Summer Time!!!!

This was the big treat for Jack this summer - yeah, it will grow out, it's summer, good grades, good attitude, whatever!!!!

From my friend Marybeth...

Marybeth had this on her website and I thought it was cute...She was Strawberry Shortcake, I was Ice Cream.

Now don't cheat on this one, go with the first dessert you choose. If all the eight desserts listed below were sitting in front of you, which would you choose? (Sorry, you can only pick one!) Pick your dessert and then look to see what psychiatrists think about you. It is pretty accurate! (You can't change your choice once you scroll down!)
Here are your choices:

1. Angel Food Cake
2. Brownies
3. Lemon Meringue Pie
4. Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Icing
5. Strawberry Short Cake
6. Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Icing
7. Ice Cream
8. Carrot Cake


OK - Now that you've made your choice, this is what the researchers say about you...SCROLL DOWN---No Cheating


1. ANGEL FOOD CAKE -- Sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy items. A little nutty at times. Sometimes you need an ice cream cone at the end of the day. Others perceive you as being childlike and immature at times.

2. BROWNIES -- You are adventurous, love new ideas, and are a champion of underdogs and a slayer of dragons. When tempers flare up you whip out your saber. You are always the odd ball with a unique sense of humor and direction. You tend to be very loyal.

3. LEMON MERINGUE -- Smooth, sexy, & articulate with your hands, you are an excellent caregiver and a good teacher. But don't try to walk and chew gum at the same time. A bit of a diva at times, you set your own style because you do your own thing. You shine when it comes to helping others and have many friends.

4 . VANILLA CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING -- Fun-loving, sassy, humorous, not very grounded in life; very indecisive and lacking motivation. Everyone enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Others should be cautious in making you mad. However, you are a friend for life.

5. STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE -- Romantic, warm, loving. You care about other people, can be counted on in a pinch and expect the same in return. Intuitively keen, you can be very emotional at times but a true person in every way. You like to do things for yourself and help others learn about themselves.

6. CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING – Sweet, always ready to give and receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious, and passionate. You can appear to have a cold exterior but are warm on the inside. Not afraid to take chances. Will not settle for anything average in life. Love to laugh.

7. ICE CREAM -- You like sports, whether it is baseball, football, basketball, or soccer. If you could, you would like to participate, but you enjoy watching sports. You don't like to give up the remote control. You tend to be self-centered and high maintenance.

8. CARROT CAKE -- You are a very fun loving person, who likes to laugh. You are fun to be with. People like to hang out with you. You are a very warm hearted person and a little quirky at times. You have many loyal friends. You were meant to lead and teach others. A wonderful role model



Now, you must realize that I truly am not a sweets type of person. My idea of a treat is a bag of On the Border Chips and Salsa!!!!! Ok , and a margarita on the side :)

Just a couple Snapshots

Mexican Night at the Beach

Up to his neck in sand!!!

Unpacked?

Yes, the kid and I are unpacked. right now I feel like bullet points..

• Hubby and I just watched So You Think You Can Dance from last week. I am really not happy that Will was voted off. Not happy at all. Might have to stop watching it, if it were not for Twitch and Joshua.
• Pootie had his 11 year old check up today. He weighs 70 pounds. That is incredible. His BMI is "like non-existent". ZERO body fat. He is finally out of the 10% on the weight grouping, and into the 25%. This is a huge deal for him. OH - and he is 4 feet 7 1/2 inches tall. We try like crazy to keep weight on him- with all the working out with soccer though, he burns fat like there is no tomorrow.
• I don't'.
• Going out tonight with some of my friends. Trish moves to Chicago on Thursday. Going to try not to cry.
• My computer keeps crashing when I am working on the movies from the beach 07. I have emailed in for a fix, yet again, but I am really starting to get ticked off.
• It's almost August.
• Crash and Lola are starting to "get bored". That's when you know it's time for school to start. I'm not ready for school to start.
• There is a lot to remember when you are president of the PTA. I must keep a note pad with me at all times. I am waking up in the middle of the night thinking of things that I need to do.
• I hate waking up in the middle of the night. SERIOUSLY.

That's all for now.

Ten Days Later

We are home. We are tired. We have not unpacked suitcases. We have unpacked the car. We have bought milk, bread and cereal so we are good to go for tomorrow morning. We have given the pups a bath....

AND WE ARE NOW GOING TO BED, all of us, before midnight!!!! Novel idea I tell ya!!!!!!

Shhhhhhh - i might unplug the phones for tomorrow morning!!!!!

On the other side

Today we are on the other side of the week.....as in the ending side of the week. Really bums me out. Nothing like finally settling into your vacation, and then having it just slip away. It stormed REALLY hard yesterday afternoon and then again throughout the night. Not tropical storm to be named, but just hard summertime storms. This morning, while it is still somewhat early (ok, I know 9 is not early, but it's a vacation, come on...) everything is wet and hazy.

Note for anyone who does not know me well, I AM AT THE BEACH AND WANT MY SUNSHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF I HAVE ONE MORE DAY OF RAIN AND NOT BEING ABLE TO BE OUTSIDE, I WILL PITCH A CHILD LIKE HISSY FIT. THERE IS NO DROUGHT AROUND HERE, SO DON'T EVEN HAND ME THAT MESS.

I WANT WARM, GLORIOUS, SUNSHINE, DANG IT!!!!!!

PLEASE?

News from the Big House

Big news - THERE IS NO TROPICAL STORM NEAR US!!!!! We might have felt a drop of rain here - or it could have been the sprinklers running..hard to tell. Right now, there are a few folks still floating down in the pool, a couple of sharks playing cards upstairs and the kids are running all over the place playing hide and seek, or something close to that.

Food Team tonight is Hubby, Alison, Beaver and my brother Chris. Hamburgers and Hot dogs are on the menu. I'm sufficiently baked - feeling a little icky right now because I had a pina clad, and while I love them, I now feel like I am going to YACK!!! As my Gram would have said, "too much", as in too much sugar...so gross.

I am wearing one of my new sundresses from belks summer sale. It's very comfortable. And it hides the bloating!!! ;)

I have only had a couple of PTA related issues to deal with. Everyone feels so bad about calling me, and I am so not bothered by it!!! Just a bunch of super nice gals that I adore.

More later......most go relax!!!!!

Moving

Today is the day we head over to the big house. We have really enjoyed being here with Aunt Martha. We've giggled and cried, talking about Uncle Billy. Right now, we are waiting on everyone to get here. Hollybeth has beaten herself to death trying to take care of as much as she could before. Pre-cooking stuff and many trips to Sams/Costco. I've started the "regular" shopping list, which will consist of the things she couldn't get ahead of time.

Go ahead and laugh - right now Tropical Storm Cristopol is sitting off the coast threatening rain sometime tonight. Big deal - the news reporters have started over dramatising the "storm". Good lord people. It's not like it's a Hurricane. Talk about drumming up the news. The weather in Nags Head right now is breezy, but nice - a little overcast at times - but EVERY YEAR we have one day that it rains.

Albert, GramMabel's hubby, is doing better than expected. Yesterday everyone went to say their good byes and etc and dag -gone if today he was up in his wheelchair eating and asking to get clothes on.

Other than that - it's all good.

Final Countdown

We are now down to the Final Countdown.....one hour and 1 minute until we leave out of here!!!!!

Stay tuned for news & events....

Twenty-four

Twenty-four hours from now we will be in route to GramMabel's house for a stop over on our way to the beach. I have packed all 3 bebe's suitcases, and my suitcase, beach towels, regular towels, filled up car with gas in SC, washed the car, and, no that's it. Neil needs to pack his suitcase.

Ortho appointment went well today. In a nut shell, he has to go for an MRI (we knew that) and the doc that he saw today wants him to see the knee specialist at the practice. That would be the doc that did knee surgeries one and two by the way. He'll be thrilled to see Hubby, I am quite sure.

My movie making software has something very wrong with it, so I cannot get the video made from last years beach trip. Which is very upsetting to me. It has frustrated me to no ends for the past three days. I DO NOT LIKE WHEN I CANNOT FIX SOMETHING.

We are all very ready and very much in need to this trip. Now what is going to be interesting is that Albert (GramMabel's hubby) is dying. In the hospital dying. So we have all had to pack "a funeral outfit', just in case. GramMabel lives about an hour and a half from the beach, so if we have to go back and forth, well, not much we can do about that now can we?

ANYWAY - since I cannot get the video made, I cannot upload the video, so here is a picture or two (maybe three) from last year....

This is everybody but me - someone had to take the picture

And this is Uncle Billy. This is our first year without him, so we head to Nags Head in his honor. That would please him to no end.

Look for updates of Nags Head 2008 to come in the days ahead......

I love lists

• Pootie is outside cutting the grass. It has been his "job" to cut the backyard. Hubby is very particular about the front yard so he has still been doing that. UNTIL Saturday and "the knee incident". Pottie's cutting the FRONT yard right now. So much for the straight lines Hubby....ya wanted straight lines - ya shouldn't have played soccer!!!!
• I need to start packing
• Crash is upstairs cleaning the hamster cage and vacuuming
• Lola is folding clothes
• I need to weed eat - can't get that started
• I need to get the luggage down - have to get the ladder to do that
• I want to chill out at the beach
• Hubby has an ortho appointment tomorrow
• Dad needs me to finish up some stuff
• I need to get the life jackets from mom and dads house
• Computer crashes every time I try to finish the video from 07 beach trip
• same thing is happening to my edited version of 06 - really getting on my nerves.
• Soccer people are weird!!!

Oh - during the tourney this weekend - and this is a TRUE story!!!!! We watched a player, maybe 10 years old, get mad at the ref, THE KID PUNCHED THE REF in the gut!!! Promise!!! It was the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen...WHY?? Because the ref had just thrown his daddy (the coach) out. Therapy session needed for all involved there let me tell ya!!!

Here is the menu for the beach..oh and cooking teams.

Sunday Night
Menu – Pizza, salad and dessert
Team Members – Ervin, Johnny, Amy and Holly will help


Monday Night
Menu – Hamburgers and hotdogs
Team Members- Alison, Neil, & Beaver Yeah - 'cause Neil is going to be such a help this week! :)

Tuesday Night
Menu –Mexican
Team Members- Holly, Kenny, & Lea

Wednesday Night
Menu – Spaghetti
Team Members- Marty, Jon & Kristi

Thursday Night
Menu – Pork Tenderloin
Team Members- Keith, Mary, Cindy & Kathy* we know we can adjust Kathy according to what night she is there.

Friday Night
Menu – Shrimp & Etc.
Team Members- Amy, Lynda & Wilda

Saturday Night
Menu – Eat Leftovers!!!!!

oh - if you want to see where we are staying, you can go to www.joelambjr.com and search by name for the cottage called "Fancy That". It's our little home away from home.

And then came Saturday....

For the most part, today started out like ALOT of our Saturdays. Gotta get up, get going, really sock it to them, gotta get up sorry I just had some sort of 5th grade cheerleading relapse. Getup, get all 3 kids going and head to the (angel's singing now please) SOCCER FIELDS! The DICKS 3 v 3 mess is going on 'round the country right now. GREAT!!! Love it. Jack is actually one of the few of his buddies that has been playing in the 3v3 league since he was ummmmm 5. And it's an all weekend affair. GREEEEAAAT. Until you throw hubby into the mix.

So not only is my weekend headed down the toilet, so is the BEACH TRIP. One of his dumbdumb friends (sorry Joe and Brian, love ya, but you are now officially messing with my vacation) asked him to fill in because BLAH BLAH BLAH for ONE GAME.....

One GAME! I should have been nasty and said NO. That is what my head wanted to say - but there were so many people standing near - and the majority of them think I'm a nut anyway - so I said WHATEVER HONEY. (Which does interprept as "NO" by the way.)

So Hubby played.

Now fast forward to after Hubby played. Hubby can hardly walk to the freaking car. Hubby is on crutches and as more likely than not torn his LEFT ACL. "kay - that's bad folks. The left knee was the good knee....the right knee has already had ACL reconstructive surgery.


Flushing sound here folks. Knee hurt, can't walk, wife has to watch the kids on the beach.

End of story. I have to go to bed.

Happy Birthday to my Daddy!

Today is my dad's birthday! He is 62! I think I heard somewhere that 60 is the new 50, and no, I didn't hear it from my dad. My dad & mom don't look "old". While dad's hair is a little thinner, and mom's is grey (gorgeous long grey hair), they are in great shape. Seriously! Mom is skinny and looks amazing in clothes and dad is thin and fit and still doing his sit ups in the morning. He does something like 300 sit ups, yeah, just like me. Stop laughing.

Dad has been doing his little sit up routine for, I don't know, 25ish years. Swear! Here is the funny part, HE HAS KEPT CHARTS/RECORDS of his sit up routine. Every day, he weighs himself, records that, and then does his sit ups. Not sure what part of the sit up routine he records, but he does. He has kept these records "FOREVER". (Again, Sandlot Forever people!)

8 Years ago, dad had kidney cancer, and had to have part of a kidney removed, the doctor that did the surgery said that most people, maybe have one layer of good muscle to cut through. My dad, all his layers were muscle. He said he just couldn't believe it. Mom & I told the Dr how goofy dad was about his sit ups.

Now, dad's little issue with sit ups isn't driven by the fact that at 62 he wants to walk around with 6 pack abs. He is afraid of becoming all hunched over, LIKE AN OLD MAN!! SUPPOSEDLY, if your stomach muscles are strong, that helps your back. That is where his kookie-ness comes from, he doesn't want to be known as the "Hunchback of the Lane."

Happy Birthday DAD!!!!

And then a child said...

My friend "the Henry" sent this over to me. Someone sent it to him and I thought this was a good one, enough to pass along......

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience. The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time,that I wondered if he understood what was going on.

Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.

Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, 'I know why'. Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?"

The six-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
* When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
* Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
* Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
* Take naps.
* Stretch before rising.
* Run, romp, and play daily.
* Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
* Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
* On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
* On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
* When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
* Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
* Be loyal.
* Never pretend to be something you're not.
* If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
* When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.


By the way, new pup slept through the night last night :0)!!!!!

Just another Manic Monday

The morning is almost over and 2 of the 3 are still sleeping. I too, could still be sleeping (or at least watching TV in the bed), but NOOOOOOO, I had to have the new dog. And new dog is NOT sleeping in her crate at night. Hubby just grins at me in the morning. In my family we would refer to it as a "S.E.G". I just keep smiling back.

I NEED to go run a couple errands and I need to finish the laundry from yesterday. Don't want to do either. I dislike (hate) Mondays. Even in the summer, I dislike (hate) Mondays! Today is even worse because it is very overcast. Gloomy. BORING.

I WANT to either watch TV (CSI, Miami reruns), from my bed or sit at my sewing machine. I WANT to be packing to go to Nags Head.

I sound like my children.

It takes some planning!

I've spent the majority of today wishing it were next weekend. If it were next weekend, I'd be starting to get things ready to go to the BEACH! Today, I just dreamt about it. Hubby even said, more than once, I'M READY TO GO TO THE BEACH!!!!!

Our vacation event planners, the firm of W & W Events, will start working this week. Menus must be organized. Cooking teams assigned. Starter grocery lists made. This is the week from 2005. The kids have all gotten so big, it was after all, 3 years ago!!! Nags Head 2005

Enjoy! I'll try to get 2006 on here soon...and I have to get with the videographer to see what the hold up is for 2007!!!! Rumor has it that it is 3/4 done!

Another day.....

Yesterday was a lot of fun for our family! Lola enjoyed her birthday and actually stayed outside last night for the fireworks. Our good friends did come over to mom and dads, the kids swam all day, and we cooked out. My friend from high school even came over for an all too brief visit.

This morning Lola spent with one of her gifts from my mom, a "learn to cross stitch", she has really enjoyed it! I have managed to postpone the BeDazzeler for a day this week.

We gave her the MP3 player, and she was very pleased with it. $29, holds about 150 songs, she's happy. And of course, no 7 year old needs more than 150 songs. So Lola and I just loaded some songs onto her new toy. Now, here is the thing, my daughter is a trip. Her taste in music runs from the typical High School Musical all the way to Phantom of the Opera, Hairspray, Legally Blonde (the musical) and then back to some Bon Jovi, Donna Summers old disco and Kenny Chesney for good measure. You name it,

And so the day continues, oldest son, Pootie, is off with his best friend, and they are headed over to another buddies house to hang out for the day. His social life is very busy! Younger son, Crash, is down at his buddies house, and hubby just went to the grocery store. We are going to a cookout at the neighbors tonight.

The puppy managed to escape from her million dollar crate last night at 12:30, so by the time i got her corralled again, and she stopped whining, it was 1:30 and I was sleeping on the couch downstairs.

Puppy, did manage to sleep until 7ish this morning. But I'm exhausted!!! Maybe I'll nap after hubby gets home....I am still in my jammies. :)

11 more days until we leave for the beach. This week my cousin and I will start work on the menu planning and bedroom assignments. Yes, I am being serious. The "cottage" has 10 bedrooms and we have about 30-40 people there at any given time (that includes kids). These trips don't just happen, ya have to plan!

Happy Birthday Lola!!!

We are so lucky that Hubby's work is closed for Lola's birthday. Miss 7 year old woke up early this morning, has eaten breakfast, and is upstairs getting herself dressed in a red white & blue outfit. As she says "everyone celebrates my birthday!" DUH!!!!! Miss 7year old is ready to go...just don't have anywhere for her to go right now!!!!

Plans for the day consist of Hubby & I going over to mom's to vacuum out the pool. Mom & I need to run to the store to get some other stuff to cook out later on....and then we'll bring the bebe's over to swim for the day. We've asked one our good family friends to come over and swim with us...hopefully they will do that.

Right now, Hubby is out running, Miss 7 year old is getting ready to go ride her bike in the hood....and once she goes out, I can wrap her birthday present. (My mom got her the BeDazzeler. Don't give me a hard time. We are giving her a new MP3 player, the stupid Hannah Montana one that Santa brought her for Christmas broke in March. Note to self, do not buy HM MP3 player again.)

Happy & Safe 4th!!!!!

PS - Beach count down, 12 days!!!!!!

A New Look

I have been horrible latley about writing anything. Excuses Excuses. To be quite honest, I don't expect it to change.

Tomorrow is Lola's 7th birthday. It just really doesn't seem possible that she is 7! Going into 2nd grade!

Even weirder is that the child wants a BeDazzeler for her birthday! Yeah - like I'm going to rush right out and make that happen!!! Must come from the "other side of the family"....Why - why NOT arm this child with something that can adhere sparkles to everything that can't move? Did ya see the movie the Game Plan? Really cute movie with Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson. I reeeeeally like Dwayne. Have a little trouble calling him Dwayne, he's too cute. Great smile -and ok, I'll admit it, his body is easy on the eyes.

I digress.

In the movie, Joe's (Dwayne) little girl has a Bedazzeler and bedazzels everything, including Dwaynes football! It really is funny - but that would be Lola! Trust me, it would happen! My mom is going to buy one for her.

Can't wait until Lola gets hold of something that belongs to the boys or Hubby!!!

We'll see how it goes.....