Freaky Friday

Talk about Freaky Friday, man. Seriously! This week is nuts. First, Ed McMahon. Then, Farah Fawcett and now, Michael Jackson. What the crap?!

Now, I know there is all kinds of commentary going about about the King of Popl right now, good and bad. I just have to put my two cents in. I am surprised at how sad I am. Honestly. Michael Jackson turned out to be a tormented person, which makes me quite sad. Some of my first memories are of me dancing to his songs in my grandmother's bedroom in front of a mirror, of course. I wanted desperately to see him in concert, but I was too young. I was enthralled with Michael. I wanted to dress like him, dance like him and any opportunity to watch him on tv was special. I've cried to more than one of his songs and have been known to throw out a "He he" at odd times. Whatever personal demons he had, it does not discount his talent in my eyes. He was my first icon, who was replaced by Tina Turner. :) I hope he has finally found peace.

Alright, enough about Michael. Let's talk about me. Ha ha! I've been trying to keep notes on my crackberry so that I won't forget things I want to blog about and we'll see how it turns out.

First, last week, I had a rough week. It was nutty at work. I was getting hit from all sides and finally lost my temper on Thursday afternoon. It wasn't pretty. I left work, cried and headed to the salon for a wax. Yeah, talk about insult to injury! BLEAH! I hate being a girl sometimes. I picked the kids up and thankfully, they were in an okay mood, at least for a short time. I was running errands trying to get stuff together for the weekend. We hit Bed, Bath and Beyond for a rolling pin and Sydney starts tuning up about how hungry she is. "I'm really really really really....hungry." She says. Okay! Good grief. I'm literally standing in the parking lot looking around for food and I have two choices, Chili's or McDonald's. There was no way I was eating McDonald's so, we went to Chili's. Sydney convinced me that she just could wait for her dinner and she's never so emphatic about food so, I decided to get chips and salsa. The kids ate like little piggies and I didn't get to eat. So, I boxed up my dinner. Sydney was getting a bit sassy anyway so, I was glad we were ready to leave.

We hopped in the car. I had a few more stops to make and I knew the first had better be Starbucks because I was so sleepy. We headed in that direction. The kids were playing the "Ack" game in the backseat. I don't know why it is so funny, but I didn't care until I heard a real vomit sound and Sydney screamed. Oh boy! I pulled over and discovered that Nathan had vomited mac and cheese all over the back of the car. YUCK! Seriously? Geez. Sydney was crying, Nathan was crying and I was gagging. At this point in my day, I just started laughing. It was just getting to the point of ridiculous. I cleaned up the mess and decided that all of my other errands would have to be cancelled, with the exception of the Starbucks drive thru. That was not up for discussion.

We made it to the Starbucks with the windows down. Thank goodness there was no rain that day. We pulled around to find that the line was quite long. I considered backing out, but I waited too long to decide and then I was trapped by another car. Oh well. So, we sat. Sydney and Nathan were playing games again and I was thankful for their good spirits. Sydney had taken her shoe off and was playing with her umbrella. She was pretending it was a fishing pole and she'd pick her shoe up off the floor by the shoestring and squeal, "Look what I caught, Mommy!" It was cute and pretty creative.

There is a service station next to the SB drive thru. Sydney likes to yell greetings to anyone who will look in our direction, and those who don't. This day was no different, until she decided to show them what she'd caught on her "fishing pole." Before I knew it, she'd tossed her shoe out the window and into the bushes. I was mad at first and then I saw the surprise on her face. I wanted to crack up, but I had to keep my stern mommy face on. Throwing things out of the car is not good. Getting out of the car to retrieve them out of the bushes while everyone in the drive thru is watching isn't much better. Funny, but embarrassing. That is how that day ended and I was glad. What had been really just a nasty, frustrating day turned into a gross, but silly day.

I went to see a movie this week with Allie. We saw 'The Proposal' and it was fantastic! Honestly! If you haven't seen it yet, go right now. Get up and go! It was sooo good. I laughed out loud and often. I had a great time. Good dinner, good movie and good company. Awesome! Thanks, Allie!

Well, we are gearing up for a visit from Dad, Jenn and Josh this weekend. We're excited. It has been a bit. I'm not sure what we'll do yet, but there doesn't seem to be anything too fun going on in this area, surprisingly, tomorrow. We might just hit the pool. I do have some dinner plans, which reminds me I need to get a list going.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Ocks and Ooos!

Yep, my little Nate insists that shoes and socks are "ocks and ooos," but I'm okay with it.

Mr. Nathan's scar has healed up and the stitches fell out finally. He, of course, has two additional bruises on his head, a scratch under his eye and his fingers are scraped. He isn't phased at all.

Had a nasty headache yesterday and stayed home. Got dressed and drove down the street at one point to go to work, but decided (after Marc insisted) to turn around and go back home. It turned out to be a really good idea because I ended up feeling quite terrible again. Better now. Yay!

We are gearing up for a major celebration this weekend. Father's Day and B-days! Wow! Syd is turning four this weekend. I just cannot believe it.

I hope all is well with you! Take care!

Friday Already?! Yay!

This has been one busy week. I'm actually just starting to accept this pace as my new normal. Why fight it? It only brings frustration. So, from this point forward, I don't care. Sadly, this means that I will have a new goal of posting of twice a week. We'll see if this makes me feel any better. :)

We returned to reality a week ago today. We spent Saturday running errands and spending time together. It was quite a lovely day. Sunday, we did some chores and overall had a relaxing day. Wait! I thought I said "returned to reality." True, we did. We kicked the chaos off again on Sunday afternoon. Sydney and I were taking a nap when Marc woke us up with a sad Nate in tow. Nate had slipped on a stair and split his forehead wide open. So, we spent the next three hours or so hanging out in Loudoun Hospital waiting for Nate to get three stitches. Poor little guy was quite brave, Nathan too. :) Marc hates the hospital scene. I cannot blame him.

Work was nutty busy this week and it has been a bit dreary outside. In many ways, I enjoy it. I'd certainly prefer rain during the week. Also, it is nice to not have to water our garden, which exploded while we were out of town. We had our first salad last Sunday from our garden. I love it! Cannot wait to see the tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers appear.

Have a great weekend and stay chill!

Wednesday-Hump Day!

Today, I was required to leave the bay house and head to the local library (20M away) to do some work. Boo! :) Seriously, I have not missed even the tv. Although, we did turn it on to watch a movie yesterday.

We are having a nice time and are trying to catch up on our rest. With Sydney and Nathan that can be tough. :) If only I could absorb a bit of their energy.

We were supposed to leave today, but I couldn't resist. We are staying until Saturday. Then, it will be back to reality. We've eaten in every meal. We aren't suffering by any means!

Saturday: Steamed shrimp, baked potato and salad
Sunday: BBQ, coleslaw and baked beans
Monday: Mexican Fiesta-Take 2 (Enchiladas, Beans, Homemade Salsa)
Tuesday: Beer can chicken, 7-cheese Macaroni (Don't laugh! The beer can chicken was AWESOME!)
Wednesday: I have no idea.

I cooked all the desserts. I've tried all except the cake. From what I've tried, they all turned out well and the brownies were way awesome. I've actually got to leave to eat one now. YUMMM!

Have a great rest of the week! I'll be offline til Sunday.

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day! It has been a nice weekend so far. We've had a few glitches, but that is standard. :)

I have no real desire to leave the porch. :). I could sit here all week. Eat, sleep, lounge, nap, stretch, sleep, eat, etc. That isn't possible with two munchkins running around, but we are close. :)

It is hard to believe that Monday is here already. :( Slow Down!

Tick Tock

I'm one of three people left in our office right now. I'm bored and I'm ready to leave to start my vacation.

Tonight, I'm heading to Toni's. I'll be working on operation wall paper. I don't know how much help I will be, but I'm going anyway. Tadlock support on the way!

Tomorrow morning, I'll get up, pack and hit the road. We're headed to Reedville. I haven't been in forever. I'm looking forward to seeing the place again and enjoying the quiet. Hopefully, the snakes stay away. It is right on the bay and they like to come out this time of year, so I am told.

I am in charge of desserts this long weekend. I will be making, or attempting to make:

Pecan Pie
Coconut Cake
Blueberry Scones
Outrageous Brownies
Sopapillas (We are having a Mom's Day rerun!)

I received a new book on professional cooking last week. I'm looking forward to reading it while I'm on vaca. I find it facsinating. Doubt my cooking will improve, but I could tell you what is supposed to happen. Ha! Ha!

Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday weekend!

A Month of Sundays

So, I got an email reminder from Jess that I haven't blogged in a month, which I knew. :) I've been meaning to get around to it for days, weeks and now, a month. I could just never find the time to sit still. So much has happened over the last month and I'll try to summarize.

First, we yanked the Contract on our house in Aldie. Yep. Decided we weren't in love with it and we were just anxious to get out of our pit rental. We decided it wasn't worth it to overlook flaws in the new house and neighborhood. So, we'll just sit back and keep our eyes open.

We went to a co-worker's wedding at the end of April. It was lovely. Marc and I left the babes at our house with Grandma and Grandpa for the night and we stayed at the lovely Queenstown Inn. We ate, danced and then had a late night dinner at Crackerbarrel. YUM! I had french toast and the waiter was astounded at the amount of food I ordered. I woke up the next morning with a yucky sore throat. It was unusually warm that weekend and when my parents went to turn on the AC in our rental, it didn't work. SURPRISE! After two weeks, it was fixed. Thankfully, the heat relented after a day or two so we didn't mind it so much.

We were shocked to the core shortly after our return. We found out that our friend, Brian Paap, had passed away from a severe heart attack while playing indoor soccer. He was survived by his wife, Toni, and his three girls, Madison, Morgan and Taylor. He was 35, full of life and was loved by many. Marc had worked with Brian when he first moved to Northern Virginia. He, Brian, Brandon and FJ started played soccer together and then the girlfriends stepped in. We were together nearly every week for years. We witnessed dating, marriages and births. We separated mostly after our children were born and some moved away. It just happened as it so often does. It was bittersweet to see everyone again for the first time in two or three years. In many ways, we've grown up together. I suppose I didn't anticipate adding death to our list so soon.

Toni, who is linked on my blog, but no longer active, has a wonderful attitude. She always has. Honestly, that is the one thing that makes me like them so much. They have a "take me as I am" attitude and that is so rare to find, especially here. Such an attitude will surely help her during this extremely difficult time. My heart goes out to her and her family. There truly are no words.

Events such as Brian's death, always causes us to stop and think about how we are living our lives and do we have our priorities in order (i.e. family, marriage, health, etc.). We are taking steps to ensure that we keep ourselves in line. We started reaching out to friends and family we haven't seen in quite some time. Who knows what tomorrow brings?

Mother's Day was the perfect time for us to show our mom how much we lover her. Mother's Day was a smashing success. My sister and I headed to the 'Burg to cook for our mum. Actually she and Shenan already live there. :) We had a mexican fiesta feast (nachos, homemade salsas, enchiladas, grilled shrimp, rice and beans, flan and margaritas). We made sooo much that we have enough leftover for our vacation this upcoming week. :) I LOVE freezers!

Sydney is well. She's quite funny these days. I got pulled aside by a teacher in school because she's been questioning the teacher's authority and then calling her a "silly donkey." Um, no, she doesn't watch HK. She loves to paint her nails and dress up. We have, at Rachael's suggestion, labeled nearly everything in the house (chair, light, lamp, etc.) and a new 'I Can Read' series to help her out.

Nathan is growing leaps and bounds and talking more every day. He was cutting three molars at the same time last week, which was no fun for anyone. Thankfully, he's through that. He loves to give kisses and hugs. He is finally showing an interest in books, so unlike Syd. He is a climber! I have to watch him like a hawk.

Camping season is rapidly approaching and I cannot wait. This weekend, we'll spend a few days in Reedville, VA. I haven't been in a while. In fact, I cannot remember the last time. We are looking forward to it. I'm in charge of desserts during the trip. Any suggestions?

I miss you all and think of you often. I really do.

Hugs! BIG HUGS! Now, go kiss someone you love!