What a day and then there was Fay....

Coming Soon...........

Goodbye Cupcakes...Hello Fondant

Tomorrow night is the big night: Caity's High School Musical Slumber Karaoke Party. She bought a party planning book (the HSM version, of course), and as been working out the details for a month now. She has plans to make Sharpay Smoothies and Wildcat Punch. There will be High School Musical: Sing It! on the Wii, starting off with a special duet performance by the Glinchy's..lots of games, lots of fun, and I am sure, little sleep for anyone...And then, there's the cake.
Caity has had her "dream cake" every year, for both home and school, since she was five. Hello Kitty, Butterflies, Hannah Montana Guitars, have all emerged beautifully out of John's pull-apart cupcake workshop (he has even been pimped out to do Spiderman Cupcakes and Christmas Trees). However, with the HSM theme, she was set on a megaphone and microphone. OK, easy enough, praise God she did not want Gabriella and Troy's faces, or Sharpay's pink convertible. This is when John has a thought - after watching one too many Ace of Cakes where Geoff and Duff just making baking look so cool - what if we did a cake, carved into shapes, and covered in fondant...(this is where the glycerin incident came in yesterday at Wal-Mart, but I'll have to post that blog later)...yep - fondant. We are talking upgrading big time.
Today the cakes were baked and carved. And tonight - the fondant has gone on. John is amazing, really. He can program code, secure and wire a network, fix a washer, fix a car, play chess (although I always beat him), paint, and bake. The fondant has been rolled on perfectly, then completed with additional fondant accents and the colors and decorations go on later (it has to sit 2-3 hours), but the cake looks sooooooo good. Publix bakery good. I can't wait to see Caity's reaction to it tomorrow afternoon when it is all ready to go!

One amazing husband, goodbye cupcakes (at least for this party), and hello fondant!

Life is good!

PS - Yes, I am aware I am egregiously behind on my blogging, but once I get them backposted, especially days like Cinco de mayo and zookeeping gone awry, not to mention installing plumbing, you will easily see why, and be most entertained by the goings on around here in the last month!

Off to Tamarac

A very Happy 90th birthday wish to my Poppa and Happy 67th to Papi!!!

Blog Guilt

I realize that I have been really slacking in getting my blog posts up in an *ahem* timely fashion. Sorry. I do have a lot of "blog guilt" about it. Thank heavens we are not Catholic, or I don't know how I'd deal with all the guilt! Lately, life has just seemed to get away from us a little easier than it should, more often than it should. Between household things breaking, holidays, birthdays, school trips, homework, on and on and on, I wake up Saturday and before I know it it's already Thursday...

So, yes, I know I am behind in my blog. Yes, I know I have vowed to post everyday, and to refine and post all of my back-drafts and form the notes into cohesive readable blog posts, but then things just slip away...

I am trying not to let my blog guilt get me down, and I will post as much as I can, as quickly as I can do it, and hopefully by mid-May be back on track with at least that day's post, and *maybe* a back post...As of now, I am two down for March, and then caught up through at least the first week of April, so, for my daddy who reads this every day, and the inquiring Boxells out there, we are alive, full of antics, and you ill be reading all about them soon.

Life is Still Good!

Smiles and Tears...

The last day of ShaSha's trips are always so bittersweet..we usually try to plan some kind of fun activity, and keep the day on an up note. This trip was a bit unusual though, in that it had been so long since she had been here, leaving three birthdays to celebrate, and her trip was 48 hours, instead of four days. The kids were having a huge blast with her but Jordan was really looking forward to his "birthday" time with her, which meant mini-golf at Congo River. Jordan hasn't played mini-golf in a long time and ShaSha is really good, so he was excited at the challenge.
We dropped off Jordan and ShaSha and headed over to Barnes and Noble with the girls so that Caity could get some books with her gift card from Aunt ReRe and Uncle Boomer. Caity picked out some books, and we headed back to pick them up. ShaSha had beaten Jordan (we don't allow Mercy wins around here), but he was still upbeat and already looking ahead to the next visit and a rematch...It was then out for a late lunch (CiCi's Pizza, of course), so that we could have a fun meal out with our special guest.
When we got home, ShaSha rested a bit and packed up. The kids all went different directions for this, but Caity and Lindsay then reassembled in the kitchen for cupcake baking time. The girls had a ton of fun baking with their ShaSha, and Caity now had special cupcakes to take to school tomorrow (a Hannah Montana guitar, of course!). We then got everyone into pajamas, and got ready to head out to the airport. This was a somber trip, probably more so than any other trip to the airport with ShaSha...After much tears, and future visit talks underway, ShaSha got safely on her plane, and headed home. "Mr. Glinchy" was also flying in at the same time, so we were able to give him a lift home. Having someone else in the car helped to halt the tears, and lull the kids to sleep (boring grown-up talk). It was a great visit and we can't wait for the next one! They love their ShaSha so so very much (even Squeak!)...

We love you Shasha and thank you for giving us your love!

Life is Good!

A date....

Today was mommy and Lindsay day. I used to take these type of days all the time with Jordan and Caity when they were in preschool. I would keep one of them home for the day, and we would head over to Disney and just play all day. Quality bonding time, the kids got some great memories (and I have, like, 12 photo albums!). Lindsay and I have only taken a few of these days over the last year or so, and since she loves to swim, I thought we should take a day, just the two of us, and head out to Aquatica to play. Lindsay was so so very excited.
We packed up all of our towels, got on sunscreen and headed out. We reached Aquatica early, and got a beach chair for our towels, and headed for the not-so-lazy river. Lindsay was so happy to just be able to float along, not worrying if we were ahead or behind Jordan and Caity, or if we missed our exit would they figure it out...Just the two of us. I will tell you, with a four year old, this is probably the best way to take in a water park. One on one. Especially when the kids outnumber you, it is sometimes the littlest one who winds up waiting or rushed, throughout the day. Lindsay and I spent the day just going where she wanted - kids' slides, lazy river, not-so-lazy river, wave pool, sand play.....We had some lunch, hit the wave pool again, and headed home to pick up the kids and get Caity and Morgan to acting class. Lindsay was tired, so she got a good nap in, and I got some more cleaning done and ready for ShaSha's arrival tomorrow.

Lindsay and I have already planned another "date", and hopefully we will be able to continue our dates throughout the end of the school year. She is really becoming this amazing, beautiful, intelligent, spunky, funny little angel. I am so so blessed to be able to stay home with her and enjoy these days...I don't know what I will do when August comes...However, until then, we will simply enjoy our "dates"!

Life is Good!

Catch-up!

So, I know that there are holes in my blog. Believe it or not, I do actually have notes for each day, all saved as drafts, that just need some more work or editing and then I can get them posted. With spring break, it has just been so hard to get a breather around here, not to mention Lindsay being sick (that blog post just debuted a few minutes ago, BTW). Not to mention, the Wii has diverted some of my attention (Get one mom-let's Scuba!)...I have managed to figure out that I am, after posting one tonight and the back-blog of last Thursday, about 7 days down. My plan is to make a diligent effort to be all caught up by Friday, and I have figured out how to have each post dated for the correct day, so you will just have to scroll back and read them...So, that way by Friday, all will be caught up, and then Sunday, I will post Friday, Saturday and Sunday's blogs, as Ginna, the great Sha-Sha will be here this weekend, and I plan to devote all our time to her, and the evenings to be spent with her and our good friend Captain Morgan, in an early birthday celebration for her...So catch-up...and check back daily for new and exciting updates - and even some new pics! You never know what will show up here...There may be a video coming..that is all I can say...

Today was pretty chill. Hannah was over for the day, and we picked up the kids from school and all went for slushies at Sonic (1/2 off every day from 2-4! Yeah, baby!). The kids played computer (thanks Papi for three computers, no lines, no waiting, no fighting!), watched some music videos with me, had dinner, did homework, went to bed..just an average day. FINALLY!

Life is Good!

Ahh.... but do they know what's IN the water?

After church this morning, Jordan and Caity were discussing the summer camp weekend that the church is hosting June 12-14. Caity excitedly told Jordan, our resident rock climber, that there was an inflatable rock wall in the lake! His reply was not one of great excitement, but a question. "Ahh..but do they know what's in the water?". Huh? Apparently Jordan had serious concerns about there being alligators or crocodiles. So at that point John started talking about this "Mad Series" fishing challenge that they had been watching earlier in the morning. It involved a surfer, a kayaker and people on a boat, all out fishing. At some point, a crocdile was spotted in the water. John asked Jordan "Jordan, what did the surfer do?" To which Jordan replied "He ran!" The entire van erupted with laughter as Jordan tried to figure out what was so funny. The he got it: the surfer wasn't able to run, he swam....Kids say the darndest things!

We were travelling in he van to Wal-Mart to pick up some baking supplies, as we were planning to have Celina over and bake Jalapeno Corn Cheese bread. I have made this before, and although I don't eat it - John loves it. I helped Celina and Caity mix all the ingredients and the bread was a baking. It was done shortly before we needed to pick up the kids from Awana, and we took half the loaf to Celena's mom, who just loved it. John even said it was the best bread so far...must have been the magic touch of the young chefs!

Home from Awana, baths, bed, reading...quiet night...8:30 pm. - Three sleeping children!

Life is Good!



bake bread...

A Day in the Park...and some cookies gone wrong

Note: When cooking with coconut - use REAL milk if called for in the recipe, do not substitute soy milk...but more on that later!

Today started off with a trip out to the Orlando Arts Festival at Lake Eola. I love art festivals. I got hooked on them when we lived in Sarasota and I worked at the Ringling. I like seeing local and regional artists, and being able to see such talent, most of which will never wind up being recognized because the have not subscribed to the modern tortured artist I must be so deeply traumatized to create brilliant art that no one knows what it means but me movement, but I digress. Anyhow, it is one of the larger ones in the area, with craft vendors, a kids area, and even some activities for the poodles (they sat this one out though).
Everyone had a good time, the kids rock climbed (once again, SpiderJordan rocked it out!), threw baseballs with the Tampa Bay Rays squad, made sand art, took some great photos out by the lake - and I got matching FSU aprons for ShaSha and I. Quite a successful day!

On the way home, we stopped at the front of the neighborhood and grabbed Celena for a playdate. The girls were being very good, and we decided to finally make some "mystical cookies" that we had been given as a gift, one of those jars where you dump them out, add liquids and bake. Seems simple enough, right? Wrong. We do not have regular milk in our house, as Jordan is allergic, so we stock soy. Which, usually, you can substitute without any issue. However, after our "mystical bars" came out of the oven, and a call to Blondie wondering why they were, shall we just say, um, interesting, she explained that since they had coconut in them, it was vital to cook with real milk. Period. Okay - cookies gone horribly, horribly wrong (quickly fixed by replacing with Strawberry slushies for them, Margarita Slushies for Celena's mom, John and I), and lesson learned - sometimes, there just really are no substitutes, and it's always five o'clock here!

A nice day at the park, some cookies gone awry, but, especially winding down at the end of the day with the help of a margarita slushie,

Life is Good!

What color is sad?

Dehydration. The worst part of the "throwy-uppies" in my house. With the girls, they have this strange issue with re-hydration. They dehydrate so quickly, that they just can't rehydrate quick enough. If you can follow where this is going, this road always leads us to the hospital for an IV. Definitely not the way to spend any afternoon, evening, morning, or any part of any day. It was how we spent the day before New Year's (Lindsay) and the day after New Year's (Caity and I)....Caity has had to have an IV 3 times now, so she is a bit better about it now. Lindsay's 1st one was this past December, and she was really, really sick, and too exhausted to fuss too much...However, for this time, no one, and I mean no one, was to be so lucky.

Lindsay had been up since 6:30 a.m. with the "throwy-uppies", and by noon we were up to episode #8, so that meant a trek off to the hospital. Super. The hospital about 2 miles away, no traffic lights, so we made it there pretty quick, but still had to pull over in the parking lot for episode #9. Jordan, Caity and I head in and get Lindsay checked in. About 30 min. later they take her back to a room in the ER. Thankfully, an actual room this time, not a curtain area, and this room has a TV. Praise God. Jordan and Caity settle in watching Disney Channel while Lindsay just lays in the bed, so weak, and so small. The nurse practitioner comes in and checks her out, takes her temperature in a very uncomfortable place (she is so tired and weak that she actually sleeps through this!), and orders blood work and an IV. OK. Been down this path. WRONG.

It is at this point that things start to go awry. The first two nurses they send in to do the IV get set up and start talking about this new version of the butterfly needle that they are now using on children, and how much better it is...OK, I am thinking, better...WRONG. As they are prepping her hand (she is still sleeping), the nurse about to poke a hole in my child's vein says that this is the first time she is using this needle. WHAT?????? I am about to come unglued, pull what my mother is well known for, "an animal act", when at that moment, she sticks Lindsay who wakes up screaming at the top of her lungs, and she has lungs. Lots of lungs. Lots. At this point, I am holding her head and torso, one nurse is holding her arm, and Jordan now has to be called over to hold her feet, as she is kicking the woman giving her the IV in the head! After some futile attempts, the nurse is unable to get a vein. Round 2 begins. The other nurse attempts to give her the IV in her arm, but states that the veins are deep, which I caution her about, as it runs in our family, and could she please just use the other hand and get it right? She tells me that hands are more painful, and she would rather go in the arm. Above Lindsay's screams of "Leave me alone" and "Get out of my room" I explain that she better get a vein. Period. More poking, no vein. Two holes, no IV, and they are banished. I instructed them to get someone who could actually put an IV in.

Now, Lindsay is in very good command of her words today. She has some new phrases coming from her, and about to come from her that I have never heard from her, and am amazed she puled out. Her first was "What color is sad?" (her friend Hannah assigns a color to her day in the morning - watch out if she is having a rainbow day! and Lindsay has taken to doing the same thing. Gray is now the color for sad days) Some others were heartbreaking, "Mommy, please tell him to go" "Mommy please make them stop", and some were almost comical, given the circumstance. I tell you this: if I ever doubted that Lindsay was a fighter, and could take someone out, I no longer have any doubts.

Round 3. Two male RNs come in. They assess the vein situation, using a light under her palm to make the veins in her hands show, remark about how the nurses botched the job (DUH! If they didn't these two wouldn't be in here!), and figure they can get the vein in her other hand. It is at this moment, as they are prepping her, and she is screaming, kicking, bundled in a bedsheet like a burrito with one arm out, with five people, including me, holding her down, that several thins occur. 1. I now realize how bad it sucked for my parents when I didn't want to have my blood "tooken" before my hand surgeries, and why the hospital staff gave me a pass on the second go round. 2. My heart is breaking. 3. Jordan and Caity are huddled in a corner, and then race to sit outside the door. 4. "Mr. Glinchy" arrives. "Mr. Glinchy" was bringing us lunch, as the kids, nor I, had eaten and it was 2 p.m. He and his two boys had just gotten home from vacation that morning, John had picked them up at the airport at 11. This did not stop the amazing "Glinchys". He arrived with McDonalds, and even asked what sauce we had wanted for the nuggets. Upon his arrival though, he heard Lindsay's screams, and decided that Jordan and Caity should maybe go home with him, which they were overjoyed with. I think I thanked him, I think I said OK, but it is a blur. I just remember relief that at least now I could focus only on Lindsay. 5. Back to the screaming. Round 3 was unsuccessful, as was Round 4. Two hands, two arms, and one final shot at a different vein. Round 5, you're out. The head RN, who has worked in a pediatric ER decides enough was enough (even if he didn't, trust me, we were through), and goes out to speak with the Dr. A new plan is decided: "early refeeding". 1 ML of Powerade every minute or so. WHAT?? This could not have been tried 5 holes ago???? Whatever. At this point, just get on with it. Lindsay is waaayyy more amicable to this plan, and it works. john arrives a half hour in, and Lindsay is very, very relieved to be with her mommy and daddy, as now she can just have her drink, watch Disney, and scream every time anyone in scrubs even looks at her (and since the blanket warmer for the ER was in this room, it was every 5 minutes or so that a nurse was in or out)...

After a long, looonnngg afternoon, it is now 5:30ish and the doctor comes in and, although Lindsay promptly hides under the covers, she is coaxed out when we explain that the people is white coats do NOT carry needles with them. He checks her over, finds that she is holding down powerade long enough to go home. I have never seen a child move so quick. She popped up, straight out of bed, down off the bed, scooted over to the counter, grabbed the powerade, put the top on, grabbed her crocs and was already halfway out the door! Talk about a quick recovery (or at least the appearance of one, anything to get out the door)! We make our way out of the hospital, to the car, and home. John leaves to pick up Jordan and Caity from "Mr. Glinchy" (once again, the "Glinchy's" have saved the day!), and Lindsay settles in on the couch, eagerly awaiting the heating of Grami's AMAZING "feel better soup" (Note to Grami: we are down to our last quart, need replenishment, please:).

Jordan and Caity come in, and bring a present for Lindsay with them. Somehow, in all of his wonderfulness this afternoon, "Mr. Glinchy" not only got lunch for all of us, but took the kids to Wal-Mart, got them snacks and picked out a My Little Pony, hospital edition, for Lindsay. Can I just say how blessed we are? What a horrible day it started out to be, and yet, this Gray day, has turned from Gray to almost blue, peaceful...with us just feeling overwhelmed with all the blessings we are surrounded with - a feeling much better precious girl, two terrific siblings for her, who are so empathetic, and friends who always step-up and help out, even on days when it would be so easy to say no.

Life is Good, really!

A Not So Lazy River....

Today was the big day: our trip to Aquatica (the new Sea World water park). John was off of work, taking a much deserved and needed vacation day. We went with Sheree, my best friend from college (who, by the way, if she did not have a jerk of a fiancee' at the time, would mean that we never would have road tripped to New Orleans, I never would have met John, so - thanks, Sheree, for picking Matt! LOL!), came down with her two kids, fiancee and his son. We got there early and headed out..What a blast we had!
Aquatica was great! Sea World did an awesome job..Two wave pools (one with big waves, one with more gentle waves) and TWO lazy rivers! Now, lazy rivers are my family's favorite water park attraction, so this rocked for us..the lazy, lazy river had a great place to view fish underwater, along with a viewing of the Comerson's dolphins, and the people shooting down the water slide through the dolphin tank - during one of our trips, John, Caity, Lindsay and I saw Jordan and all of Sheree's family go shooting down the tubes - waaayyy cool!
However, The Roa Rapids (the oh-not-so lazy river) rocked! Basically, you put on a life vest (or if you are brave, float) and travel through a lazy-river style ride, but it has the speed of class 1, and sometimes 2, white water rapids...we all had a blast, and a workout!!! This was no easy day on the river! You had to swim, steer, and for us, keep up with three/six kids!
Our day was a ton of fun - Lindsay is a water baby, beach bum to the hilt. She hit her first water park at 9 months, and has never turned back. By far, though, this was the best time she has ever had - she was even asking to be dunked under waves at the wave pool...We took some great pics with our underwater camera, but we have to get the film developed, so it may be a bit before you see them, but they'll be here...
So, this blog entry may not be so witty, or full of humor, but I am sun exhausted, not-so-pasty white anymore (I actually have a bit of a tan! YAY!), and just enjoying the downtime from our happy day - a day that finally rang of "Spring Break" for the family, but it is here and published no less. We can hardly wait for our next trip down the not so lazy river...until then, though, we are going to visit Sheree's family on Saturday at her dad's house on the river, so stay tuned in for a water-skiing atempt update (Caity is determined!), and pray for no broken bones!

Life is Good!

Chillin.....

Today the house was abuzz with excitement..Caity had a playdate with Morgan to go to Monkey Joe's. Caity has been looking forward to this play date for weeks, and it is finally here..Monkey Joe's is this place up at Festival Bay that has huge bounce houses, moonwalks, bouncy slides and obstacle courses to play on, all inside, all air-conditioned..$7.95 and bounce all you like. Morgan has been there several times, and we went for the first time on Lindsay's Birthday, and the kids all had a blast, so Caity was excited to go back. This left Jordan and Lindsay home with mommy, which was eventually OK, as we planned out our trip to Aquatica the next day...
The kids have been waiting for almost 2 years for Aquatica to open. It has been in soft opening for a month, and the grand opening is Friday, but we are excited to get to go Thursday with Sheree and her family, and avoid some of the grand opening chaos. So we spent some time looking at the website, oohing and aahing over the kids' areas, and getting ready for the day. It has been almost 5 months since the swim stuff has been utilized (other than goggles and swimsuits anyhow), so I needed to pack up the bag for the day, corral all the goggles, take out the dive toys, find the towels, etc. etc. etc. As you can imagine, Jordan and Lindsay soon faded away, Jordan to lay on his computer, Lindsay to play on hers, and I managed to get the bag packed, find everything (only to discover the kids all need new water shoes, and there is no film for the underwater camera!), and get some laundry done in the process..Of course we also managed to have lunch, play some Wii, and just chill. This spring break is actually less painless than I previously believed it would be...
Caity finally came home at dinner time, all worn out from bouncing....dinner time, bath time, bed time, and an early morning lurking ahead. John is taking vacation time tomorrow to go with us, and the kids are psyched all the way around, they all went to bed, even Lindsay, without complaint, by eight! Now, John and I will get some time to unwind and get to bed early...

Life is Good!

Caity went to Monkey Joe's...

Wii Play

Big day around here: Caity's BFFL (best friend for life) Morgan was coming over for a playdate...actually a Wii-date. Morgan has been promised a Wii if she does some school work, and she was eager to try it out..She and Caity had a Wii-fest, and Jordan went down the street to play with Jack...even Lindsay was Wii-bowling! A day of play...exactly how spring break should be!

I will say that I am amazed at this: whenever the kids have friends over, it seems that there is actually less fighting. The friend, no matter whose it is, seems to be some kind of magic buffer that has my kids on their best behavior. So, I jump on the chance for playdates. We are blessed that our kids are very discerning on their choices of friends, and have picked great ones. Morgan, Jack, Hannah, Celena, Noah...could not ask for a better circle of friends.

Morgan is always great to have over, and she and Caity just have a blast. They are two peas in a pod, and they always include Lindsay, which is terrific. Morgan has also had some adventures at our house - Morgan got her ears pierced with us at Christmastime (with her parents permission and encouragement, plus Caity's peer pressure), has had her platinum blonde hair streaked pink for a Hannah Montana party at IKEA (it washed out easily!), and adopted Caity's hamster Fluffy. So now every time she comes to play, I jokingly promise her dad, who is great, that I will not punch any more holes in his daughter, color her hair pink, or send home any pets. He replies back that pink is OK, just no piercings or pets! We capped off the girls' playdate with dinner at CiCi's pizza. Jordan had a great time at Jack's, and ate his body weight in pizza (they always, always lose money on him, and, seriously,I don't know where that little kid puts it!). He even had salad! Green points racking up!

Simply a fun day of Spring Break...a great day for the kids, which is what it's all really about - memories of a happy childhood to carry with them throughout life...

Life is Good!

Deep Water Music...Dum Dum Dum....

As a parent, I have come to believe that sometimes, a car is a necessary evil to lull kids into sleep. My parents, not so blessed. I'd wake up as soon as we hit the driveway, but God has smiled upon John and I and all three of ours can fall asleep in the car and be carried right on into bed. I must say, though, as Jordan is rapidly approaching 5' tall, this is proving to be more difficult, only in the logistical sense of carrying him.
Even after such a long day yesterday, the kids tried desperately to stay up, thinking we would let them play Endless Ocean as soon as we got home. Not one of them made it, though, and seeing as how we arrived home after 10, they would have been sent straight to bed anyhow. Jordan compensated for not being up when we got home by rising at crack-of-dawn and starting to navigate his way around Endless Ocean. Endless Ocean is not a true video game, per se, but an adventure in peace and serenity, where you can always locate your boat, and never really run out of air (my arm and shoulder were aching and I still had over 1/2 tank!). Nevertheless, Jordan is intrigued with making sure he collects every animal in the ocean in his encyclopedia, along with all three requisite facts about each. To go about this though, you have to do some deep diving, and that bring son some great organ-y background music...Even though I am consciously aware that nothing will happen to my Mii-Diver, it is kinda spooky, and makes you think maybe Jaws is lurking around every corner.
With the exception of a few basic errands (grocery store, library), and basic chores (dishes, etc.), we spent most of the day scuba-ing around the ocean, meeting new fishies and making new dolphin-friends (Caity has two!)...What a relaxing way to spend a Saturday, resting sore and weary muscles...even the deep water music (dum, dum, dum!) seems somewhat relaxing right now....

Life is Good!

Moving and Mayhem...

Today was the day of craziness...our family needed to go and help a friend out by cleaning out her storage unit up in Jax. This meant a 2 1/2 hour drive, and the kids were very, very, cranky. So by the time we got there, we were all a bit frazzled. And then I had to meet up with her parents - such lovely people I feel like every time I talk to them I need an immediate shower. We drive over to open the unit and begin sorting. Her parents and brother did a lousy job, they just dumped everything into boxes, no semblance of order, and left me not quite knowing where to begin, with flashbacks of unpacking Grandma's POD. After 6 hours, a trip to the dumpster by Uncle Chop, and a full trailer and truck load, there was still at least two more dumpster trips, and a load or two to travel back to Tallahassee. God Bless my dad and Uncle Chop. Really. It would have been WAY to stressful on John and I to handle it by ourselves. We managed to salvage some of her papers, her photos, and some of her clothes, as well as some computer equipment. Such a shame how someone's parents would reduce their life to this, even if they felt betrayed. I mean, besides my cousin, who packs plungers and half used mouthwash bottles into storage??? By 6, we were as done as we could be, and Uncle Chop made plans to come back on Saturday, and then Monday, and got it all cleaned out. God Bless Him!
After the long day, we headed for dinner, and then headed to Target, to reward the kids good behavior and helpfulness throughout the clean-out with Endless Ocean, a really cool Wii game...We all arrived home late, and headed to bed, tired, but relieved and feeling blessed to be able to help out a friend in need, we firmly believe in paying it forward...dreaming of Wiis and scuba diving on Saturday!

Life is Good!

We Love Wii

Today started off with me and Lindsay off to meet someone in the IKEA parking lot, to pick up a dock and power adapter for John's iPod, a great deal at $25, considering each alone sells for $29.99, and he even threw in a perfectly good pink iPod Nano! WOO-HOO! The plan after that was to go to Target across the street, kill some time, and head back to IKEA for Lindsay to play. We walk into Target at 8:30 a.m. and head towards the iPod section so I can pick up some headphones..Stop by the Wii aisle, and there is a lone clerk stocking the shelves. Another gentleman walks up the aisle, and asks when they will be getting Wiis in. The clerk replies that she has one in her cart..considering that people stand in looonnnggg lines to find one, and they have basically been sold out since Nov. '06, I was in awe. I politely, but not to excitedly ask her if she has another one, and she says YES! She had TWO Wiis total..and..we now owned one! Now, I did not consult John, and I should have, but really, really..the odds...we had planned for one later this summer or fall, but I viewed this as a sign.
John was actually not upset, and I came home, and set up the Wii...and off we went.
Our family was immediate Wii devotees. Can I just tell you, it is quite a work-out. The interactivity is incredible...Jordan was thrilled, he loves playing the "Glinchy's" Wii, and immediately proceeded to school us in all of Wii Sports..we played all afternoon, and evening, and the DVR backed-up with unwatched TV shows...Hannah was also over to play, as her family was packing for vacation, and she can BOWL...consistent 200s from a 4 year old! Shows what some practice can do..and leaves me wondering if we can translate this into "real" bowling...have to test that out soon!
I can't tell you what an amazing blessing this Wii is so far..our family spent such great quality time together - and most of all - we were up, active and moving around...dreading the soreness that will ensue tomorrow.....

Life is Good!

Mental Health Day....

So the day started off as any other day, except Caity didn't want to go to school. She said she was tired and just wanted to rest. OK. I don't have a problem with this, in general, she has only missed one day of school this whole year, so no biggie. However, after digging a bit deeper, it turns out that she is stressed about her grades, even though she has always, and still does, pull straight A's. It upset her that on her report about Venus that she worked so hard on, she got a 97. A 97! PROBLEM: It was not the 100 she had expected and worked for. She has such a high standard for herself. After assurance that her grades were fine, and we loved her very much and were so proud of her. That sat well with her, and she had a great day. She and Lindsay played so well together, and Lindsay (or Rosabella, as she now calls herself) played so well together. We played Disney Bingo (Lindsay kicked our Booty twice, Caity won once), and ordered Pizza for lunch. Overall, a great Girls' Day at Home...
They keep kids so stressed these days at school, I am just wondering how kids are holding it all together. So may of our friends are moving towards homeschooling, and I am begining to wonder if at some point we will be there too...Jordan came home, a nice night, family dinner..and then homework..Jordan came home with an essay, and didn't start in it until late, so 8:45, we are finally done, and he is off to bed...Caity remided me to record Dancing with the Stars for her, as the Jonas Brothers are on tonight, tween years, he we come...super....
Somehow, I also managed to accomplish getting some laundry washed and ironing and folding started, as well as dishes and putting away all the Easter decorations. Not a bad day after all...

Mental health days are necessary, for everyone, even the kiddos.

Life is Good!

He is Risen Indeed!

-Easter Sunday's post, saved as draft and posted late - sorry Daddy!-

Easter - such an amazing day! For the last two years we have attended Sea World's Sunrise Services, sponsored by Z88.3. The first year, we had been up late, and I was exhausted, and still cycling onto my meds, and was just not ready to wake up at 4:00 a.m. to get there..John was so nice, and he said that we could pass..I don't know where I got the motivation - but clear as a bell I remember telling him "If Christ can die on a cross at Calvary, I can get out of bed at 4 a.m." - This floored not only John, but even me. So off we went. The service was amazing. Kirk Cameron spoke, and the music was by Brian Littrell of the Backstreet boys (he has a few Contemporary Christian albums out). It was the most beautiful, inspiring message. so much so, last year, up at 4:30, and off we went. Kirk Cameron spoke again, with much by Echoing Angels(they rocked). Once again, amazing and awe inspiring. So, once again, is Easter started with 5:00 a.m. trip to Sea World. The year we heard Steve Brown, with music by 10th Avenue North. All I can say is Wow. Steve Brown was so phenomenal, with this great message of no matter how messed up you are, or how much sin is in your past, you are always welcome in the arms of the Lord. He did a great series on Peter, with the segway being "Oh, Peter"....(new catchphrase around here is "Oh, John!")..I have some great pics I will get posted ASAP. Such a great morning, and a way to start Easter! Caity wanted to meet Steve Brown afterward, and he was so nice, and down to Earth. She was delighted!
When we came home, we took a breather, the kids raided their Easter baskets (as did Magic-see photo to the left!) (thanks MaMaw for the chocolate, and thank you Easter Bunny for more chocolate goodies and prizes!) and then set up Monopoly..The kids have wanted to play, and we wanted some family time. It was great fun - Jordan Trump almost won, by a landslide, until he made a very poor property deal, and then John won. Caity held her own, and Jordan even did OK losing, no tears! YAY! I left the game early and cooked for our Easter dinner over at "Mrs. Glinchy's" house. We walked down, Lindsay wore a GREAT bunny costume, tail and all (picture now here!). The family our small group adopted came over as well, and it was a great gathering - all the kids played so nicely, and ate without any food fights. The food was delicious, the company was great - what more could you ask for? A really great end to a wonderful day of joyous celebration that He is Risen Indeed!

Praise God, Life is Good!

Contracts and Negotiations.....

-posted Sunday a.m. for Saturday, forgot to "publish" not "save draft"!-

Saturday around here usually goes one of two ways: we play or we clean. Since this is Easter weekend, we voted in favor of play. John however, has this twitchy, compulsive urge to do chores, usually, Saturdays only. So, since it was decided no chores were to be done, except dishes, Caity wanted the deal sealed. To accomplish this, of her own volition, she drew up a contract for all of us to sign stating that we agreed to adhere to this decision. Everyone signed, even after she made adjustments, and even wrote in the blah, blah, blahs....
And so the day went, until it was time to go to Wal-Mart and pick up the necessary supplies for cookie and mud bottom pie making (once again, a reminder as to why I despise Wal-Mart-people are just so rude! It's Easter, people, Christ died for you-be NICE!). The only other chore completed was washing Magic, who was very, very, very stinky. He did great for his bath in the sink, and is now a not-so-stinky-kinda-cherry-smelling bundle of silver prancing energy. I tell you, that dog loves Jordan, almost, I think, as much as Susie loves Caity.
Tomorrow a.m. we are off Early (5 a.m.) to Sunrise Service at Sea World, (hopefully we will return to Easter Bunny surprises) and then home for an afternoon of baking and Monopoly until we head over to "Mrs. Glinchy's" house for Easter dinner. The family our small group adopted is coming, and we are so excited!

Life is Good!

5 Kids, 5 Dozen Eggs, a Smurf and Grami Saves Easter!

The older I get, the more convinced I become that my mother, aka Grami in the Wild, knows everything. EVERYTHING. Since my mom is not your usual egg, let me just give you some backstory. My mom was raised a girly girl, but yet tomboy who could rough and tumble with the boys. Saturdays in the fall you go to the church of UGA, and no one, not even God himself, is to interrupt those sacred services conducted between the hedges. Her favorite toy store is Home Depot, and blue jeans without holes is getting dressed up. All of that said, my mom can also sew, iron (this skill is very helpful), and throw New Year's parties for her daughter and her friends like nobody's business! She also happens to be my best friend. That is why, in times of crisis, her phone is one of the first to ring. This morning, I rang her off the hook.
The day started out simple enough. The kids were out of school for Good Friday and Noah and Hannah were coming over to dye Easter eggs. The dyeing of Easter eggs was always a great time for me growing up. I would go to my Nana's house and dye my own dozen eggs with my cousin. I took special care with every egg, wanting each to be just the right color. My Nana was always patient, and every year seemed to find some cool new way to jazz up the eggs. I want my children to also have these kind of memories, so the dyeing of eggs is a big deal around here, and this year, we thought it would be fun to have some friends join in the fun.
10:30 a.m. I set out the egg cups and put the tablets in the vinegar and add the water. 10 out of 20+ prepared (we were going for color variety and no fighting over colors)..I ask my trusty helper Caity to help stir up the colors to dissolve the tablets. All is going well, and I need to excuse myself to the restroom. Yes, this is where you step in and remind me that I should not leave kids and any sort of permanent coloring process unattended, even for a minute. Apparently I had a blonde moment and forgot this essential parenting guideline, because kersplat followed by MOMMY! Caity had for some reason decided to move the blue dye cup, with one hand, and it was now all over my kitchen. The stove, the sink, the refrigerator, the ovens, the countertop, and seeping into the grout on the floor. My beautiful tile floor, and most worriedly, the grout, was the quickly becoming the color of Papa Smurf. At the exact moment that I begin sopping up the mess and panic has set in, Noah and Hannah arrive. Their dad sees the mess, and helps me sop up as much as possible. All the kids are sent upstairs to play, and I am left with Papa Smurf blue grout, and visions of having to regrout a tile floor. Next stop: panicked phone call to John. I explain the disaster to him, and his position is, well, it's done, what can we do? I scream at him that we can not have blue grout and hang up. I didn't mean to yell (sorry honey), and I know I need to work on the whole not hanging up thing, but that was NOT the kind of answer or support I was hoping my dashing knight in shining armor would provide. Next call: Stanley Steamer. The woman politely confirms my fear, there is probably nothing that they can do, but they will send some one out in a few hours to give me an estimate, and let me know how much damage they can undo. John calls back, reminds me to call my mom - she knows everything about home stuff. OK. Right. Call mom - she'll bail me out - she always does! I call her office, she is out. Super, the one time she is not chained to her desk is the one time I desperately need her. Please let her have her cell phone on. Please let her hear it. Please let her figure out how to answer it. No dice. No answer. Now what? Hooray - mom calls back! She tells me all will be OK, boil some water and use that to help loosen the stain, and bust out the Comet. My mom loves Comet, almost as much as she loves duct tape(race tape). Every time she comes down and cleans anything, we seem to get a new can of Comet, as the old one can never be located. OK - she was just here a few months back, surely there is Comet under my sink - YES! There it is! I make the paste with cold water and begin to scrub. Miracles. The dye is coming up! The Comet is working! The countertop is now it's normal color and a small section of the floor is returning to it's normal sandy color! Add the boiling hot water, and within 15 minutes, crisis and new kitchen floor averted, all is well. Papa Smurf has left the building and my mom remains my hero. Even when the Stanley Steamer guys finally showed up, they said I had done a good job, and even John was impressed - he couldn't even figure out where the stain had been!
The kids had a great time dyeing the eggs (in the garage and on a tarp, with smocks on), and they are beautiful. Everyone was patient, and there was no color arguing, even though only one cup had purple...Hannah and Lindsay loved coloring with the wax crayon first and then using the dye to have the white stand out. Caity was, as usual, especially artistic and detailed with hers, while Jordan and Noah just went for rainbows of cool colors.
A few hours later, Noah and Hannah head home, their mom is ready for deviled eggs, and Jordan is on his way to an impromptu sleepover - I LOVE that he packed his Teddy! This is his first sleepover in a loonnngg time

(he sleepwalks sometimes, so normally his friends stay over here), and I miss him already. We took the girls out for pizza, and they are ready for bed. I am about to nurse my massive headache with a nice lemonade/grenadine/Absolut Citron cocktail, and watch some mindless TV. All in all, not a bad end to a day that could have ended in ruin.

5 dozen eggs, 5 happy kids, Papa Smurf has left the building, and Grami has saved Easter (well, at least the eggs, and the kids' memories), and a tradition has continued....

Life is Good! TGIGF!

PS - I have added some new pic up in the other posts, check them out!

Short Blog..

Short blog..It's late, I'm tired! Tomorrow brings the dyeing of 60 Easter Eggs with five children, all of whom are out of school all day..trust me what you are not getting in witty reading material, I'm sure will be here tomorrow, complete with pictures! So get out your spectacles and be prepared......As time goes on, I'm sure you will appreciate the short blog nights!

Life Is Good!

P.S. Props to Pops, he once again detected problems with the home phone (Brighthouse Stinks!), and brought them to our attention - I love that my daddy calls me everyday!

That's what blogs are for.....

Do you ever just feel like one day blends to the next? This week has been full of tediously annoying errands...today, it was sign Lindsay up for VPK. F-U-N. Lindsay, a small office with strange children...I can hardly wait, and then, saving grace! Hannah's brother is home sick, and she can come with us, help me, help her mom..she saves the day without even knowing! Hooray for Hannah!
VPK went smoothly, the girls had Happy Meals, came home, played Littlest Pet Shops, and then we went outside and they chalked on the driveway, and BONUS - I got the garage just a little bit cleaner. Then, time for carpool, a slushie Sonic treat!, doctor for Jordan (just a regular appt.) and a quiet dinner with John - at his favorite restaurant, yep, you guessed it, IKEA! - while the kids played in Smallland, trip home, feed kids IKEA take-out, homework, bedtime...really, all on all, just a "normal" day, add a few errands. Was there anything overall that would make today stand out 50 years from now? The sun shining on Lindsay's ever-blonding locks? The smile on her face? Listening to the Magic game on the way home from IKEA with Jordan and the smile on his face when the announcer calls Dwight's first steal? Caity's mismatched outfit-for, like, the first time EVER? Of course, those instant snapshots stay forever, for the rest, the minutia, the contexts of those events - well, that's what blogs are for!

And mom, there's your answer!

Life is Good!

Expositories and Narratives.....

Yesterday Jordan came home from school with two paragraphs left to finish on an essay for homework. Since we went out to dinner, I told him just to wake me up at 6 (oh yay!) and we would finish it before school (translation: my kid knows how to write good essays, and to just finish this off quick, I'd dictate two paragraphs for him, yeah, yeah, I know..shhhhh..) So, by the grace of God, he actually wakes up to his alarm and is up at 6...so I get up to take a shower and tell him I can dictate a whole new essay for him after he announces he left his first three paragraphs at school. This should be quick - let's write abut how Dwight Howard won the slam dunk contest. I am promptly informed that this essay is to be a narrative one, not an expository one..OK..let's write about a trip to a Magic game..no dice, the kid wants to write about dragons and other strange things like landsharks learning to share..by this point, it is way early, God has yet to turn on the lights, and now, I am annoyed..so I told Jordan just to write the last two paragraphs and I would read them. So, an early start to a day that could have started (at least for me, an hour and a half later, God Bless John for handling mornings...Laurie's meds+mornings=bad, bad combination = very frustrating for a former "morning person"). He wrote the paragraphs, apparently about Pokemon characters (insert lecture about how, once again, these are not allowed in our house), and he and Caity get off to school...Lindsay and I lounge a bit, get the day going, and head off to the library. After some fun at the library, we decide to knock out some other errands and then head home..well, you put Lindsay in a car, and this is what you get:
Lindsay's podcast. Nonstop. From the time she is buckled into her car seat until the time she gets out, she does. not. stop. talking. period. If you decide to talk, she still talks. Or sings. So today, her podcast involved a medley of Hannah Montana, Our God is an Awesome God, and Nickelback. Unusual at best, but amazingly she makes it work. So, she's singing (all from memory mind you, because I am attempting to listen to Rush go over Obama's speech), and then - quiet - she has sung herself to sleep! AHHH! The ever-eleusive afternoon nap that four year olds reject! So the radio host got a nap, and I got to hear the radio! I know I will miss these days, but for just today, it was nice to have those few brief moments of shhhhhhhhh......Followed by a relatively peaceful afternoon and evening, and the normal chatter of JaJa, Caity and Lynsa...lots of expositories and narratives, ended with kisses night-night!

Life is Good.

Can Lindsay come over to play?

Today, those were magic words to my ears...Just as I was setting off for a day of fun-filled errands - getting Lindsay's birth certificate for pre-school, visiting the DMV, picking up doggie meds at the vet, the ever wonderful "Ms. Glinchy" called and said that Hannah wanted Lindsay to come and play! HOORAY! Quickly we turned around, and Lindsay was soon happily trotting up the stairs to play with Hannah, while I grew ever excited at the prospect of actually accomplishing these errands without a cranky four-year-old in tow, and - gasp! - I could actually manage to sneak in a quick drive-through lunch with the husband. All of a sudden, a day of dreaded stops and gos seemed bearable!
Remarkably, getting the birth certificates went smoothly, at least the person at the window spoke English!, and so off I was to meet John..Traffic flowed well, and then we were actually able to get through Taco Bell at a reasonable pace, and then - screeeecccchhhh - the DMV. We walk in and pull number 29 - however, they are at number 97. So we settle in, and then John left to go run another errand, and by the time he came back, I was at the window, and remarkably the person was helpful and efficient - strange, but pleasant! John and I then headed back to his work, and off to the vet I went.
Now, this was an errand that even if John did not have to work, he would not have tagged along on this one. Small office, dogs barking and shedding, and me spending money on the poochies flea control and heartworm meds. The sticker shock on the well-visit for the tortoise was enough to have him steer clear from the vet's for the foreseeable future. The vet also went smoothly, and I was in and out and on the way home! All of this by 2:30, including getting gas for the car, and home with 1/2 hour to spare before the kids invaded after school!
After John got out we were able to go out and get some dinner, corned beef and all - rockin' the green shamrock gear of course!
All in all, errands and all, one headache and a vicodin later, a nice day...Happy Saint Patrick's Day Everyone! Life is Good!

Poodles on Parade

I love my husband, and he must really love me. Really. Love. Me. After going to church this morning, I reminded John that I wanted to go over to Cocoa Beach Village to the Coastal Poodle Rescue Spring Fling. This included a poodle parade, photos with the Easter Bunny and other assorted oodles of poodles and fun. John likes dogs, don't get me wrong, but this is definitely not his idea of how to spend a "fun" Sunday afternoon...See, this is what is great about us - things I think are "fun", afternoons out with the poodles, building furniture at IKEA, notsomuch for John - BUT he still goes anyway! God Bless Him.
Needless to say, since he loves me, we went to Cocoa, and took along Caity's friend and her poodle too (her mom was sick, so we took out the daughter and delivered some of Grami's world famous feel-better-soup to them)! Four kids, four poodles, one mini-van and an afternoon of fun! It was a nice day out, weather was great, and everyone was reasonably well behaved! We got to the village, had pictures taken with the Easter Bunny (soon to be posted), and were awaiting the parade. At this point, Lindsay really needed to use the restroom. The only one close by was inside an Irish Tavern. A real, tavern style bar, with pool table, old people and all. I took her inside, and the place reeked of Guinness mixed with cigarettes - I just wanted her to potty and get out of there ASAP. However, while in the restroom, Lindsay says "Mommy, it smells good out there". I can not type the thoughts that flashed through my head - most of which revolved around terrors of her being like me in high school and college. Needless to say, I rushed her outside and promptly told John about her comments. Then this is where it gets interesting...before he can comment..wait for it.......she is dancing on top of the table outside the bar. Shaking her booty for all the world to see. T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Cute, though, with such innocence.
After we got her off the table and onto a bench, we waited for the parade..it was late however, and we opted for a few quick minutes at the park before having to head home to get the kids to AWANA.
After getting them home to AWANA, us to small group, and back home, it was time to pack up dinner for the family that our small group has adopted. We do dinners on Mondays, but due to Easter and Spring Break, we sent over three weeks' worth of dinners tonight, plus some gas money. This family just really needs some help and support right now, and what has impressed me is that our kids are so willing to open their hearts and pitch in, even giving up their own snacks without complaint. I love that they have such compassion at such a young age.
All in all, even though we missed the official poodles on parade, we had our on little poodles on parade, and a great Sunday afternoon, enjoying our family and the Lord.

Life is Good.

I Really Am a Rock Star......

Today was Lindsay's big day: the 4th Birthday Party - Hannah Montana style..Now, for those of you that REALLY know me, you are probably thinking you will be reading tales of a stress filled morning with frantic cleaning, getting everything just so, and of course, pull-apart cupcakes. Remarkably today, almost all of those elements were absent. I had decided that the upstairs was off limits, the party was small and mainly outside, and that I was going to relax and enjoy this party! Day started off terrific, took Caity to pick up party supplies and a new umbrella for the patio table...smooth...Caity was great, we picked up some Hannah Montana things for Lindsay, among them: the coveted Hannah Montana Wig..oh yes, long blonde locks...By 10:30 a.m. we were home, all necessary supplies in hand and found a clean house! (John even cleaned the chinchillas!). Caity and I had devised a plan for the cupcakes (OK-so I was all about just buying some cupcakes this year, they really are so much easier to deal with than cake with little ones, but Caity stated that it was tradition for us to bake them - thanks Hello Kitty) - a Hannah Montana Guitar. Hooray!
Once all the supplies are unpacked, party favor bags are stuffed, and cupcakes are ready for baking, down comes the birthday girl! She is beyond thrilled when daddy hands her the Hannah Montana Wig. Immediately Lindsay is transformed into a rock star! Now, for us, this is a big deal, as she does not even like to have her hair put up, and here she is - rocking out the long blonde hair! Before I know it, Caity has Lindsay all set up with the microphone and Lindsay is in FULL ON ROCK STAR MODE! She is lip-synching, facial expressioning, hair tossing and all..If I can figure out how to get the video on here, it is definitely a must-see! She did terrific renditions of "I Really am a Rock Star" and "Best of Both Worlds" by Hannah Montana..Maybe 12 years from now, we'll be seeing those clips on American Idol. With her charm, and that mischievous grin, nothing would surprise me - the sky is her limit.
Meanwhile, John has filled the cupcake cups up and they are in the oven - this is where the problem begins - he has overfilled the cupcakes..so, when baking time is up, the cupcakes, well, if you can call them that, look like mushroom shaped collapsed souffles. Hmmm..problem..it is now 12:00, with the party starting at 1. Quick call to the ever-dependable "Ms. Glinchy", and Jordan has bike messengered over a box of save-the-day Devil's food cake, and new cupcakes were baking. Meanwhile, I mashed up the other cupcakes into a cake pan, and they will come in surprisingly handy (recreated into crumb cake) for a impromptu baby shower tomorrow at small group, but back to the guitar...
Can I just say that John ROCKS at pull-apart cupcakes. He has done some amazing cupcake cakes for the kids, and they adore them. This one was no exception - a guitar with roses for the string-tightening-tuning-thingees on the neck of the guitar, pink icing, white strings and details, including her name at the bottom, and a 4 along the side. Even Jordan was impressed. Guitar complete and elegant, we were ready to party!
Morgan arrived, then Noah and Hannah, and Max and Emma..everyone sang happy birthday, we had cupcakes, and Lindsay opened her presents, which were all so great, and had fun playing in the bounce house. When the party was over, and everyone was leaving, it was time for Lindsay to say goodbye to Max, and all of a sudden, we hear "It's time for me to get my kiss from Lindsay!". It was the most adorable moment. Really.
Today was such a great party for Lindsay, and such a good day. So today, for my baby girl, I Really Am A Rock Star (and her daddy is too!).

The Fun Begins

A Blog...after much consideration, and some inspiration, I have made a commitment to keep my family and friends more updated on our day to day craziness, as well as make some kind of record for my munchkins of their childhood. Since today is as good a day as any, off we go.

First, Brighthouse stinks. They can't get their services straight to save their lives. After much agony, a mangled On-Q box, and more repairs to come, we are finally set up to have digital phone hooked up next Friday. No one will notice the difference, we are having our number ported, but never, never, ever again will I deal with this. We all know since the "Comcast Incident" that I do not deal well with service people, so this meant two days of them here, one of them screaming at me, me on the verge of complete mental collapse, and John taking FMLA time to deal with me, and my impending breakdown because of them. I would however, like to thank my father for bringing to my attention the fact that my home phone was not ringing through, so that I would not be dealing with this problem all weekend! Props to dad for calling everyday on his way to lunch with the boys!!!

After Brighthouse was FINALLY resolved, off we went to take care of some errands, which included picking up Jordan's signed hat and ball from the Orlando Magic (we couldn't go to the make-up signing because of the super, terrific FCAT). He now has EVERY signature or this year's team, on both hat and ball, so I am sure we will be visiting Michael's soon for shadowboxes, etc. Plus, because Amber ROCKS (call her for any of your ticket needs), Jordan scored a super cool Dwight Howard "Superman Dunk" poster. She was also gracious enough to donate some items for a young boy at our church who could use some inspiration right now...Did I mention Amber rocks?

After going to the Magic offices in Maitland, we headed home, and of course, you can't get from there to our house without passing by IKEA, so the kids all decided that was a great place for dinner and some fun! Off they went to Smalland, while John and I shopped in peace (well, I shopped and John did this "I am walking in slow motion for exercise thing" or as he now puts it "artistic impression", as he thought other people would find him amusing, which was really annoying by the way). Managed to get some new salad storage containers (our family is eating salad at least 5 days a week-hooray!) and some chocolate bars for Lindsay's party tomorrow, as well as some more rugs for dogs beds for our Oodles of Poodles. However, the most wonderful announcement came on as we were on our way to get the kids for dinner in the cafe: EVERY Friday night at 7 p.m. IKEA has a Furniture Build-Off Challenge! Now, I can't think of any better way to spend a Friday night than building Sweedish furniture with instructions completely in Sweedish (but there are pictures), but apparently this was not John's idea of fun. However, he was a good sport and didn't make a mad dash for the car as I entered our names. Neither of us was chosen to compete, but I assure you we would have ROCKED it, and taken home that $25 gift card...any guesses where to find us on Friday nights now??? Plus, my friend Jenny ALSO thinks this is a great "date night" idea, so maybe we can double up! The IKEA devotees need to stick together.....

After the excitement of IKEA, we came home and the kids went off to bed for the night...Jordan and Magic are asleep, Susie is snuggled up with Caity (Susie's belly is a bit pudgy these last few days - she is either getting fat or we have trouble on the horizon, but don't tell the kids), and my Diva Poodle/Cat is snuggled up here on the couch waiting for me to be done on the computer so that she may get a much better sleeping place in my lap. John is over working on his laptop listening to some sort of podcast on his iPod..since he got that and the case, he is such a happy boy, he tunes all of us out and is even further able to go to "John's Happy Place". I love him. Really.

Life is Good!

Moment of the day: Hearing disco music over the PA system at the Magic offices and Lindsay dancing to it, hip and hand action and all coming out of the bathrooms! She sure had dance in her pants today!