To Do

I have Wednesdays off right now, today is actually my last one but in general I have had them. And I feel like I should have this day to enjoy - you know spend time at the gym, take a leisurely shower, etc. (Blog!) Instead I feel like I have this insane to do list. And the only reason I have time to post is because I needed a coffee break considering its 9:30 and I have done 3 loads of laundry, been to 3 stores, scheduled 2 appts, packed up two ebay packages, made beds and gotten ready for the day. Still on the list: mailing said packages, having lunch with Tristan, sewing numbers on 22 baseball jerseys, washing sheets from the beds, putting away 2 basketfuls of clean laundry, ironing half dozen shirts and half dozen dress pants, returning something to Target,pick up kids, kids orthodontist appt, grocery shopping, swim practice for Tori and running my 2 miles for the day...oh and I have to do it around the pest control guy I am waiting on.

I would prefer the list to read: go running, take shower, read book at Starbucks with Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte, have lunch with Tristan, shop, pick kids up, bake cookies, watch Idol, go to bed. That would be nice.

Reality calls gotta go!

A Day at the Beach

Yesterday the weather was perfect - light wind, high 70's to low 80's, sunny - and despite earlier plans to attend the Strawberry Festival or hit Busch Gardens we decided it was time for the first beach trip of 2009. Unfortunately a million other Floridians who had missed this kind of weather decided the same and the city of Clearwater has made parking at the beach currently impossible unless you get out there are approximately 9 am.

But that was not too dash our excitement...over to Sand Key we went where the beaches were not so crowded and we had a wonderful time. It was warm but not so hot you feel like you're cooking, the kids played in the sand, Todd and I took naps. They dug holes, looked for shells, played on the VERY edge of the water (it was freezing!).

Afterwards we have a really nice evening with the Wests. Ty and Tristan played with every toy he owns, Rhiannon and I kicked the boys butt in eucher twice, and we had some cake, out of a box but cake nonetheless.

We also looked at a house yesterday that Todd liked, same layout as the one we put an offer on previously. I am trying to look past the work but it has a stained glass window which is one of my pet peeves, pink carpet, pink tile in the bathroom, would need lots of paint, the pool would need massive cleaning, and all the appliances in the kitchen would have to be replaced. Augh! So we're "talking" about it...sometimes rather heatedly, LOL.

Night Out

Todd surprised me early last week with tickets for a night out last night. We had such a nice time and the kids had fun at home having a "sleepover" with one of their favorite babysitters, Kelsey.

Anyway we went to Baywalk in St.Pete and had a very nice Italian dinner at Gratzzi's and then went to the 9:30 Jerry Seinfeld show at Mahaffey theater. I always liked the show but never loved it but he was really funny in person. That kind of observant humor that we all think but don't say out loud much less joke about...and he hit a huge range of topics from Starbucks to drug commercials, from being a bachelor to married with kids. Larry Miller opened for him and he too was funny - a huge part of his bit was about Little League parents, and it was funny because so much of it was true, made funnier because we have been there. If you dont know who Larry Miller is google him, you'll recognize him even if you dont recognize the name.

Anyway it was a very nice night out. Thanks Todd for the surprise.

Even Keel

Thought I should post to clarify that I am not still caught in torrential downpour. Nothing exciting to report at the moment. Update: electrician came and fixed the ceiling circuit as well as the fuses/breakers with problems = lights and hopefully a lower electric bill. I survived another night at work and managed to keep my eyes open until I got home and in bed (and then some more since in the 5 hrs I got to sleep my fam woke me up 5 times!). And my dog ate macaroni and cheese instead of dog food for 24 hours which led to his miraculous recovery from his unidentified bug and my stain remover remarkably removed the stain.

This week is busy but just with lots of normal stuff...work, PTA, swim practices, a few sewing projects, trying to get time in running...thats about it.

When it Rains it Pours...

We are having a terrible 24 hours. Last night the fan in Tristans ceiling made a funny popping noise and all of a sudden none of the ceiling lights/fans work in the entire house. So the electrician is coming tonight, that should be cheap, yeah right.

Then I woke up at 5 am to poor Max throwing up all over my light colored berber carpet. So Todd takes him outside while I look for carpet cleaner which is very hard to do in the pitch black because of course we have no lights in the kitchen where I keep that kind of stuff!!!!

So I get to sleep in today as I work the night shift and wake up to my dog having another nasty problem, thankfully on the wood this time. We had let him out of his crate because he had been ok for awhile.

Now armed with coffee I sit down to check my email and hope for a better day than its been so far only to get our electric bill. Nasty does not begin to describe it. I usually am very private with our bills but this is of record to be noted...almost 375 dollars. Yes that is correct. Thank the Lord the electrician is coming.

We've recently had this problem where if the heater is on the hot water heater kicks off or vice versa. So you can basically choose warm house or warm shower and whatever its doing must be sucking some huge energy, combine that with rate increases and it might kill us.

And lastly did I mention I have to work tonight. I hate working nights but I dont feel like I can complain because I need them to be so flexible with the kids schedules during the school year and even more so for my hours over the summer when I work half as much as I do now!!! So I have no choice but to take it when they give me them but it really is hard to do out of the middle of nowhere and still function well at my job.

Okay thats enough ranting, hoping my next post is full of wonderful things!

Bad Mommy Moment

I completely missed Little League sign up. They sent the notice on December 23rd...really? 2 days before Christmas?

Needless to say I was busy with you know, this little holiday, and did not read it well. Apparently it last about a week in January. Oops.

So soccer continues as we sign up for spring soccer and we'll play fall ball with Little League in the fall which I will apparently sign him up for in May or so.

Hilton Head

Friday we loaded two very sugared up, Valentine crazed children and ALOT of stuff into our van and headed up to SC. We managed to only stop a couple of times for gas, dinner and a DQ break! Honestly the weather was less than good for the weekend - rainy Saturday and downright cold pretty much the whole time. But we hit a thrift shop, played on the beach, went to the outlet malls, climbed a lighthouse, ate at The Salty Dog Cafe, and did dinner at one of those hibachi grill places. And just had down time at the cottage where we stayed playing games, tossing a football around, etc. Here are just a few pics...4 mobile (not to mention fast) children make for very hard picture taking!

Tori at the Salty Dog with her new friend, he was having a bit of a moment but
they sure got along well!

The kids with the lighthouse we climbed in the background (114 steps up).

At the top!

Playing on the VERY cold beach!