THE HAPPY DANCE!!!

Yep, today is the first day of school for my boys and Melissa’s kids! All I can say is YIPPEE!!!

I love the lazy days of summer and spending time with the boys, but I really, really miss my “ME” time. And I don’t mean an hour when I “get” to go to the grocery store all by myself (although that is nice!).

So what am I doing today? First I went to Melissa’s house where we did our little Happy Dance and sat on her deck to relax and catch up on the past month (between visiting relatives and vacations and getting ready for school, we haven’t seen each other much, and that’s not good for us!). Then I worked out for a short while at the gym, picked up lunch at Chipotle, ate ALL BY MYSELF and watched a movie THAT I WANTED TO WATCH. After I finish writing this blog post, I’m going to go out back to the pool and read my book without being splashed or having to break up fights or hearing “Mom, look at this!”

Aaaah, heaven!!!

Karen

THE “BAD WORD” JAR

Some houses have a jar for curse words. We have a similar jar, (mug, actually) but it’s for what I consider to be “bad” words that my kids say. I should have nipped this in the bud a long time ago, but I didn’t, so this here is my goal this summer for my two 10 year old boys:

• Stop talking about their private body parts ALL THE TIME, and
• stop calling each other names.

So the words that they are not allowed to say are:

• penis
• anus
• idiot
• retard (recently added)

Every time they say one of these words, they must put a quarter into the Bad Word Jar. It’s only been a little over a week, and I already have a couple of bucks.

But here’s the really funny part. (Melissa couldn’t stop laughing at this one!) A little while after I told them this list of words, they came up to me and (in complete seriousness) asked me what word they could use instead of anus. Could they use wiener instead? Keeping a straight face, I asked them what they thought an anus was, and they both, simultaneously, pointed to their penises. I lost it! I tried to stay serious, I really did, but I failed miserably! I had tears running down my face! They were very confused, to say the least! But I finally calmed down enough to explain to them the proper meaning of the word and they now have several other words they can use. Thank goodness!

So wish me luck on achieving my goals this summer. I have a feeling I’ll be adding more words to the list as they get more creative with their vocabulary! And I’ll probably be explaining more of these words to them, too!

Karen

Monday Madness

I'm sorry dear readers. It was completely my fault that there was no Friday Funny last week. I guess you'll have to read all about Zoe's camping trip this coming Friday. (Nothing like shamelessly building a little anticipation, right?)

And I'm grateful to Karen for blogging last Monday while I was stuck in San Francisco. That's an entirely different matter that I'm not certain I'll be able to truthfully blog about without repercussions. Let's just say, this time, it was CLEARLY NOT.MY.FAULT. And yes, I'm holding on to that card for the appropriate moment (insert knowing smirk here).

Today is the Monday that I come to kicking and screaming every single year. I know it's coming. My subconscious has been warning me for two months now, diligently ticking off reminders. I'll bet you have this Monday in your household as well.

Yes, dear readers, it is:

The Last Monday Before Summer Break (Chaos/Boredom/Complaining/Threats Involving Military Academy) Begins.

(Insert hair raising screams and quite possibly an ugly adult meltdown here).

I'm breaking out in hives just thinking about it.

This summer, however, taking a cue from Karen, and from memories of summers past, I have signed my children up for some camps. And swim team. You see, I don't get my summer off now that I have a job that is administrative. Yes, I'll be working a lot from home. And trying to mind the children while I do so. (OY!) Don't get me wrong, I love my children with my entire being. But you know how it is- the moment you MUST get something completed, you become a magnet for all things child related. It's the law of the universe. So this year, I've decided that my Z1 and Z2 will not spend EVERY moment of Summer together. I think it's going to be okay.

If not, there's always chocolate....

Yours, trying to get EVERY last possible thing completed before their break begins,

Melissa

Tuesday Tidbit- How much more of Summer Can I Take?

OH. MY. WORD.

How much longer until vacation?

Oh wait. I forget. Vacation is generally not vacation for the mom, who has to wash and pack and still think about meals and schedules. It's really just living in another place for a week. True, there is the break from the cell phone and the emails, but I will have all that catching up to do upon my return.

But man, the beach sure sounds good right now.

Here in the B House, we have hit the summer wall. You know exactly what I'm talking about. It's the end of June and I am looking at school supply lists and counting the days until I regain my own freedom. Let me be clear, I LOVE my children. But after the throwdown Z2 had this morning, I am counting the days until school begins.

August 17th.

I think that's about six weeks.

If you have any ideas beyond heavy drinking or fasting and prayer that will help me get through this six weeks, let me have 'em, 'cause I am all ears! Anyone else having this in their house?

Yours, reconsidering buying that pool pass,

Melissa

IT'S COMING... SUMMER, THAT IS!

After today, only 6 more school days. My kids are doing happy dances, and I’m just trying to figure out how to fit everything in that I’ve been putting off all school year.

So this week alone, I have scheduled a massage (hey, the last one I had was in December, so I’m due), a dentist appointment (okay, so it’s been a year since my last appointment, probably last year at this time when I was scheduling stuff before school let out) and a hair appointment (can’t go into summer without the appropriate highlights).

Next week, a couple of doctor appointments. Plus I have to somehow squeeze in some lunches since I won’t be “lunching” for 3 months with my girlfriends. Instead, if it’s lunch out, it will be a picnic at a park or McDonalds with the boys!

My point is this: DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO DO ALL THIS CRAP! I mean, really! I got my dentist appointment reminder 6 months ago. I’ve been due for a color and cut at the hair salon for weeks now. Why, every year, do I scramble the last weeks of the school year to get all of MY stuff done?

Oh, I remember. Because I’m a MOM!

So my lesson of the day is this (and of course I say it to all of you, but find it difficult to take my own advice): Take care of yourself, and you’re better able to take care of your kids. Or if you are your parent’s caretaker, or your spouse’s, the same rule applies. Take care of your own doctor appointments, or hair or massages or whatever it is that you need to do.

Okay, that’s my preaching for the day. Hmmm, how many lunches can I have in the next 6 days?

Karen

LIFE RETURNS TO NORMAL!

FINALLY! The kids are back in school and the husband is back at work and I can get back to my normal routine. I don’t know why Winter break seems so much longer than Summer break. I guess just because there are really no pressures during the summer. I know it’s going to be a long, lazy 3 months, and I prepare for it. I plan time to work and to exercise and to get everything done. But winter break is full of holidays and errands and family and eating and so on and so on! It seems like there’s not a minute to spare, yet nothing gets done! So after 2 weeks, I’m exhausted!

But, as I said in my last post, no worries! It’s all worth it, knowing my kids had a great Christmas and a great winter break.

So now, the catch-up begins. And so do the New Years Resolutions. I’m really not one to make these grand gestures to make drastic changes to my life, which will probably last one week, at the most. Rather, I think New Years Resolutions are about making small, yet significant changes, to make me a better person. (I tried explaining this to my 8 year olds. One said that he wants to become a better video game player and the other said he will remember to feed the dog more, which, by the way, hasn’t happened yet. We’ll work on this some more!)

So here they are: My first resolution is a continuation of last year’s. In 2009, I began working out and eating healthier, and so far I’ve lost 34 pounds. I plan on working harder at this (it’s the snacking that gets me!), and continuing to work towards my 50 pound goal. Also, as a side note, I’d like more of this to rub off on my husband! (The kids I can control to some degree, but not DH!)

My next resolution is to be more organized in my business and my life. (I know, I write books about organizing information. I should be more organized myself, but for some reason it’s just easier for me to tell others how to do it than to do it myself!) Again, nothing huge here, just small changes, one at a time. I’ve already started using Google Calendar, which syncs with my phone, so I always have my schedule with me. See, small changes!

That’s it! Just two New Year’s Resolutions for me! Wish me luck!

Karen