Now I Really Have Issues

My little laundry problem has grown slightly larger. Last Wednesday was my first full day home without track or work so I determined that this would be the day I would finally get all of my laundry done. I put the first load in and went back down later to stick it in the dryer when I realized that my machine was broken. Yup, BROKEN. It had gone through the wash cycle but I couldn't get it to drain or go through the spin cycle (no matter how many times or with how much force I turned the stupid dial.) So there I was with a washer full of water and semi~dirty clothes. The next day I fished out all of the clothes, wrung them out, and took the load into Vandercook to the laundry mat. But my washer is still full of dirty water and we're getting to near crisis mode with the laundry situation again.

Tom had most of the weekend off because of the holiday so I asked him to take a look at it. I got home Sunday nite and asked about the situation and he informed me that we could get a new washer for about $600. His rationalization~ by the time we get someone to come to the house, & parts, & service.... Yeah, that's great and all, but whose money is this anyways? Don't get me wrong, I would love one of these but when a service call will hopefully only cost a couple hundred dollars, I think that's our best bet for now. If my mechanically inclined husband couldn't fix it first. So I asked him please, please, PLEASE look at the freakin' machine. He claims he doesn't know what's wrong with it. I can't figure out if he's being for real or just dumb and uncooperative so I went ahead and scheduled a service call. Of course, they can't come out until Thursday and I shudder to think about what our clothing situation will be like at that point. Plus, I'm hoping we're not going to be paying $69 for them to come and tell me my washer is junk and not fixable. In which case, we might as well splurge and get the matching dryer, too.

Oh Yeah!!!

• Tim Horton's in the park with my favorite (little) girlies and my SIL with her kids
• a clean picked up house
• a leisurely bike ride with the kids on the trail
• sunshine and playtime in the backyard
• bath and nap to follow in hopes the kids are rested for graduation and an open house tonite

Yeah, this is my kinda day!=)

Finally!!!

Track season is coming to a close and that is the first word that comes to mind... finally! I love to work with the girls and I love being at the meets (although the standing in the cold part really sucks) but I am so glad that I am almost done. There's the Selby coaches meeting tomorrow, a couple of my girls possibly running in the Selby next week and a sports awards nite where I never fail to make a fool out of myself because I stand up in front of everyone and blubber like an idiot, but I am almost done! I feel like my "real" life has been put on pause these last 12 weeks and now it's time to get back to enjoying life as to just surviving it. In the next few weeks I have to catch up on:

• my kids~ Austin's last day of kindergarten is next week... already!
• gardening
• I may, just possibly, have some laundry issues that still need to be resolved
• cleaning of the bathrooms~ ugh!
• blogging
• weeding out junk for the gar(b)age sale
• and if I'm really ambitious, thank you notes from my daughter's birthday 2 months ago

Today is my first full day "off", no practice, no work~ yee haw!!! And the weather is gorgeous. I think the first thing I'll cross of my to~do list is the landscaping under the bedroom windows. Enjoy the sunshine!!!

Not Me Monday... Laundry Edition

As I have been, ummm, rather behind on the laundry lately, I thought that this "not me" post should be dedicated to airing the dirty laundry out... one Hosmerville secret at a time.

• I have absolutely not done only 5 or so loads of laundry within the last month. And because of this, you can absolutely see the laundry room and both bathroom floors.
• Because of said laundry issues, I have not routinely snatched worn underwear off the pile on Austin's floor for him to wear again (and again).
• My husband did not, no way, have to go commando the other day at work because his underwear supply ran out. And even if he did, he most certainly did not actually enjoy his free~balling experience.
• (I will definitely not be in the dog house for that last revelation.)
• I did not have to resort to wearing newlywed/pre~baby thongs because my stash of more sensible mommy panties ran out. Said thongs did not leave deep red marks and cut off circulation to my lower extremities. Because after 3 babies I am still a perfect size 2.
• I absolutely learned my lesson after wearing uncomfortable undergarments for several days in a row and did a load of laundry. I did not wake up Saturday morning and dig through my bathing suits to find the most underwear~ish pair of bikini bottoms to wear because I most certainly had a load of freshly laundered unmentionables.
• Eddy has not been known to dig through the laundry and chew holes in the crotchal region of dirty underwear. With the help of meds, he has absolutely been able to kick this disgusting habit.
• I have never loaded my son into the van, wearing only his skivvies and a shirt. And I most certainly have not ever, no never, secured his shorts in the rolled~up window of the van and allowed them to air dry at 70 mph on the way to church.

Nope, not me!!!

Feeling Pig~ish

Well, I'm in the midst of a full blown cold... sore throat, swollen glands, sinus pressure, body ache, etc. Of course, the hypochondriac in me can't help but keep thinking about the swine flu. I have thus far decided to suffer quietly because:

• I don't really care for my general practicing physician
• I heard on the radio this morning that there are still zip, zero, zilch confirmed cases in Jackson county and, really, what's the possibility of little ol' me being the very first case in the whole county?
• I haven't been vacationing in Mexico lately never.
• and although I'm barking like a seal when I cough, I haven't started oinking.

So I think I'm going to just have to tough this one out on my own. It really is no surprise that I'm sick. Being so busy and all, my immune system was bound to be down. I'm now realizing that it's been 2 weeks since my last blog. So what have I been up to? What haven't I been up to is more the question.

• Austin joined me for work on Nat'l Bring Your Child To Work Day. He totally rocked his apron and cap!
• The girls' tattoo nite was a wash. We got there only to find out that they are now booking 3 weeks out. I didn't make an appointment but there have been talks about some ink for Mother's Day. We still managed to enjoy the rest of the evening. Who wouldn't when there was a showing of "Twilight" in the plans?
• We celebrated my BIL's and my birthday at my in~laws. I got money which has already been spent. I was in desperate need of some new summer clothes. I picked up 3 fun necklaces, 2 pairs of flip flops, sunglasses, 7 shirts, and a pair of capris. Then I weeded some old stuff out of my closet. I think I can say that my oldest clothes now date back only to my college days. And it'll be fun getting dressed again these next couple of weeks.
• The track team has been to Colon, Climax~Scotts, Concord, and tonite, Camden Frontier. See a pattern here? (the c's, people) I'm really hoping for some nice weather this evening. Standing out in the cold for hours is not my idea of fun and always has me questioning my reasons for coaching track.
• Austin finished up his basketball season at the Y this past week. He made me take stats every week so I'll have to do a separate post on that later.
• Lexi has been singing "I wike big butts and I can ta why... hey boss, big butts!", quoting Shark Tales several times a day. It appears her big brother has been giving her singing lessons.

I think I'm caught up on the Hosmerville highlights for now. I'm off to wash away some of the germs and try to rest up for the rest of the day.

You Say It's Your Birthday...

... well, it's my birthday, too! Wasn't there a song that went something like that? So, today is the big day. My last 20's birthday. Not a whole lot of excitement or big plans, so I guess that means I'm officially a grown~up. So far, the girls and I enjoyed Tim Horton's this morning (I think I may have found the best mocha around). Audrey's been to the doctor for her 4 year old check up. 25th percentile in height and 50th percentile for weight. 1 finger poke, 1 (accidental) kick in the face to Lexi, 2 nurses + mommy to hold her down and 3 shots. Then it was all over and somewhat good again. On to the Secretary of State for license and plate renewals (my hair looking somewhat decent).

Back at home, Leslie called and let me in on the greatest shopping deal this year. The Children's Place is having a sale plus an extra 15% with a special code from babycheapskates. I got goodies for all 3 kids. Some stuff for this summer and some back~2~school stuff for next fall.

I have a meet tonite in Colon. Yeah, Colon. Hopefully the sun keeps shining. Even when there's track and field involved my idea of fun is not standing outside freezing off my niblets.

There's tentative plans for a girls' nite this Friday so the birthday celebration may continue with my favorite ladies. Double d's and triple t's (no, that's not our bra sizes, just our plans). Dinner, drinks, girl talk, tattoos, and a screening of Twilight.

So, for those of you that have ever celebrated a birthday;), what was your best gift or memory ever?

I'll Appreciate This When I'm Older

• high school boys hitting on me at work
• getting carded when the rest of my friends don't
• telemarketers calling the house and asking me if they can speak with my mom (which is the inspiration behind this post as it happened less than 10 minutes ago.)
• disbelief when I tell people I'm married with 3 kids

Everyone always tells me I'm lucky to look so young, and maybe I'll feel better about hitting the big 3~0 next year looking so ummm... youthful, but for now I would like to look like the almost 29 year old I am instead of a high schooler. Anyone else ever get mistaken for the babysitter instead of the mommy?

This~N~That

Boring post!!! (Just something for the kids to read and remember in a couple of years)

Wow!!! I blinked and all of a sudden it's the middle of April! Last week the real craziness began. Thursday nite my girls got their butts whipped by Vandercook and Springport. The bright spot was my high jumper's performance. What started as a team of 11 has slowly dwindled with injuries and lack of commitment to a team of 6. Short and simple... 6 girls cannot hold their own against a team of 30 or 40. I didn't want this to be a track post so I'll stop before I really get started.

Friday I worked all day. Something I haven't done on a Friday since August. Saturday Austin had a b~ball game (2pts., 3 rebounds, 1 assist) and the girls went with my MIL to an egg hunt. Audrey scored an unbelievably huge basket full of all sorts of goodies. I worked all day... again. I kept reminding myself to just get thru the day and then I had all of Sunday to enjoy. Note to shoppers: do NOT wait until the day before a holiday to do all of your shopping and then get ticked at me (who has no control over stock) when your french fried onions are gone and there's no more jelly beans. Plan ahead, people!

We celebrated Easter with breakfast at church before the services. We met up with my Hrebec side of the family for lunch at my aunt and uncle's new home. The food was good, the company was great. There is quite an age difference between me (the oldest) and the next cousin, so some of my cousins are only a few years older than my kids. My uncle took all of the "kids" out to the backyard for an exciting game of kickball. We had cupcakes for another aunt's birthday and then the kids did an egg hunt. *Sidenote~ Audrey recently found an old harmonica at my in~laws which she has since brought home and "plays" music on it. As we started to sing Happy Birthday to my aunt, my grandpa pulled out his harmonica and played along. I watched Audrey's mouth drop open in awe, her eyes never moving from his face. Now she's ready to take some serious harmonica lessons.

We dashed home long enough to put together another dish for the next party and then headed to my in~laws for dinner. The kids had one final Easter egg hunt and did baskets from grandpa and grandma. We ate again and got home way too late for a school nite.

Soooo this week, the craziness continues. Yesterday I was busy all day putting away the over abundance of Easter goodies, generally enjoying my day off. I have to work (ugh) tonite, tomorrow, a track meet in Pittsford. Friday nite Tom and I are heading to Ann Arbor to celebrate a best friend's 30th birthday with our other best friends from high school (best part of the week). We're actually getting a real babysitter and I'm contemplating outfits for this special occasion, hee, hee:) Saturday, I'm back in Pittsford for an all day invite. With only 6 girls competing I'll have plenty of time to get my tan on and hopefully finish "Eclipse". (BTW, I read both Twilight and New Moon in 4 days and then went thru a serious depression/withdrawal because I didn't have book #3. I was nearly giddy when my SIL said she had just finished Eclipse and I could take if I wanted it. If I wanted it?... like I wouldn't;) Which reminds me... I have a book I could be reading. Hmm, maybe I can sneak in a chapter while the girls are busy.

Sexy Mama 'Do

I gave myself an early birthday present yesterday and headed out to the salon for a much needed visit with Allyson. This girl is amazing!!! Every time I see her, I leave feeling like a new woman! I wish I had the money to see her every day. Does anyone else have that problem? Your stylist does an amazing job and then you can never replicate it on your own at home?

I am so not talented in the hair department. The few times I have attempted to highlight my hair at home, I ended up with something along the lines of orangey~red. In seventh grade I grew my bangs out and wore my hair straight and long. Until my senior year. I had my senior pics done and then I got my hair cut. Short, straight, and tucked behind the ear. And I occasionally showed up to school with my hair uncombed and wet from the shower and in a ponytail. First hour choir was the ideal time to detangle hair and apply make~up. (I think I may have mentioned before that I am not a morning person;) It wasn't until my 10 year class reunion last year that I actually started to make an effort in the hair department. Allyson had made me "beautiful" with a new cut and highlights and I was determined to keep it looking nice. I have slowly become more adept at using a round brush and blow drying my hair. Some days are more successful than others. But my hair never EVER looks as good as it does fresh from the salon.

So yesterday, we went something a bit more bold than the usual. I went blond! Ok, so not that blond but definitely noticeably lighter. And we shortened up my cut in the back quite a bit. I was going for the I'm-going-on-29-I-need-to-look-my-age haircut. (People that don't know me are always surprised to find out how old I am and I've been told my lovely Meijer hat makes me look like a teenager.) Audrey decided that my hair looked "strange" and Austin had to pet my head several times and told me it felt "crunchy". I think overall my look was well received. Now I'm afraid to take a shower. When I wash my hair I'll wash away the "salon high". Someone should really figure out how to bottle it. I'd definitely buy a fix for my upcoming driver's license photo.

Extended Spring Break Vay~Cay

We're on to our second snow day due to the late winter storm that blew thru here Sunday nite. Yesterday morning we awoke to no power and struggled to "survive". We used the time without distractions (tv, internet, cordless phone, etc.) to get the house back in order after the weekend. I kept an eye on the thermostat and when it got close to 64*, I gave in and called my grandparents.

We headed out there to shower and cook mac and cheese and later met Tom in Brooklyn. The kids ran around McDonalds for awhile to burn some energy. It was while Austin was at the top of the play structure that he stuck his head out and announced at the top of his lungs, "I like big butts and I cannot lie!" I cut into his musical solo before he could go any further but the dad sitting behind us got a kick out of his impromptu serenade. (For the record.... I do not let my kids listen to music like that. Well... most of the time;P. He picked that song up from Donkey singing at the end of Shrek.)

We dropped the kids off at my in~laws after dinner and Tom and I headed home to pick up the laptop and then go in search of somewhere with free wi~fi so Tom could log in and post for his class. When we came thru the neighborhood there was a Consumers truck working on the lines but we weren't too hopeful as there seems to be 2 circuits running thru our neighborhood. We were pleasantly surprised to find lights on when we pulled into our drive. Tom did homework; I took full advantage of our newly restored power and vacuumed.

Austin stayed up late to watch the b~ball game. He was rooting for N. Carolina (little traitor). He was prepped to not give me any attitude this morning when I woke him up for school (he is like his mommy and sooo not a morning person) but as it turned out, school was canceled again because the elementary campus is still without power.

So here we are again, another day off. At least we have power today and the house is in good shape. Sounds like it's laundry day.