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

Monday Madness- Home Safe And Sound

It was strangely quiet around here this weekend. No loud laughter. No chasing the dog through the house. Z2 tried on her own, but it just wasn't the same. On Friday morning she was saying,"Wow, Mom. It sure is quiet. I don't know how much I like it!"
But by about 5:30 this evening, all was back to normal. Well, almost. Z1 got off the bus. I was hoping for a hug, but he wanted me to meet his new friend he had made. I started to hear details about the trip. And then, he got us all together. Family hug. Now it felt back to normal. Almost. 
Home. Dinner. Homework. Showers. And then we heard it. The Zs were sitting at the computer. It started as a little giggle. Then a chuckle. Then a chortle and an all out belly laugh.
Yep. That's it. Now all is right in the world.


Yours, happy to have all the chickies in the nest tonight,


Melissa

Friday Funny- Ain't No Thing...

Yes. I sent my child away to The Smoky Mountains for five days. This is probably one of the harder things I've ever done. I am, after all, a paranoid parent. I still have a hard time letting them go to the bus stop without me, let alone go some place overnight. This has been harder than any exam in school- even grad comps. Harder than giving birth. Harder than the first year of marriage. Harder than having the second baby while your first is still just a toddler, age two! 
Thursday, I was an absolute mess. It started as nervous energy. You know the kind. When I get that nervous energy it translates into emotional cleaning. I clean everything. By that afternoon, I could feel the weepies coming on. It's not that he's never been away from home. He's been spending the night with relatives since he was a baby. (The Hubs has always been adamant about us having weekends away. I'll save the anniversary trip story- the trip taken without my second child when she was ONLY SIX WEEKS OLD AND STILL NURSING!- for another day.) But the thought of him being away for five days without any communication, well, I became a big 'ole pile of WhatcouldIhavebeenthinkingIthinkIneedtovomit mess.
Z1 had even been a little nervous. So sweetly, he asked me if I could please write him a letter for every single day he was away and slip them in his suitcase. He is, afterall, the child who wants to know if he can come home every night when he's in college. He has stated he expects me to move there with him. He honestly believes I will relocate to Columbia, Missouri. Gotta love the kid's faith in me. 
So when the moment came and we went through all the lines, loaded the suitcase, signed him in, I was ready for some tears (from me, for sure) or at least a,"Mom, I don't think I want to do this." We walk up to the bus. I brace myself.


That child hopped onto the bus so fast the teacher had to call him back and tell him to kiss me goodbye!


What am I gonna do with that boy?!?!


Yours, counting down to Monday,


Melissa


PS- In case you're wondering, he did, very unashamedly, come bounding back to me and kiss and hug me. And for that, I'm grateful.

APRON STRINGS DON’T REACH THAT FAR!

Tomorrow is the day that Melissa and I officially cut those apron strings to our 11 year old boys! They are leaving on a 5th grade trip to the Smoky Mountains WITHOUT US!!! We’ve known this day is coming for months now, yet now that it’s here, we’re a bit startled by it. I didn’t even pack my boys’ stuff until tonight!

My kids are SO excited, and I’m SO proud of them! They’ve never been away from home without either my husband or I with them, so this is a huge step for all of us. But they’re not scared like I thought they might be.

Me? I’m another story! Actually, I’m just a little anxious that at bedtime, they might get lonely or sad or homesick. Yes, they have each other there, but really I don’t think that will help too much. I mean, they’re boys after all. What are they going to do? Hold each other’s hands and tell each other how much they miss their mommy? Come on! But maybe just seeing their brother in the next bed might be a little comforting.

So Melissa and I will be vigilantly checking the school district’s website for any and all updates, and keeping our cell phones close just in case our children get hurt.

And in my household, my husband and I will be remembering what it’s like to not have children around! Hmmmm, what will we do this weekend?

Karen

Monday Madness- Where I Am Today...

It's Monday. And you know how Mondays can be.  All backwards and a lot of things all at once. And this video explains exactly how it is today... Oh to be able to wave the hand...   (to see the video, click on the word video in the previous sentence).

Yours, practicing my very best Yoda voice,

Melissa

Friday Funny- That Will Make Sure of It

I like waffles. So do my children. So when The Hubs gave me a waffle iron one Christmas (unsolicited, mind you.  Not his finest idea.), the family rejoiced. They had a vision of Mommy making waffles every other morning. Of course, that was THEIR vision. I don't mind making breakfast, but it's not IHOP around The B House every morning (unless you count a cranky waitress. THAT I can do.) So when I DO make waffles, there is usually extra batter left.  I will use all of the batter and what is not eaten, I freeze. That way, if they want them, and the waffles are in there, I don't have to go through the hassle of making them if I don't feel like it. Last Friday was one such morning. Z1 wanted a hot breakfast and I was simply not there mentally. I rummaged through the freezer and found pancakes and waffles from a previous breakfast.


SIDE NOTE: "Why Melissa," you ask," Why not buy frozen waffles and keep them in the fridge?"

I'll tell you why. I would eat them every single morning and my jeans would hate me more than they already do. And I wouldn't care much, because I love waffles.


Back to last Friday. I'm pulling out the waffles, of which there were only two. I pop them in the toaster and in toddles Z2, hair askew and sleep still all over her face. Her internal alarm system went into high gear when she smelled the waffles in the toaster and discovered there were only two. Surely, by all means, they should go to her, right? I mean, she IS the most deserving in the house, naturally, being the baby of the family. I had also pulled out pancakes, of which there always seem to be more, but to no avail. She was not having pancakes, she was having waffles. Z1, being the firstborn male was not giving in.  (We've come to the sibling battle stage in The B House. I'm not liking it much.) As is the way of the parent, I explained they would each have one waffle and one pancake. 


Somehow, that did not placate either of them. It was all or nothing. I set their plates down and turned my back to walk to the sink. Not even three steps away, I hear the ever beautiful whine,"Mooooooom! Z2 took my waffle!" After five minutes of logic and debate, the waffle found its way back to Z1's plate. Butter. Syrup. Happiness. 


Until Z1 was ready to take his first bite. "I don't know that you really want that waffle anyway, " Z2 begins. "Oh really," I said. "Why would he NOT want the waffle?" 


Poised to take his first bite of buttery goodness, Z1 says,"Yeah... why not?"


Very matter of factly, she pops her own first bite into her mouth and says,"Because I licked it. The whole thing. While Mom wasn't looking. "


Wordlessly, he pushed his plate toward his sister's triumphant face.


Only eight and she's already ruthless. 


Yours, brewing the coffee extra strong to stay ahead of the game today,


Melissa