My Mantra

I refuse to dwell on the negative today. I will remain positive and upbeat. (Repeat. Repeat.) In an effort to do so I'm making myself list 10 things I'm loving right now, things I'm looking forward to, things that are making me laugh:

1. chai tea and meme bread (I thought I'd start out small)
2. Audrey sucking her thumb with her boo bunny
3. Lexi's little biscuits in her big girl underwear
4. Madagascar (the movie, not the island)
5. Seeing one of the senior girls at JCS on her "unicorn" (for spirit week) as I drove Austin to school this morning
6. clean laundry
7. vacuuming my living room
8. Reyna coming
9. eating dinner as a family
10. Audrey going to gymnastics tonite
11. spending time with Austin while Audrey is in gymnastics
12. going to work tonite (believe it, or not)
13. the beautiful sunshine

Wow, that was easier than I thought and I feel better already!=)

Playing Favorites

Anybody weird like me? Do you always order a certain drink with a certain meal? Without it your dining experience just wouldn't be the same? Take for instance Taco Bell. I always, always, always drink Dr. Pepper at the bell. Always. Until we happened to go to a Taco Bell far, far away from here and they didn't have Dr. P. Maybe they do things differently in that "neck of the woods". Anyways, I can't even remember what I ended up settling for, but it just wasn't the same. So, yeah, I'm weird. Here's some more favorites:

• Olive Garden: peach tea
• McD's: Hi-C orange
• Outback: coke with grenadine- if they try to slip me cherry coke I'll send it back
• Subway: wild cherry pepsi
• Knight's Steakhouse (our hangout for GNO's with my fave girlies): I'm starting to lean toward their margarita~ so good, so strong=)

Oh, and I always prefer Pepsi to Coke. Got any favorites?

Monday, Monday

Not a whole lot to post on tonite. A typical Monday. Austin had school. He came home with his first official homework assignment. An "All about Me " book due in a couple of weeks. Aside from what he has to include as his favorites and basic info, his teacher has pretty much given us free reign for the format and design of the project. I absolutely do not want to be one of those kind of mothers that takes over and does all of her child's work for him but I'm hoping maybe he'll be interested in doing it as a scrapbook style book~ maybe 8X8? I've got lots of ideas, but again, I don't want to force anything if he has his own plan.

Other than that, I've done 3 loads of laundry. I made an easy dinner and then we hit the trail for a quick walk/bike ride before bath time. The kids are in bed, Tom's off with his brother and I'm just enjoying the quiet before bedtime.

Happy fall, y'all!!! (today's the first day of autumn in case you didn't know;)

WHY?!?!

After you pray about something for forever (ok, slight exaggeration). Asking God for the right moment, the right opportunity. Telling yourself that when the time comes you'll have peace, you'll have words to say, everything will just fall into place because God has provided that exact moment. Why then, when God served me my moment tonite did I shove it back in His face and say, "no thanks!" Why? Because I'm a freaking idiot and I blew it again!

So Far...

... so good. Lindsey was absolutely beautiful last nite! As Miss Ann Arbor she was the first one out on the stage for both the swim wear and evening gown portions of the show. Her dress was a gorgeous shade of aqua with a high front slit and a small train. She carried herself with poise and grace. She was confident, but not overly so like some of the other girls strutting their stuff. I have NO pictures of the evening. Of course, there was no photography or video permitted and Lindsey was on a bus headed back to the hotel before some of the other contestants had even finished. She had her interview with the judges this morning and the big show is tonite at 8pm. All of the girls will do a dance number before they announce the top 15. Then the 15 will do the swim wear and evening gown again and then they will narrow it down to the top 5 who have the final on-stage question before they crown the Miss Michigan USA 2009. I have to work tonite so I'm going to try to get Micah to text me with updates throughout the evening and I'll post the outcome tomorrow.

Send Some Luck Her Way

So I' m off to the Miss Michigan USA pageant tonite. The winner, who will be crowned on Saturday, will go on to compete in the Miss USA pageant next year. What makes tonite so special is one contestant, Miss Lindsey Ann Wiley. Around here in Hosmerville, we simply refer to her as Winsey because she's my brother's girlfriend. I can't wait to see her tonite. She's got looks, she's got talent, and most importantly she's got the sweetest personality. How could she lose? ... not that I'm biased or anything=) Let's go Lindsey!!!

Playing Hooky

It's only the second week of school and Austin's already sick. His asthma flared up this week and last nite was pretty rough. I called the office to let them know he wouldn't be coming today. I think I'm more crushed than he is (only because now he has no chance at getting perfect attendance K-12). Ahh, the crazy hopes and dreams I have for my kids~ living vicariously through their little lives.=) Now we're just waiting for the doc to get back to the office from doing his hospital rounds. It's rainy and dreary~ a perfect day to lay low and chill. Maybe we'll swing by the library after Austin's appointment and check out some movies and come home to be lazy for the day.

Anyways, I'm a bit late on this one but I wanted to post about Austin's first day of school for memory's sake. He was so excited. The morning went well~ breakfast, getting dressed, loading the kids, and getting him to school on time. We walked in just as his teacher was leading all of the early arrivals from the gym down to the room. Austin jumped right into the back of the line. He was ready! I filmed him finding his coat hook for the first time and hanging up his back pack. I didn't realize it at the time but watching the video later, Austin hangs up his bag and marches right into his classroom, high fiving his teacher on the way in! No "good bye, mom" or anything *sniff, sniff* So as I sat watching my "footage" from the morning, I thought to myself~ wow! what a defining moment! My little man is off to conquer the world. Austin must have sensed the unspoken transition as he left his mommy's side and walked confidently into his classroom for the first time because he piped up from behind me, "and that's when I became a kindergartner!" *sniff, sniff, waahhh!!!*

The girls and I hung back and watched Austin through the big windows for a minute before joining him in the classroom. I helped him find his spot and took a couple of pictures. By that time other parents were saying their good byes and a couple of his classmates were starting to cry. I was worried for a split second that Austin would pick up on the tears, but no need to worry! Mommy was the only one with tears that morning. I asked Austin if he needed a kissing hand and when he told me no I held back my urge to ask him if I could have a kissing hand. I had to hunt down Audrey who was busy making new friends in the playhouse and headed out into the day to learn how to live my mornings without my baby Jamers by my side.

The morning went by quickly and we headed back to the school to pick Austin up. His teacher brought all of the kids out to the parking lot and loaded them into the waiting vehicles one by one. As Austin got settled and we drove away he exclaimed, "it's just like the drive-thru!" Yes, I'll have an Austin with a side of fries and a Pepsi, please!

Yeah, That Kind Of Morning...

Woke up late. 7:02, oh s*$%! Quickly gulp down my meds with a glass of water which gives me a full-blown stomach cramp (that lasts well into the afternoon.) Get Austin settled on the couch to wake up with some juice and cartoons and happen to peek out the window. The van is gone. Do a double take. Yup, the van's gone. Tom's car is still parked, he's at work... why the heck did he take the van!?! Call Tom at work.

me: TJ, why did you take the van? Don't you remember that Austin goes to school every day now?

Tom: I left the lights on in the cutty. The battery is completely dead. Wouldn't even start after I tried jumping it with the van. I'll come home as soon as Stu gets here. Austin doesn't start till 8:30 right?

me: No, he starts at 8:10 *sigh*

Ok, no big deal, Austin will be just a couple of minutes late. Waiting for Tom will help make up the lost time because I didn't get up. And being the stellar mom that I am, I washed an extra load of laundry so Audrey's favorite jeans were clean and ready, hopefully preventing a diva meltdown and ensuring a tear free morning. She's begged to wear her "heart jeans" all summer and I have put her off all summer as it has been way too hot. Just last week she got to wear them and was absolutely thrilled. I know it's worth the extra trip down to the basement to dry her beloved jeans (at 11pm last nite) because she'll be happy and make getting dressed an easy process. Except today. We're feelin' the love the whole time she's getting dressed. Get her settled with her juice and cartoons and head off to quickly dry my hair. Come out of the bathroom to find her pantless.

me: what's the matter, Audge?

Audrey: (starting to melt) my jeans are bodderin' me! I'm not gonna wear 'em!

She heads to her room and comes out with a pair of pink shorts. I ponder.... is it worth the fight?

me: whatever *sigh*

Go to get Lexi dressed. Her diaper is dry! Of course after holding it all nite she has to go potty. Heads to the bathroom to do her thing. Success! Collects a potty treat for her, Austin, and Audrey and heads out to the living room to pass out the jelly bellys (this bit of info is important, just wait.) Phone rings. It's Tom, he's on his way. School is starting right.... now! Ok, kids, head to the door lets get your shoes on. Audrey comes running towards me all panicked, seconds away from another meltdown.

me: what's wrong, Audge?

her: it's stuck in my nose!!! *wail*

me: what's stuck in your nose?

I get down to assess the situation and see only a bit of pink something crammed up in her left nostril. A really mammoth booger? A piece of fruit loop? (where the h$%* would she get fruit loops from?) A chunk of cherry kool-aid play dough that we made the other day? What?!?!

Audrey: my potty treat! *another wail*

me: (in my head) you've got to be frickin' kidding me! to the Audrey: I don't know, honey, I guess we'll just have to go see Dr. Rao. (Am I really gonna make my kid suffer for almost an hour with a jelly bean stuck up her nose?) No time to ponder.

Phone rings. Tom again. I just got frickin' pulled over so it'll be a while before I get home!

Back to Audrey. Just hold still!!! I squeeze down over the bridge of her nose. She pulls away. OWWW! I said hold still! Another squeeze. We're making progress. Pulls away again. It HURTS!!! Ok, one more big squeeze and out pops Audrey's pink potty treat already partially dissolved by her snot.

Tom pulls in the drive. Successfully jumps the cutty while I load the kids. Austin is 20 minutes late.

Yeah, that kind of morning.

The Summer Of The Garage Sale

We're on a mini family vacay this weekend. The kids and Tom are snoozing and I'm buzzing from a cup of coffee. I finally have a little downtime. No distractions... no dirty bathroom, no laundry, no bills, even finished the book I brought along to relax with... gotta catch up on the blog!

Wow!!! It's hard to believe summer's over and we're already a week into the school year. (I have pics of Austin's 1st day that I'll have to post later.) As for now, this is a run-down of our summer accomplishments:

• Put in a crude bridge to more easily access the Falling Waters trail from our backyard.
• Attempted to have a garage sale... 3 times. None were amazingly successful but overall we made about $1100.
• Found Tom's man's room again after garage sale #1. It was so nice to walk down into a clean and (somewhat) organized space.
• Converted the storage room in the basement into my very own scrapping room. I still need a new light or 2 for the space and I would love to paint it eventually, as well as get an area rug for the floor. Right now, think unfinished storage room with single light bulb hanging from ceiling. But at least it's a space for me to spread out and chill.
• Took in a couple of movies with the kids... Kit Kittridge, American Girl, Kung Fu Panda, and Horton Hears a Who.
• Helped plan my 10 year class reunion.
• Experienced the Jackson County fair.
• Celebrated Lexi's 2nd birthday.
• Potty trained Lexi.
• Went back-to-school shopping with Austin.
• Found the garage again after garage sale #3 last week and made the final 3 of 6 total packed out van trips to drop off the remainder of the sale items to Encore! the new resale shop on Wildwood.
• Took some of the better leftover kids' clothes to Clothing Carousel where they took them in on consignment for 3 months and also agreed to take my crib and changing table (the 2 big items I was hoping to sell... but didn't).
• Restained the back deck and painted our fading ugly brown back garage door and dining room deck doors a creamy white.

Looks like some of our summer to-do list will carry over into the fall. We still need to:

• Clean out the landscaping around the sides and back of the house.
• Finish the steps down to our trail bridge.
• Put away all of the summer yard toys and deck furniture.
• Rearrange the furniture in Tom's man's room to make way for the air hockey table.
• Move the air hockey table out of the dining room (where it's been for the past 2 months) down into the man's room.
• Go through the kids' closets and make way for their fall/winter clothes.

Did you enjoy your summer as much as I did mine?

Overheard By Tom

the scene: Greenfield Village, lunchtime

the actors: Austin and his 6 year old cousin Anna

the props: "hobo lunches", a Greenfield Village specialty- pbj, string cheese, raisins, and applesauce all wrapped up in a bandanna with a stick, hobo style.

The scene begins with Austin and Anna sword fighting with their sticks, both have their bandannas tied around their necks like capes.

Anna: If a bad guy comes you kick him in the stones. Do you know what the "stones" are, Austin?

Anna: Another word for the "canolis". (spelling?)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

a short while later....

Austin and Anna are running down by the lagoon. Still playing "get-the-bad-guys-with-the-swords".

Austin: Anna, we've gotta hit the bad guys in the "rocks"!

Anna: No, Austin, it's the stones!