NO-NO’S ON THE BEACH!!!

I just got back from spending a week on the beach, and now that my eyes have stopped bleeding, I’d like to pass along a few suggestions for what I’d like to NOT see anymore. Please.

• Speedos. Men, unless you are an Olympic swimmer, you should not wear a Speedo. Especially if you are an overweight, elderly, hairy man. And doubly especially if you are an overweight, elderly, hairy man JOGGING.
• Bikinis. Women, just because you CAN wear one, doesn’t mean you SHOULD wear one. Enough said.
• Shaving. Really? Does your leg hair grow so fast that you need to shave your legs in the middle of the day? On the beach? At least go back to the privacy of your own room to do this.
• Jellyfish. Do NOT push the dead jellyfish back into the ocean. I don’t know if they can still sting someone, but just in case they can, leave dead jellyfish where they are. (Whoops, those were MY kids doing that! Never mind, I’m sure that’s okay!)
• Kids. Why am I more concerned about your kids drowning than you are? WATCH YOUR TODDLERS, PEOPLE!!!
• Smoking. Okay, I get it, you’re out in the open, you think it’s your right to smoke, blah, blah blah. Just try to be considerate please. Oh, and by the way, burying your cigarette butts in the sand is LITTERING. The beach is not one big ashtray. Please pick up your butts and throw them away.

So those were the highlights of my Spring Break vacation. Really, the family and I had a wonderful time, relaxing on the beach and playing in the (very cold) ocean. Some day we’ll live closer and I can put up a sign with all my rules. How do you think that will go over?

Karen

Monday Madness-Back At It

It's the Monday after Spring Break. Feels a whole lot like a hangover except I never had the night out. Moving slowly and feeling kinda cheated. 


Actually, Spring Break was a very satisfying kind of week. The B House stayed in St. Louis. My Zs went with me to Webster and actually liked hanging out in class with me an getting t-shirts from the bookstore. On Wednesday we met one of their favorite sitters at the zoo. And ate ice cream. And laughed and giggled and acted silly. Friday afternoon we all went to see The Lorax. Sweet, sweet movie (during which The Hubs fell asleep, and truth be told, I grabbed the quickest of catnaps). I really liked the trees.... but the fish trio that kept popping up everywhere? They were my favorite- fun and a little mischievous.

When the weekend hit, we tackled the yard. My favorite activity? Installing the invisible fence around my flowerbed. The Lolanator shall no longer eat and dig up my rosebushes and the chicken wire is no longer. Alleluia. 


Add in a few dinners on the deck watching the sun set through the Spring blooms, and you can say that is my definition of heaven. It just doesn't get a  whole lot better than this. 


Welcome back from Spring Break. Hope you all are as sated as I am.


Yours, holding on to those moments,


Melissa

SPRING BREAK 2012!!!

It’s that time again for Melissa and I (and a lot of you out there). SPRING BREAK!!! So while we have our kids underfoot spend quality time with our kids next week, we will be taking a break from blogging.

Have a great week, enjoy the weather and flowers, and we’ll be back soon!

Karen

MY HERO, AMERICAN AIRLINES. YEP, YOU HEARD ME!

Say what you will about American Airlines, but they pulled through for me this time. Here’s my story:

I was going through my emails the other day when I saw one from American Airlines saying that I can go ahead and check in for my flight. Hmmm, that’s strange, I think to myself, since we’re not flying for another month for spring break. So I look more closely at the itinerary and apparently I booked the flight for FEBRUARY 19th instead of MARCH 19th. CRAP! Yes, we would have been in Miami for 5 weeks instead of 1!

So I immediately got on the phone with AA and explained my situation to the rep, who told me no big deal, she can change my flights, but of course there’s a $150 change fee for each ticket. WHAT??? That’s $600 for my little family!!!

Listen (or read in this case) how the rest of our conversation went:

CSR: I’m sorry, that’s our policy.

Me (almost sobbing): Isn’t there anything you can do for me? That’s $600.

CSR: I understand Ma’am, I’m sorry.

Me: Is there somebody else there I can speak to about this?

CSR: So you’d like to speak to my…

Me (slow on the hints): What? I’m just looking for somebody who might be able to work with me on this.

CSR (CLEARLY trying to prompt me): So you’re asking to speak to my…

Me: Um, your boss?

CSR (thinking I’m a complete idiot by now): YES ma’am. Let me get a supervisor for you.

Me (wondering why in the world we had to play that little game): Great, thanks!

So her supervisor comes on the phone and I pleaded and begged and whined and she actually waved the entire amount for me. I was shocked!!!

So while I still think American Airlines nickel and dimes us on baggage fees, meals and anything else they can think of, I am grateful that they did this one thing for me, and I just may fly them again. You know, as a second choice to Southwest!

Karen

POST SPRING BREAK

Yes, Spring Break is over. Sigh. We had a great time in Florida, relaxing on the beach every day, eating too much, exercising too little (okay, not at all unless you count slow strolls along the beach) and just generally being lazy. Isn’t that what vacations are all about?

And then, home. Yes, home to piles of laundry, an empty refrigerator and SNOW! Yes, snow. In March. Gotta love St. Louis! So today, I’m reliving my vacation with photos just. for. you! (Okay, really for me, but I’m using you, my faithful readers as my excuse!)

Enjoy!

                

A little kite flying…

         

                 

And a little sand castle building…

   

The sand castle, or Mayan Village, actually even got much bigger than this, but eventually somebody felt compelled to run through it one night and destroy it. Too bad, it lasted almost 5 days! And yes, Dad helped (read: did most of the work)!!!

Okay, I’m feeling better about being home now (even though it snowed AGAIN last night). Thanks for letting me share my vacation photos with you today!

Karen

Friday Fun!

It's Friday!!!! Everybody get up and shake your money maker 'cause my favorite day of the week it here! And it's not just ANY sort of Friday, mind you. This is the Friday where my two most FAVORITE words of March are uttered. My children will be celebrating it in a few weeks, and they will have a deliriously happy Friday, but this one is MINE. AAALLLLLLLLLL MINE. (Because when they celebrate theirs, I might be a little bit, uhm, edgy? We'll see...)

But today, dear readers, as I type this blog, I can only think of two words that would bring me such happiness.

Wanna know what they are?

Say it with me....

SPRING. BREAK.

(Woooooooo Mu-FAHsa! Say it again!)

I may not get paid a whole lot as a professor of music, but one of the perks- every eight weeks I get a full week off. LOOOOOOOVVVE!

Oh- you don't get one? I'm really sorry. (Sincerely!) Maybe it should be a new law? Maybe we should storm Congress? I mean.... if they can demand more taxes, do we not have the right to band together and demand Spring Break for ALL?

Hmmmmm.... I may be on to something here.

Yours, considering a trip to the capital- AFTER Spring Break ;) ,


Melissa

THINGS I NOTICED AT THE AMUSEMENT PARKS!

As you may know, my family and I went to Orlando over Spring break. We spent 2 days at Disney Parks and 2 days at Universal Studios. Here are some of my observations from these 4 days. (I should warn you, I came home with a nasty cold, so this column may be a bit snarky for some of you!)

1. Now I know we were around a lot of children, but I don’t think we can blame them for this one ALL the time: People don’t care about passing gas in crowds. Seriously! It was happening so much, I thought it was my own kids, but even my kids don’t toot that much!
2. People do not look in the mirror before they leave the house. In fact, I’m convinced that many of them don’t even own mirrors. Examples include obese (and I’m talking OBESE, not just a little overweight) women wearing tank tops that don’t even cover their stomachs and short shorts that certainly don’t cover their butts. Or men with mullet haircuts, white knee socks with dark sandals or jeans that are so low on their butts they have to use one hand to hold them up at all times. (If your other hand is holding your girlfriend’s hand, how do you carry that big, overstuffed SpongeBob you won for her at the arcade?)
3. Some (not all, so don’t get your panties in a bunch) smokers ignore “No Smoking” signs. Or in the case of the parks, “Smoking Allowed in Designated Areas Only.” Just because you smoke doesn’t mean you have to be rude, right?
4. Some folks actually believe that their hat will stay on their head when riding a roller coaster that goes upside down! Really! There’s a net underneath the upside down part of the the roller coaster, filled with hats, sunglasses, even a pair of shoes! While my son and I were watching, we saw another hat come floating down. Amazing!
5. Lastly, even though their are TONS of people at the parks, and everyone wants to get on the rides in the shortest amount of time, most people are very polite, very friendly, and just want to have a good time, just like you and me! As for the rest of the folks, there, I’ll just ignore them and have fun with my kids!

Karen

WE’RE BACK, WE’RE REFRESHED, AND WE WANT TO SELL BOOKS!

Melissa and I have survived Spring Break. She was on a cold, windy beach, I was at the chilly parks in Orlando. But hey, we weren’t at home, right? :)

So we’re ready to really kick off our new brand, which, as we’ve been talking about, includes our new website and our new eBook. But it’s more than that. It’s also our new name: The Caregiver Organizer, and soon to come, an expanded line of products.

But our first order of business is to CELEBRATE our kick-off with a BIG SALE!!! So here it is:

SAVE 25% ON THE CAREGIVER ORGANIZER EBOOK! Use coupon code Caregiver25.

NOW ONLY $7.50!!!

SAVE 50% ON FIRST RUN HARDBOUND BOOKS! Use coupon code Caregiver50.

(By The Book: How To Take Care of MY Kids)

NOW ONLY $9.95!!!

These prices won’t last forever, so if you’re a new parent, a parent of small children, or a parent-to-be, check out The Caregiver Organizer. And don’t forget, it makes a GREAT GIFT! Just go to www.TheCaregiverOrganizer.com and use one of the coupon codes above to get your incredible discount.

And please spread the word!

Karen

HOW NOT TO PLAN A VACATION…

A day in my life of vacation planning…

Yesterday morning (on the phone):

Me: Based on the condo availability and airfare rates, we can only go to Miami from late Monday afternoon to Friday evening, which would give us 4 full days there.

Him: Would the kids rather go to Orlando?

Me: I’ll ask.

(10 minutes later, I call him back.)

Me: The kids would rather go to the beach.

Him: Okay.

Me: Are you sure?

Him: Yes (distracted, since he’s at work now)

Me: Are you REALLY SURE? It’s only 4 days.

Him: It’s fine (still distracted).

I buy the tickets on line, but have learned my lesson with the whole Sister’s Trip to Mexico During The Swine Flu Craze, and purchase the insurance for $100.

Dinnertime:

Him: I don’t know, 4 days isn’t very long.

Me: (silence)

Him: What if we just went back to Tampa?

Me: (after long pause) Well, you DO realize that I already purchased non-refundable tickets (not letting on that I bought the insurance) and it took me forever to find a condo to rent because everyone is already full since it’s spring break?

Him: Why don’t you just take a look anyway?

Me: (silence, with evil eyes)

Him: Well, it’s just not really worth going for only 4 days there.

Me: You do this EVERY time, you know.

Him: (totally innocent) I do WHAT every time?

Me: You say you want to go somewhere, I research and research, I wait for you to look over what I’ve found to get your opinion, you wait and wait to even look at it, let alone give me any opinion, which usually is just a quick “fine”, then at the last minute you complain about what I have booked. Wouldn’t it just be easier to give me your opinion while I’m still making arrangements?

Him: I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why don’t you just look into Tampa? (Avoidance? A little bit!)

Me: Fine. Whatever.

Him: I don’t know why this is such a big deal.

Me: Just stop talking now.

Him: Are you trying to make a fight out of this? (Is he kidding me?)

Me: Really, don’t say another word to me.

I spend the rest of the night researching airfares and condos.

The moral of my story? It doesn’t matter how organized I try to be sometimes; DH can be there to mess it up for me!

Karen