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I have left out the fighting, the tears, the survival mode chaos that can happen to all stressed out moms. Maybe I should be including that stuff? I haven't been brave enough to bare my soul.

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But alas...I will share a bit. I cried the whole way home from karate the other day because it is so hard to see my son struggle and some days at karate are REALLLLLY hard. I have wanted to quit karate ever since we started many years ago, but I am in awe that this is even possible for Chad who struggles with the very things they require of him. So I am always torn between being grateful and despising it. We have chosen to stick with it until black belt because the hard things are what build character and strength. Winners never quit, and quitters never win. Chad already has so much to be proud of.

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On a much more positive note, here are some random photos from events this last week...

Half a jar of apple sauce is what happens when Ava pours her own stuff...

I grew up with Boboli pizza and have joyously rediscovered it. Alyssa makes it all by herself: And even my 2 year old can make it by herself! Although it goes like this...handful of cheese on pizza...handful in mouth...handful on pizza...handful in mouth...stir sauce and cheese all together...then mom bakes.

Sarah sings in a performing choir. It was the most spiritual experience I've ever had on Veteran's Day. I bawled like a baby as each veteran announced when/where they served. It was completely overwhelming and words cannot describe the love I have for these brave men and women who I thank for my freedoms. And Sarah sung like an angel.

I L-I-V-E for my one on one dates. They are my favorite part of my week and the whole world seems to be in order when we go and I am the happiest mom on earth. Alyssa's choice this week was the cat shelter. Ava and Russ are deathly allergic so we soak this all in.

Paradise Found...

What does a girl do that is longing for her parents and finally has a weekend free from major responsibilities? Drive fast as a speeding bullet to paradise! I'm on cloud 9 after visiting my parents for a little sleepover and a one-on-one date combo with Sarah. We were spoiled by great conversation till the wee ours of the night and lots of laughter and hugs. Sarah creamed me in a game of Pick-Up-Sticks followed by a breathtaking walk with the fragrant smells of pine and rain, the beauty of clouds hovering over the lake, and golden yellow leaves sprinkled about the earth. Sarah even ate cake and cookies for breakfast and on the way home we got ice cream for lunch (Yes, that is right!). It was all too short and sweet. I can never get enough of my angel parents.

The new grass...

A perfect rock bench...

The most beautiful and interesting plant/fungi...

Sarah the geologist cracking rocks open (I did this too growing up!)...

Saint Ardis sending me home with cookies, cookie mix, bags full of grapes, an entire homemade pizza and kielbasa casserole...

Sarah is still young enough where she idolizes me and I'm soaking it all up because I know it will be gone quickly. She wants to dance like me, dress like me, do her hair like me. So on the way home today I said, "Sarah, we are so much alike! I eat all of the chocolate first off of my candy bars and Little Debbie cakes too! Isn't that so fun that we are so much alike?" Sarah says, "No." Shocked I say, "Why?" Sarah answers, "BECAUSE YOU HAVE WRINKLES!"

The End!

(of a Perfect Day)

Bon Appetite!

To ensure an evening full of giggles play a game of "Bon Appetite":

1. Throw a bunch of odd kitchen utensils in a bag.

2. Have each family member blindly reach into the bag and eat dinner with the first utensil they touch.

Alyssa got the "mantula":

Halloween Confessions...

I trick-or-treated until I was a Junior in high school. To justify why we deserved to collect candy, we sang a barber shop quartet with Halloween lyrics every time we knocked. I say everyone should trick or treat until they are 18 because it's better than bag snatching or drinking. When someone feels they are too old to trick or treat it's gotta be one of the saddest days of their childhood! Maybe it's just the Peter Pan in me.

After Halloween as a youth we'd grab people's rotting pumpkins and toss them out our car door to roll them down some reeeeally steep roads while following behind them. They would bounce in and out of people's yards at 20mph catching 10 ft. air! We'd laugh so hard we'd pee our pants. The list of stupid things I did as a teenager could go on and on...

Here are my cuties, Halloween 2008!!!!

Chad has always wanted to be Albert Einstein and it fits perfectly...the brains, the quirkiness.

Russ was so busy passing out candy he decided to put a headlamp on, park by the front door, and read a book for 3 hours:

The End

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Why I live for one-on-one dates:

Sarah exclaimed skipping through the parking lot, "I'm going to faint from happiness and yumminess!" We made this together at Super Saturday and attended a craft fair:

While we were gone the girls had fun with a make believe choo choo train:THE END!