Disney World Update Day 2.5

After our relaxing time at the pool we got cleaned up and headed back out. We first went to Downtown Disney, because there is a Build Your Own Lightsaber at one of the toy shops.

From the moment that I told Josh about this over a year ago, he had been super excited to do it. We head over to the Once Upon a time store and build some lightsabers. Emily and I pick out our My Little Ponies. You get a box and then you cram it as full of stuff as you can and you get everything you can fit into the box for $20. When I was young I LOVED My Little Ponies. I spent many hours in my room playing with them. So when I head about this, I was all over it. Emily and I filled our boxes so full, they almost didn’t close. This is where Jacob found his Indian Jones dress up set. He was going to get a light saber like Josh, but once he saw that set, which has a machete, whip, treasure, gun and most importantly the hat- it was all over. He loves that set, so much he still is playing with it like crazy.



Once we were done “playing” we headed over and check out some of DTD. We saw the Lego Store and The World of Disney. The Christmas store and the pet store. We really enjoyed all the picture opportunities presented through out the area.






We decided to head over to the Wilderness Lodge to hit the Whispering Canyon Café a little early to see if we could get in a little early. We couldn’t. So we waited for our table and the kids (Josh, Emily and Jacob) went to the arcade and played a little games while we waited.

Now, I don’t know how to describe this place. Our waitress was the best ever. She was friendly and over the top. It was great. The kids were allowed to have milk shakes with their dinner, Bubble gum flavored to start. Yuck. They both moved on to a more traditional flavor later in the meal. Josh and Emily got a “platter” of sorts with chicken, steak, corn on the cob, beans, mashed potatoes and who knows what else. Jacob got chicken nuggets, of course and I had a steak of some sort. The food was fantastic.

But the food was only half the fun.

Josh, who always drains his first glass of iced tea within moments of it being set down in front of him was given a nice surprise when he did that at this restaurant. He was given at least a gallon of iced tea, maybe more. And he almost drank it all.



Emily, who can not eat any meat without ketchup asked our wonderful server for some ketchup. Big mistake. We ended up with 20 bottles of ketchup on our table. Now, some nice young diner also was needing the ketchup, but not wanting the hop-de-doo that went with it came up and took a bottle of our table. Well, we were fully into the “game” of the restaurant and Josh politely told our waitress that he had taken a bottle. Well, she certainly wasn’t going to stand for that. We all had to grab a couple of bottles and wait, hidden behind a door while she called him out in front of the entire dinning room and waved to us to bring in the ketchup. Which we then did, to a bright red-faced man.

Jacob ate all his chicken rather quickly and the raw broccoli but was still hungry. The wonderful waitress was able to get him another serving of nuggets- just one of the many times that the people who worked there went over and beyond what they were required to.

In addition to the simple casualness of the place and the fun we were having with the waitress, she made us all napkin hats. It really was one of the funniest meals we have ever had and we will defiantly be back to the restaurant again when we return. The kids are still talking about that giant glass of iced tea that their father drank.

Indiana!!!

We here in the Sumpter household are all very big fans of the Indian Jones movies. We are all very excited about the new movie which opened yesterday, even if Harrision Ford is 102 years old.

Here is how Jacob is gearing up for our trip the the Movie Theater on Sunday night:



We love Indy!!!

Cookie Jars are my passion

Amy’s post today has inspired me. I have not continued my Disney World posts because I have them half written at work, and I am “traveling” this week and away from the office. They will continue on Monday.

I love to make cookies. I love to eat cookies. I maybe swayed by Amy’s post today to actually make cookies this evening. If I do, I will use her recipe, even though I have a pretty darn good Peanut Butter Cookie recipe myself. Only mine comes from a cook book. But it is mine and I know exactly how long to cook them to keep them from burning, yum.
I enjoy making cookies, and my favorite has always been Peanut Butter Cookies.
However, I thought I would take you all on a journey of my cookie jars.
First was this one.Look behind my crazy daughter, it’s on the counter in the back ground. It is shaped like an old victorian house. I wish I had taken a good picture of it, but this was as good as I could find.

I bought it in an outlet mall in the late 1990’s and loved it. I was in Kentucky with Emily, when she was an infant and when I found this I knew I had to have it! I spent all the spending money I had brought with me in order to buy it. I loved that cookie jar.
It broke in the move to the house we live in now.
Next my mom bought me this next cookie jar, it’s from “the cracker” as we call Cracker Barrell in my house. I have nearly the entire line, because I fell in love with it, my mom was in town and it was on sale. Score times three.


BUT, my absolute favorite cookie jar is this one:


It was my mother’s while I was growing up. This cookie jar rarely didn’t have cookies in it. She was the best mother ever, and always had a fresh batch of Peanut Butter or Chocolate Chip cookies waiting to have for dessert or an afternoon snack. I oftentimes tried to get into the cookie jar with out the help of my parents. It was a heavy lid for me with my small arms and hands. I dropped it more than once. But my Dad could fix everything, even the cookie jar lid that had been broken time and time again.

And after I had moved into my home now, it made the trek from New Mexico and now has a place of honor on top of my cabinets next to my Fisher Price playhouse and my Winnie the Pooh snow globe.

***I almost dropped it again, while taking it down to take the picture. I still blame the small arms and hands.***

Disney World Update II

On Sunday, May 4th we woke up as early as we would have on a normal work day and headed to the Food Court for a little breakfast. We bought only 3 trays of food and split the food between the 4 of us, as it was really enough for us. In fact it was just exactly the right amount. None left over and nobody was left feeling like they didn’t get enough.

We headed out to catch the bus to Animal Kingdom. Josh was very excited to head to this park, as this was the one park that we had not been to when we came for our land/cruise anniversary 9 years ago. Plus, they have the newest, coolest coaster in the park.

We head over and are really surprised to see SO many people. I knew that we would not be the only ones in the park, but at rope drop, I expected it to be far fewer people than it was. We walked in and immediately after you cross the turn styles they have cast members there holding “animals” in boxes. Spiders and giant crickets and other things I like to not think about. My children love stuff like this, so they stopped and chatted with the lovely ladies holding these large clear boxes about whatever insect they were holding.

Once I could drag them away from the bugs, we headed straight to Expedition Everest. We first got a fast pass and then stood in the stand by line. We were in, on the ride within 15 minutes. It took longer to get to the queue than we waited. We got into the “train” and took off. This is one of the few rides at the entire Walt Disney World that I have not ridden previously, since it is so new, and as we head into it I think, “wow, this is really kinda lame. They really hyped this up and AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” Anyways, it got really good. So good that we were very excited that we got to get right back onto the ride and ride it again. The ride picture they snap was SO good on the second go through that I begged that we would buy it. I don’t normally buy them, because, well, they aren’t cheep and I usually look like a goon. But the whole family looks great!



We find some drums to "play" and take a quick picture.

After this we head over to Kilamajaro Safaris and on the way stop and catch King Louie and Baloo. Emily is super excited, as we haven’t seen any characters up to this point. She grabs her autograph book and goes to it.

Jacob wants nothing to do with it. But as we continue on to the Safari he starts to break down and cry because he wanted the autographs. Not to have his picture taken with the characters, but the autographs from them. Josh and him and head back to see them and Emily and I start to stand in line for the Safari. Once we get to the loading we catch up with the boys and hop on our safari. It was really neat to see all the animals. It was still early enough in the day that many of them were out and we saw tons of animals. As with every Disney ride they dump you into a gift area of sorts. They vary in size from a large room that is nearly as large as the ride itself (Pirates of the Caribbean) to a small cart located at the exit of the ride (Nemo show). At the end of the Safari they have multiple carts set up with…drum roll please Webkins. Disney is one smart cookie. This is where the very first “souvenir” is purchased. Jacob had to have the Tiger Webkins. So he bought it and carried it around for the entire day, and has loved it just as much as the 10 other Webkins he owns.

After the safari, we kinda roam around, not sure where to head next. Animal Kingdom is set up in such a way that it is somewhat difficult to navigate at first. We stopped and picked up Fast Passes to the Kali River Rapids and continued checking things out. We went through some of the animal areas, seeing tigers, and a ton of birds, and other strange animals that I don’t remember. When it came time for our Fast Pass time at the Rapids, I become apprehensive. I don’t mind getting wet on a ride, but soaked is not my idea of fun. Plus, my hair never recovers from the water. There is a reason I blow dry my hair almost every day.

We get on the ride and as it takes off I immediately get soaked. top to bottom. Not missing one stitch of clothing or one strand of hair. The ride is fun, as it really is like rafting, so much more than other raft type rides, except that you get soaked.

After we are soaked to the bone we head over to the Rainforest Café for our lunch reservation. The food was good, the atmosphere was good, but the kids didn’t seem to enjoy it so much. I don’t know if we will be back there until they are much older. However, sitting in a dark, cold restaurant soaking wet was a bad idea. I ended up with a slight cold from it. Luckily, I had brought medication with us, and nobody else seemed to have been effected. Probably because they did have nearly the same amount of water dumped on their heads.

After lunch we headed over to Dinoland and rode Dinosaur.

We had picked up a Fast Passes on the way to lunch. By this point the kids have really figured the fast pass thing out and are loving the idea of not standing in line. Dinosaur was not nearly as good as I remembered and was a lot rougher than I like. Neither of the kids seemed taken with it, so while we could have ridden it again, with little wait, we ran (literally) over to try to catch the Finding Nemo show. This was one show that Josh was really interested in seeing and we missed it by minutes. After some time in the Boneyard we decided to head back to the hotel for a little down time. Some swimming and relaxation.


The kids had been begging to go swimming, so we headed off to the bus. On the way, Emily purchased her first souvenir. She found bride Minnie Mouse ears.

She loved them. Because they were like a headband, she wore them most of the days in the park to keep her hair back.

I will continue this day in a separate post, because our time at the Whispering Canyon Café deserves its own post, we enjoyed it so much!

Disney World Update I

It has been a week since we returned from our little adventure in Florida and I think I may finally have a moment to get some of it down “on paper”. I plan to have a separate post per day in order to not confuse myself. As that happens easily enough. I want to write it all down, because I know there is moments I have already forgotten and I do not want to forget the ones I have still in my mind.

So as you all saw, the big reveal was wonderful. They loved the idea of a treasure hunt and had no idea what was going on. And truly didn’t believe it after they received the final clue. Once the realized it was real they ran all through the neighborhood yelling it to anybody who would listen. And then Emily immediately wanted to start packing. Silly girl, we are already packed.

Getting them to bed that night was a bit of a struggle, but they did in fact finally fall asleep. Josh and I finished packing and loading the car up with everything we could the night before, that way in the morning we only had to add the one final suitcase to the trunk of the car and be on our way.

The alarm went off at 4am, but I think I had been awake all night. I got up and got cleaned up and finished the last minute packing of contact solution and hair brushes. We woke the kids up at about 4:30, they got dressed and we were on the road before 5am, a true miracle for us. As we are usually running late in situations like this. I had checked us in with Southwest the day before, so we simply checked our bags and headed through security with little problems and onto our gate area to sit and wait for a while.

The first flight to Houston was uneventful and short. We arrived in Houston and we were all famished, so we headed to the food court for a little breakfast. Josh and I had breakfast tacos, Emily had a breakfast sandwich from Wendy’s and Jacob ate 10 chicken nuggets. He was hungrier than usual.

We next boarded the “Disney flight” as it was filled with families with young children all heading to Orlando for vacation. After we boarded, we waited and waited and waited. It seems that the bathroom needed to be replaced. The removed and replaced the commode in the rear restroom. After about 2 hours with no updates as to why we were delayed (we were just close to the restroom, so we knew what was happening) we were finally in the sky. Jacob took a little nap, as did I. It was late afternoon by then and it had already been a long day.

We arrived in Orlando and we found our car and off the hotel. Disney World is quite a way from the airport and the kids got a little antsy as we headed there. Even I was antsy. I was ready for the fun to begin. Our delay has not only with our flight, but it set the whole day back a few hours.

We drove up to our hotel, Pop Century and the kids were amazed. Tons of oversized icons and tons of memorabilia littered the grounds and lobby. It was really neat to see. We got checked in, after a small wait in line and headed off to our room. We had a decent room assignment. All the rooms are exactly the same, just a room, but we were close to one of the three pools-but not too close that we could hear the noise coming from it and not to far from the bus stops. After settling in a little and up packing a little, in order to get the suitcases out of the way-the room wasn’t nearly large enough to leave them out for the week-we got ready to head out. We went straight for the bus stops to the Magic Kingdom. We waited for what seemed like ages, and finally a bus arrived and we were off to the park.

We walked in and it was just as I remembered it. I love main street and as we walked down I realized that there were more people there than I had anticipated. We were headed towards Tomorrowland and a show at the castle began. It had Mickey, Minnie, several princesses and their princes, Peter Pan, Wendy, Hook and Maleficent. We all stopped as the kids stood in awe, trying to take it all in.




After the show was over I insisted that we eat first thing, as we hadn’t eaten since Houston and I knew that crankiness would begin if food was not added to the stomachs of everybody. Jacob refused to eat, because he wanted ride the roller coasters. So, we ate a quick meal, with Jacob only eating some grapes, carrots and a cookie.

After the meal we headed straight for Space Mountain. The wait lime was 90 minutes, so we Fast Passed it and headed over to the Buzz Lightyear ride. This ride is very similar to the Scooby Doo ride at Six Flags, so the kids jumped right in and really enjoyed it. After we rode Buzz Lightyear we went back to ride Space Mountain, as it was nearly time for our Fast Pass to be good. Oh NO! Space Mountain is “down” and they don’t when it will be back up, but keep your Fast Pass, it will be good all day now, since the ride went down.

The kids were disappointed so decided to get our first treat and headed over to the ice cream cart. Because we were on the meal plan, it was “free” meaning we had already paid for it up front. SO no money left our pockets at that moment. The kids were thrilled to get the ice cream and by the time we were done with our snack, the ride was up and running again.

We head through the Fast Pass entrance and down the long dark queue. Zipping by all the poor folks who are waiting in the stand by line. We get up the loading station and Jacob rides in the very front, with Josh behind him, followed by me with Emily in the car directly behind me. And we are off. I love Space Mountain. I think it is my favorite mountain ride at WDW. Hearing Jacob cackle with delight as we whipped around in “space” and listening to Emily scream with delight was one of the best memories I have of the trip. It was great. And they loved it, and of course wanted to ride it over and over again. But we moved on.


Next was … a Disney classic… It’s a Small World. I love it because it is so simple. But Josh had tainted my children and it was like torture to them. I loved it, but… alas, the family, not so much.



We headed over to Frontierland to ride Big Thunder Mountain but on the way passed through Liberty Square where the Haunted Mansion lives.



We decided to hit that since there was NO wait. Jacob was too scared to watch any of it and I am not a fan of the updates recently added to incorporate it more to the movie made with Eddie Murphy. After we scared the kids to bits we headed over and rode Big Thunder Mountain. The wait was minimal, maybe 20 minutes and the kids were hyped up by this point. We all enjoyed the ride, but it wasn’t as wonderful as I remembered it being. Splash Mountains wait was ridiculous, so we passed on it and headed through Frontierland into Advetureland where we got onto Pirates of the Caribbean. Now, this has long been one of my favorite rides, but they have made it too PC and added (dare I say it) too much Johnny Depp. Not a favorite anymore. After Pirates and quite a stay in the gift shop, we moved over to the Jungle Cruise, which is surprisingly quite a bit better in the evening, when the sun has gone down. It doesn’t look quite as worn as it does in the daylight. The kids really enjoyed it, but were confused that the animals were not real. At this point we are all about to die, so we decide to head out of the park and back to the room. Plenty of time for the Magic Kingdom on Day 3, when we will be back.

Once we return to the hotel we all realize (at 9pm) how incredibly hungry we all are. We head down and buy a pizza and purchase the refillable mugs at the food court. This was all out of pocket, as the credits needed for the pizza were not worth what they would be at another restaurant.

We head back to the room, chow down like people who haven’t eaten in a week and head to bed. While we are laying in the dark, trying to contain our excitement, Emily says, “This is where dreams come true.”

Sever weather? Play my show!

Last night we had a little bit of severe weather around these parts. The little map of the area showing were the storm was and where it was going, along with the scrolling type at the bottom telling people to get away from windows and not to outrun the tornados in the area. It was severe enough for the alarm to go off on the radio and for the weather teams to break into primetime television to alert the masses as to the severity of the storms. Now, its fine to interrupt the television show during commercials in order to alert those who don’t hear the pounding rain, whistling winds and hail coming on top of their homes. You can even go over the commercial a little into the show. I am fine with that. But, don’t you start try to tell me that this storm needs to interrupt panel on the season finale of Americas Next Top Model. Oh, no, you don’t. And more than once. Good old Jim Spencer interrupted the show 3 times- all during the meat of the show, not ever during the commercials, to warn of our impending weather. You, know what? I just want to see Fatima’s commercial and Whitney’s cover girl shoot. I don’t care if there is a tornado three hours from my house.

While I was very happy that Whitney won ANTM, I would have loved to see the show in its entirety, not around the weather.

Even the president knows not to interrupt primetime television, why can’t the local weather men figure it out.

Emily's first dance recital

Here are some pictures and hopefully a video of Emily's first dance recital. She has been taking class with her friend Anya, whose mother runs a language studio. The classes are free of charge, all I had to do was buy the costume. She really enjoyed learning the dance and I love her being exposed to people of a completely different culture. We look forward to her continuing in the program next fall so that she can be involved in Yolka next December, which was the performance we attended last year.

Warning:

Jacob took the video...so there is some cometary and shakiness, that comes when a 6 year old is behind the camera.

We're back!

Boohoo, we made it home. We are tired, tan with lots and lots of laundry to do. We are taking it easy today. Yeah! I plan to upload about 1000 pictures to my flickr sometime today, if you are interested.



It was a great time, the kids only bikered as siblings do, no real fights and lots of laughs, giggles and wonder.



I am ready to go back...after the blisters are healed.

The tickets are bought. The bags are packed. And we finally decided to tell the kids we were going.

NKOTB-Part IV

As you all know, I am quite the NKOTB fan. I have written about their come back tour time and time and time again. Well, I received, via email, because I am THAT special, the (hopefully just the first leg) tour schedule.

9/20/08
Montreal, Quebec
Bell Centre

9/21/08
Toronto, ON
Air Canada Center

9/23/08
East Rutherford, NJ
Izod Center

9/24/08
Uniondale, NY
Nassau VETERANS MEMORIAL Coliseum

9/26/08
Boston, MA
TD Banknorth Garden

9/27/08
Atlantic City, NJ
Borgata Hotel and Casino Event Center

Sat
10/4/08
Chicago, IL
Allstate Arena

Anybody want to go to Boston? Or how about Chicago? Because they are not coming to the South, or at least those dates have not been released. And gracious, I need to know if they will be coming here, or if I need to start looking at plane tickets and hotel rooms.

Am I crazy?

I don’t think so.

At least I am not like Jen, from the 7th grade, who was determined to marry Joey. And I mean, determined. Not like an enthusiastic fan, but more almost like a stalker. She was the crazy one. I wonder who she did marry, because it wasn’t Joey. I don’t think he ever married anybody. I may have to Wikipedia that.

Let's go ride a bike

I received a beautiful pink bike when I was in grade school. I think it sat in our garage until I was in the fourth grade when I decided maybe I wanted to learn how to ride the bike. I was not good at it. I had several run ins with rose bushes, curbs and once with another bike being ridden by my friend Danette. It was quite traumatic. I remember than incident with great detail. We were riding bikes around the neighborhood and as we rounded one corner, the wheels hit. And I went down. Hard.

I don’t think I ever really rode my bike after that. Even when I was in highschool and was in Germany as an exchange student with a humongous family. (The amount of children was huge, not the family themselves. They were quite fit.) We decided to go for a bike ride one afternoon. It was not pretty. You know the saying: It’s like riding a bike, well if its like I was on that bike all those years ago, then it is hard, frustrating and probably painful to watch.

It was a disaster.

I purchased a bike for myself in college, with my birthday money. I rode it once. It was just as bad of an experience as it had been while I was in highschool. Just bad. I made it around the block, but not before having to stop several times to get my balance, or to not fall off.

That was before Jacob was born, so at least 7 years ago. I had reserved myself for the bike at the gym. It wouldn’t fall over on me. It was safe. It was stationary after all.

So I was quite surprised at myself when I decide on Saturday evening to jump on Emily’s bike that she received for Christmas from my parents. It is an adult sized bike, almost a little big for myself. I asked Jacob to join me in a ride around the block on his bike. He took me up on my offer and off we went. It was one of the best times I have had in a long time. The wind in my air and my ability to not fall off. I was actually stable on the bike and enjoying myself. We had to stop several times, but not because of me this time, but because his little knees started hurting. So I would ride circles around him. And as we rounded the last corner, which is a big wide turn, but downhill, the speed got to Jacob and down he went. Hard. He skinned his knee pretty bad, but I think the fall scared him more than the injuries hurt. I brought him back home and bandaged him up, got him situated on the Playstation playing Scooby-Doo and I headed back out on the bike.

Josh wants to buy me a bike now, but I figure I can just ride Emily’s until she decides she wants it. And that may be sooner than later if I keep riding it.

Last night Jacob had a present for me.

He had found an old cross charm, which was faded and frankly, had seen better days. He had no chain to put it on, so he found a thing of thread I had up the closet. He gently placed that cross on a piece of thread and used one of Emily’s jewelry boxes to present it to me. With a huge, silly smile on his face to go with it.

Sometimes his heart is so big it just might burst. I know mine did.

Al Gore, I will tell you about the REAL inconvenient truth.

Blah, blah, blah, global warming. I have my own thoughts on global warming, and what we as humans need to think/do about it. They are similar to Amy’s, if not even a little more non-earthy.

But I hate me some Wal-Mart.

You see, every time I walk through those electric doors I just hate myself a little. I am never happy when I leave, always angry and yelling at the kids. The lines are always SO long and the help leaves a little to be desired. And the prices, they are not that much cheeper. Before this weekend, I couldn’t tell you when the last time I went to Wal-Mart was. It had been at least 6 months. I usually can last on my ban of Wal-Mart for about that long, until I decide to give it ago again.

Last weekend I had dropped of Emily at dance class and after lunch I needed to pick a few things up for our up-coming trip. Lots of random things, which I could have pickled up at other stores, but honestly, it would have taken longer than the hour I had to do it in. So I told Jacob we had to go to Wal-Mart. He responded with, “No, mom, I am staying in the car.”

I have passed my hatred for the Wal-Mart onto my offspring, isn’t it wonderful?

I tell him, tough, we have to pick up things like goggles, a pink tank top, iron on transfer paper, sharpies, shorts and crayons. It has to be done at Wal-Mart, we don’t have time to go to Michaels, Target, Kohls, JCPenny, and the outlet mall. We just have to do it.

“Don’t make me go in there” is his response to me.

I had to pull the mom card to get him out of the car.

We walked into the giant supercenter close to my daughters dance class and got to work. We made it out alive, with $100 less in my checking account and a lot of stuff that could have been purchased somewhere else, but darn it Wal-Mart, you are too convenient, too available and too affordable, and that is the real inconvenient truth.

I have fallen!

I have been absent for a week or so, due to the craziness that is my life. I have actually been working (I know, its s shock, even to me) while at work, in order to complete the work necessary so that I can take my much anticipated vacation in less than 2 weeks. Any time I have that I am not working I am obsessing over ever little detail you might not even think warrants a thought.

I was talking to Amy the other night about my trip, not something that I torment many people (except my husband) to even a fraction of the amount of time I actually think about it. (I am SO excited!!!) She mentioned, as I finally let go of my fear (you know, the fear that someone will think you are a freak) and began to spill all the information and excitement out onto her and she told me that she knew I would go off the edge at some point. And I had finally done it. I had fallen off the edge.

But really, I hadn’t.

Yes, I had fallen, but many, many, many years ago.

You see I have had a love affair with Disney since, well, forever.

I remember listening to the Jungle Book with my mom on a RECORD(!) in our living room when I was in early grade school. Dancing around and acting like an elephant with my mom, is one of my greatest memories. Plus, those are some jamming songs. I mean, who doesn’t know Colonel Hatahways March?

I remember seeing The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast as a high schooler and being mesmerized. I was not too cool to go see a “cartoon” with my friends, in fact we readily saw all things Disney in high school. My only disappointment was Pocahontas. And what a disappointment that was. But that is another post altogether.

Even for my 18th birthday I received a Winnie the Pooh playset. I had that set for years, until children. (Need I say more?) I also received a Winnie the Pooh snow globe from my parents that is still proudly displayed in my kitchen, many years later.

My first job was with The Disney Store. I worked there for 2 years, and I loved it. I so enjoyed it, except for the horrible uniform, but we won’t go there. I bet my parents have a picture of me in that uniform somewhere. That is there nature, to take pictures of me in all my uniformed glory.

I even “left” my husband and first born when she was 18 months old for the summer in order to work at The Walt Disney World in Florida. Now, mind you, I needed an internship in order to graduate from college, and that was the only one who picked me. I was so sad. ;) I enjoyed those three months more than anybody might really know. Not because I was away from my family, but because I spent 6 or 7 days in a park. If I wasn’t working, I was most likely figuring out a time to be in the park. There were times I would get off from my job at the Crystal Palace and get changed and head back up and ride a few rides in the evening before heading home. Where else in the world is that an option?

Josh and I even took a cruise/park trip there almost 9 years ago for our first anniversary. It was wonderful. I loved spending that time with him, there in a place I loved so much!

You see, I had fallen for Disney before I even had a chance.

I guess I had just held my obsession in for a few years and she (Amy) had forgotten about it and now I was leaking it out and it was oozing all over the place.

And it is all over the place. I am planning like crazy.

With less that 2 weeks until we leave, it is just about all I can think about. I love the planning, probably as much as I will love being in the park. We have picked the perfect time to go (I hope) and the kids won’t be missing things with school. I even measured Jacob last night and he is tall enough for everything! That is super exciting! I dream about it, think about, worry about it. There are so many details that I don’t want to forget, at the same time I am trying to get lots of regular life things accomplished as well. You know, like laundry and dishes.

Ice Cream

One thing I liked about being home early from work almost everyday last week was the ability to catch these moments.

Thoughts on hair

Since Amy referenced Emily’s pink hair from last summer I thought I would throw the picture of her up on the site for all to see. She loved having it dyed and I think we may end up with it dyed again before too long.



I decided on my current hair policy after a conversation with my mother in which she told me, “I wished I had let you shave the back of your head like you wanted to.” I was unable to find a picture for reference, but you know the look, back in the 90’s. In the moment my mother told me that I decided hair is where I wouldn’t care. I would just let them do as they pleased. Blue hair? Sure, lets go get some dye. Checkerboard shavings? Sure, lets head to Amy’s. Tattoo? NO. Piercing? NO. I knew I was going to have to give somewhere and hair is where I decided that would be. Besides, they would be the one who had to look at that picture in 20 years and know that they made that choice, not me. Also, I figure if I give a little in this area, they might not push the other areas quite so much.

That’s my plan, hopefully they will stay with it!

Flag Football!

Whew!

I am exhausted from the weekend. I need a weekend from my weekend. It was good, but busy and WAY to short and quick.

Saturday morning Jacob had his first flag football game. It was quite a site. We arrived about 30 minutes prior to the game, as Josh is the coach and wanted to be there for when any of the other players showed up. So I sat my chair up and had a seat. Emily and I watched the end of the game that was taking place before Jacob’s game. Once the other kids started showing up they practiced a little bit and then got ready to play. Only the other team had no mouth guards. “I didn’t know!” yelled the coach which is a bunch of bunk, because if I knew, then he knew and failed to follow through with his parents. So we waited. When the mouth guards finally showed up, 15 minutes later, the game began. It was as exciting as a bunch of 6/7 year olds playing flag football can be. Our team was clearly the better team, as we won the game 13-0. Jacob was by far the shortest, skinniest player - on either side of the field. He played “center” most of the game- if that means anything to anyone. And he was a running back for the last play of the game and took 3-4 yards before he was de-flagged.

He had a good time playing, at least that is what he told us. I received a horrific sun-burn from the whole experience. But I got some great pictures- most of which you can see on my new photo-blog http://www.ethelsimages.blogspot.com/ but I will leave you with the best shot I got of the game, in my opinion. It shows everyone on the field moving around, and there stands Jacob, still as a statue.

Are you in there?

Something odd happened to me this weekend. I caught a glimpse of who I once was in the mirror of the church bathroom on Sunday morning. And I liked her a whole lot more than the girl I have turned into in the last two and a half years. I was happy, hopeful and ready to grab life and jump in. A feeling I haven’t had in ages. When I was out talking with folks Saturday morning, I did so with confidence and authority. I sure sounded good, I thought. And I felt alive, and it felt good.

For years now I have simply been chugging along. Just doing what had to be done. Not really happy with anything. Things have been rough. When I tried to make changes last fall and it didn’t happen, I felt horrible. I felt like a huge loser. I knew I wasn’t, deep down, but after a while of hearing it from different people and in different situations you simply begin to believe it. And that is tough. It was a rough winter, at work things were rough, at home the kids were rough, I just didn’t want to deal with anything anymore.

But I persevered. I knew I wanted to make changes, but it was a slow go. This year, I have been trying to change my attitude, but I have been trying to do so in my own way. And really, don’t we all know that doesn’t work. And the horrible week I had last week, paired with the events I attended on Saturday I was forced to turn it all over. And I did with such a desire to change myself and the situation I am currently in and I think I am on the way to becoming that person that I once was and want to be more like today. (Whew! That was a run on, wasn’t it?) And I owe that all to the Lord. He gave me that glimpse of myself in the mirror of the ladies restroom at church on Sunday morning. He let me see that she was still alive and well, buried deep inside me fighting her way to come out. So now I am fighting for her. I am deciding to have fun again, rather than sitting inside alone, I am outside, almost craving the outside. Or if I am inside I am not in front of the TV, I am trying desperately how to learn Photoshop or reading with the kids. I am allowing myself to be ok with me. And I like it.

NKOTB Part III

Maybe you remeber my previous post about the New Kids On The Block?



Guess what?!?!?



They are having their big comeback on the Today Show on Friday! I got a message from my wonderful cousin, Lauren allerting me to this event, however, becasue I am signed up for updates on their website, I knew before anyone else did- or at least I like to think that.



Here they are now, I sure do hope they tour through central Texas. I will SO be there!!!

Yeah! Spring!

What a weekend we had.

My parents drove in from New Mexico for a short, but great visit. They unfortunately had to endure what we in our household call, “The gear up for the end of the year.” The months of April and May usually consist of weekend so packed full of events and meetings that rarely have a minute to relax. And that was when only Emily was participating in “extra-curricular” activities. Luckily we made the decision long before we were to emotionally involved with activities that the children could only participate in Scouts and one other activity. Whatever that other was, was up to the child. This year, Emily has chosen dance (jazz) and Jacob played soccer in the fall and has just started his spring sport of football (his dad is SO proud).

At the end of the school year, comes the recitals, and end of year ceremonies and camp-outs. And a full schedule. It makes every morning, day and evening a time where we are trying to remember where we are supposed to be and what equipment should we have?

Lets just take for example the coming week:
Monday: Emily has dance practice. This week is also the time the kids are supposed to bring there suggested clothes for the dance recital which is in 6 weeks. I have a yummy massage scheduled to deal with the stress from last week which leaked into my back.

Tuesday: Jacob has football practice. Josh is the assistant coach, so he has to be there as well.

Wednesday: Both children have dentist appointments and I have a regular doctor appointment. We also are going to have the tires balanced on the van that day. Josh is also going to start the process of moving his mother (more on that on Saturday). There is church in the evening and I have a tentative photo-shoot with Amy- which I hope we can get fitted in.

Thursday: By this point if we have any homework which not been completed, we have to get it done, and practice the spelling/vocabulary words which we may or may not have had time to actually study earlier in the week. More moving plans for Josh.

Friday: Gear up for Saturday. This maybe the only night in which we stay home and just chill out as a family. I know that the MIL is planning to move some of the things she will be taking with her to California into our place.

Saturday: Seriously, the day with no time left and its still a week away. This is the day in which Josh will be moving his mom out of her apartment and into a storage shed and into our house for a few days before she moves to California to move back with her parents. Jacob also has his first football game and Emily has dance class. I guess I have broken the only one thing per child plus scouts, because Emily is in 2 different dance classes. I have no excuse except that she likes the second one, it’s free and she gets a much better work out from it than she does from her jazz dance class. The church is also having a children’s event on Saturday afternoon that the kids want to attend. MIL is moving in with us until Wednesday and I am sure there is something else that I am forgetting.

Sunday: Church in the morning and small groups in the evening. I might get to the grocery in the afternoon. Ugh, the worst time to go is Sunday afternoon. But Josh will be sulking since he won’t be at the race in Dallas.

So that’s just what we have planned for this week. Are you tired yet? I am and its only Monday morning.

We did have a great weekend and I think I made some great contacts and hope that all that was attempted this weekend, will not be for nothing.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for the saints. Philippians 6:12-18

I opened my Bible this morning at work and this was the scripture I laid my eyes upon. It was a moment sent straight from the Lord. This week has been one of the most emotionally trying times of my entire life. The place where I spend 9 hours a day has begun to attack me. I have spent more time on my knees this week crying my prayers of patience, wisdom and restraint the last three days than I believe I ever have in such a short period of time. The Lord has been good to me. I believe I will rise from this situation with a clearer head and a gratefulness for the time that I didn’t think I could ever have. I think that this situation clarified a lot about myself and those around me. It was an eye opening situation that in hindsight I am glad happened. Even in the moment, I knew it needed to happen. Things NEEDED to be said. And being placed in this situation I was allowed to be me and encouraged to stand up for myself and lay everything on the table. And I was able to do it because I had spent those hours upon hours in prayer to the Lord.

As difficult a time it was for me and as truly mentally and physically exhausted I was at the end of each day, it was worth it.

Is it the weekend yet?

I have always been taught: "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all."

So there you have it, I am not saying a thing, because what I have to say--could probably get me fired.

And that's my week.

Ugh.

Ice Cream thief

I walk into the kitchen briskly, on a mission, only to find my son standing on a stool, with his head in the freezer, with the box of Chocolate Chip Ice cram open and a spoon in his mouth.

No bowl, no time for that!

I was so shocked all I said was “Jacob?!”

To which he turned to tears and ran to his room, giving himself more punishment than I had planned to.

At least it wasn't down his underwear this time.

Who me, crazy?

For the last six months or so as I lay in bed I felt as though I might slip right out. You see, when you sat on the bed it felt fine. It was only after you laid down and tried to get comfortable that you realized something was wrong. I would mention this to Josh and he would laugh it off, and call me “crazy.” But I knew I wasn’t. I couldn’t be. I would start the night off down about a foot away from our headboard; see: wall. In the morning I would be crammed up in the corner between the wall and the night stand. I move around at night, but not that much.

I tried to figure out what was wrong with the bed, because something obviously had to be “wrong” and I was not slowly slipping into crazyland. I flipped the mattress, I flipped the box springs. I moved it around. I had finally given up and basically moved my sleeping in the middle of the bed in order to have a only slightly slopped sleeping experience rather than one that mirrored the alps ski slopes.

My sleep had become restless and downright painful because of this problem. I woke up nearly every morning with a crick in my neck from trying to keep myself from slipping of the bed. Between my time at the computer and my time in bed, my poor neck never got a break.

Yesterday I decided to clean our bedroom. I even documented the before and plan to document the after-once we finish the final stages today. I started on my side of the bed, under the night stand. I simply plunged my hand between the bed and the nightstand to pull up whatever treasure had fallen off the night stand or had be brought there by the dogs. You will never guess what the first thing I pulled out was.



The wheel to the bedframe. The wheel had fallen off! I wasn’t crazy! The bed HAD been at a slope. I had been slipping off. I grabbed the wheel and proudly walked down the hallway and forcefully showed Josh the wheel.

“Ha!” I said, “I am NOT crazy!”
“You may have been right about the bed,” he says, “But that doesn’t mean your not crazy.”

Happy Easter

For Easter this year we attended church and then had a wonderful meal at our house with the neighbors as our guests. After dinner we had the traditional Easter Egg Hunt- which takers longer to hide the eggs than to find them. We had about 60 eggs for 3 kids to find. They had a great time.

Bowling on Good Friday

Sorry for the lack of posts, but this has been a terrible, horrible no good week.

But I did have a half a day yesterday and we took the kids bowling and had a great time.



Emily, stepping up to the line.



The lift off.



How will she do?




Daddy with the release.



Wow, this ball is heavy.



How will it do?

We did have a fun time. I actually won both games, which if you have ever bowled with me, know this was a Good Friday miracle. I never bowl over a 60 and easily broke 100 each game. We did bowl with the bumpers up, but I swear that didn't help my game, much.

Awareness test

Awareness test- courtesy of my father. Thanks DOD! I totally passed and failed!

Sick Kids

So now after getting up at 5:30 and dragging my butt to work, I get the call that Emily has a fever. Yeah for me. So now I am home, in my pj's again (YEAH!) and working on my reports from home. With "The Fairly Godparents" in the background. Oh, yeah, and a sick child who is hacking up her left lung.

My favorite things

I was listening to one of my favorites songs this weekend: “My favorite things” by Julie Andrews. I remember the first time I heard this song, I was in the first grade and my teacher was Mrs. Susan Harris. I only remember the first name because of the obvious. She must have loved that song, because we would listen to it, over and over again. And I feel in love with it. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized where the song had originated. I listened to the song this weekend and was inspired. Here are a few of my favorite things.

I love pink.

I love Hallmark commercials.

I love movies that make me cry.

I love memories.

I love watching my children swing.

I love holding babies up to my chest and listen to them breathe.

I love getting mail.

I love a good sale.

I love wiener dogs.

I love oogeling peoples lives on the internet.

I love planning.

I love children singing.

I love to think of myself as someone I’m not.

I love giraffes.

I love surprise presents that are true surprises.

I love talking on the phone.

I love my friendships.

I love writing letters.

I love pink lemonade and peanut butter cookies.

I love shopping for other people.

I love shoes and bags.

I love finishing a SuDuKo.

I love all things Disney.

I love the smell of rain in the desert air.

I love high school basketball games.

I love good green chili.

I love snuggle time.

I love that Jacob calls me “Crumbcake.”

I love good friends.

I love tiny pink baby dresses.

I love the smell of fresh cut grass.

I love Greys Anatomy, Thin Mints, Oprah, birthday money, afternoon naps, tomoatoes, Burger King crowns, shortalls on little boys, glitter, office supplies, a brand new blank notebook, lists, fleece, my new camera, red shoes, making cupcakes, puffy loveseats, elevators, Joey and Pacey, REM, clean sheets, lip gloss, a good steak, Tom Petty, wrapping presents, the smell of coffee brewing and when the sun comes out from behind the clouds.

Today is Saturday! Yeah! I am so excited! To not be a work! And use lots of exclamation marks! Yeah!

We have "big" plans for today which include a "photo-shoot" with the kids in their Easter clothes, possible "photo-shoot" with Amy and a much needed cut and color for me! Wrapped up with a little light cleaning and I think I will call it a day.

In other news, Congratulations to Annika in the birth of her son, Liam. He is TOO cute!

Jury Duty?

So I had to attend Jury Duty yesterday and was actually picked to serve. So if I am a little out of pocket this week, you all know why. This particular trial is scheduled to last all week long, yeah for me.

**********************
Edited to add:
He plead guilty, wasted a day for me, earned me $46 and a Jury Duty "war story".
I am back at work and back to postin'-just have to be motivated now...

When I am 100 years old

I had a post all ready about Jacob’s big Blue and Gold Banquet from last weekend, but that has been shelved to bring you what I find to be one of the funniest things Jacob has done it quite a while.

Last night I was going through his “Thursday Folder” which contains all the work he has completed in the last week. Usually one every two weeks he brings home a story that he has written and illustrated. There was a story in his folder last night. I read the story he brought home while I sat at my kitchen table I laughed harder that I had in weeks. It has to be the funniest thing I have ever read. I scanned it last night so that I could write about it today, so here you go:

When I am 100 years old I will have a TV. I will have a mustache. I like to watch TV. I would look like a old man. I will also be old. I will have a baby.

And a picture of him-with his mustache.

You may all laugh now.

My babies, oh- my babies

Recently in my home my eldest, Emily has been “reverting” if you will to her childhood- which she left 5 minutes ago. She is still in fact still 9 years old but was going on about 16 for a while. Talking back, slamming doors, the eye-roll and the great stomp off into her room. It had become quite a place to be in our home, especially in the evenings, when she is tired and worn out from the day. There would be all out wars. Serious attitude adjustments and serious contemplation of boarding school. Her life was about the make-up, shoes, HSM2 (High School Musical 3 for all of you lucky enough to not know what that stands for) and iCarley. She had turned into a tween, and she wasn’t supposed to be there for another couple of years.

But recently she has begun to cling to her stuffed animals a little more in the evenings and she has wanted my assistance in choosing her outfits for the day. It was a bit odd in that she wanted my help with anything, or that she wanted my opinion, as it has been shunned for quite a while. She has been allowing me to hold her hand in public and not just when we cross the street. She has wanted loads of hugs before I leave in the morning and is always excited when I get home. She has been extremely helpful in the kitchen- cooking dinner on Monday night all by herself! It was as good of spaghetti as I would have made. She has just been more pleasant.

But now when we sit down in the evenings after dinner has been eaten, homework has been completed and baths have been had I have a little boy sitting to my right to snuggle up with me and my girl- who has been beating him to my side in the evening in the snuggle departments. It is a time that I am required to slow down, sit still and enjoy just being with my children. I know this time will end, sooner than I ever want it to. So for now, I sit on the couch and soak up their love and snuggles for as long as they will let me.

TAKS Master

Today was that dreaded day. The day we have been fearing for months on end. The day that I lost as much sleep over as Emily. It was the day of the first of her TAKS tests, the reading portion.

They have been prepairing for the TAKS all year. Their entire curiculum is based around the test preperation and how to pass this stinky test. One thing they did was yesterday they had a red-carpet event with all the TAKS masters. When I came home last night and picked up Emily from the sitters house, she and Claire were still all done up in there duds and actually excited about the test today. For which I am grateful. I wanted Emily to not be worried about it, like I was.

Here she is in all her glory!

March 4, 2008

I voted today, did you?

Update

An update blog- nothing really interesting or life changing, but I haven’t been excited to speak about anything in particular, but have wanted to put “pen to paper” all week, and nothing seems to come out well.

Josh is enjoying his new job, it has its good and bad days and challenges. But I think that it is something he can excel in and I am excited to see him loving his job again.

Emily did well in the science fair. It was a few weeks ago and everybody got a participation ribbon. She enjoyed herself and was proud she had entered. I have a feeling we will be conducting 2 science experiments next year. She also has started to do better in school. We received a progress report last week and she has raised most of her grades and only one of them is below what we would like it to be. I think it was this time last year that she started doing better, so maybe it just takes her a little longer to grasp the concepts and run with them. When I gave her a spelling test last night she only missed 2 and they were the hardest 2 words, one which I still struggle with today. So I think we are trucking right along with school. The dreaded TAKS test is on March 5th and I am anxious for that to be behind us and get ready for the next one. I am confident she will pass, but nervous at the same time.

Jacob is going to drive me crazy. Plain and simple. He won’t eat, he poops in the bathtub and he has turned into this horribly whiny child. Last night we had another showdown over dinner. We had lasagna, which was really good for coming from a frozen box and he tried to throw up while “trying” it. I was so angry. It just about threw both Josh and I over the edge because all he eats is chips, crackers, carrots and rice crispy treats. Ugh, I don’t know what I am going to do with him. He got into big trouble at school this week and lost recess for the week and the Wii at home. He is just struggling in every way possible.

I am doing well. I am in the process of getting prepared to start looking for teaching positions again this spring/summer to begin in the fall. Hopefully if I hit it hard and fast this spring I will be able to go into the summer knowing that I will be in the classroom this fall. Also, I am busy planning our fabulous trip to Disney World and now a cruise with my best friend Amy. I love to travel and feel like this is the year to do it. I want to do and see as much as possible. I want to take the kids and expose them to as much as possible. I got called for Jury Duty! I am so excited. It is in a couple of weeks and I can’t hardly wait! I know it sounds silly, but I have wanted to be called for a while and I am so excited that I finally was. I hope I get picked and actually get to see the entire process.

So that is all for us. Same boring stuff as usual, but I need to break the writers block that I have.

The Nerds

In high school we were the nerds. We were a group of friends that were relatively smart, liked to have a good time and were relatively well behaved. We had our stupid high school moments, like Kathryn yelling at the poor lady at a restaurant about some chicken in her salad, Vance letting me drive his mustang, Annika and I with our spider, Heather and my time in Germany, the drive to buy Garth Brooks concert tickets which resulted in a speeding ticket for me and our “Senior Trip” to White Sands. These were the people who I spent hours upon hours with, laughing, learning and just being kids. Many Friday nights spent at Village Inn, the Movies 8 and at all of our homes.

Just 2 years ago the last of my friends from high school got married. I was the first almost 10 years ago and Kathryn was 2 years ago. Two of my dear friends are pregnant right now, adding a fourth and fifth little “nerd” to the group of people. Three of the “nerds” don’t have children, yet. We are all busy living our lives in several different parts of the country and do our best to keep in touch via twice yearly email rounds in which we all update each other on any events that have taken place in our lives. If a significant event has taken place, such as an engagement or pregnancy we update each other immediately. It is exciting to be involved in these peoples lives still after all these years in any way possible. So far, any special update has always been great, wonderful news but unfortunately we all received horribly sad news about a week ago. My dear friend Annika, whom I have known since the 2nd grade has had a horrific event take place. The person who I confided in about a lump I found in my breast in high school and repeatedly urged me to tell my parents. The one whom with I created and performed a play in the second grade and wore matching Esprit sweatshirts in the fourth grade. She was the one friendly face in my classes when I moved back from the three years I spent in Germany. The spider. My dear friend Annika’s mother was in Puerto Rico a few weeks ago on vacation with her husband and was snorkeling. She fainted in the water and was taken to the hospital there in Puerto Rico and was there for several weeks. Last week they transferred her to Fairfax (where they live) and after consulting with several neurologists decided to take her off life support. She passed away Monday morning.

This news has devastated me and cemented me into my “middle-age” status. When I thought we were all doing well, getting married and having babies we are all shook by the event in which all of us know is coming. We all know all of our parents will eventfully pass away, but we are supposed to be quite a bit older than we are now. This kills me for Annika, for her siblings, for her father and for her little unborn baby boy who will never know his grandma “Big Mama.”

NKOTB part II

With the probing of my dear friend Amy I thought I would let you into what it was like to grow up in my house. I am an only child and was privy to many “adult” conversations and included in the sarcasm fests that would often time take over our house. My parents, a conservative and a liberal (in ALL ways, shapes and forms of the word) made for an interesting time growing up. I like to think I came out right in the middle- a little bit of both mixed together and created the mess that I am. Now because they are as opposite as white and black, they have always “bickered” over things which really don’t matter. Not ever really fighting, no chairs thrown or angry words but a good jabbing from both of my parents to each other and myself has always been the norm. And then it crossed into blogland.

I never knew I would get such a strong reaction from my post on the great NKOTB. But apparently my parents have some strong feelings about the concert that I was taken to back many, many years ago. Here are their comments from my previous entry.

Lets make one thing very clear. Your parents did not drive 8 hours to see the NKOTB
concert. They drove 8 hours so you and your friends could see the concert. Dear old Dad
never even went into the concert hall - he spent the evening in the hallway with the rest of
the taxi drivers.DoD

Your father complains a little too much. The truth, as I remember it, was that he begged to go
to the concert and you FINALLY conceded to let him go. I think he was on the front row
singing along to "The Right Stuff".Momwho has a much better memory that DoD

And there you have it. I am surprised that it ended there, to be honest. But I think what is even funnier is the image of my very conservative father on the front row with his hand in the air waving along to “The Right Stuff”. And if you have ever met my father, this should be hilarious to you as well!

NKOTB for LIFE!

So, what is one to do with a few hours to kill on a Sunday afternoon and no desire to clean her house?

Why this of course:
http://www.nkotb.com/

I watched every video and sang to every song and hoped and prayed that a reunion was in fact going to happen. As they were the first boy band of my era, they will always hold a place in my heart. I knew every song they sang- but none of the dances, because living overseas at the time, we did not get MTV, and I didn't see many of the videos until years later. But my parents did drive me over 8 hours on their anniversay to see them in concert, so I can't complain too much, can I?

Life has really been eating me alive this week. I have been super, duper busy with not a moment in time to work on anything truly fun. with the exception of actually booking the trip and making quite a few other plans.

So, let’s see, what has been going on here…

On Tuesday night we had a second failed attempt to attend the science fair. We now know FOR SURE it is next Tuesday. We got a note home yesterday confirming this. I am about ready to kick myself over it. Plus, you have to love how the PTO hi-jacks the affair and requires that you attend the PTO meeting before the Science Fair. I get that that the PTO is important, but, everybody volunteers in their own ways and the Sumpters have sold their soul to all things Scout.

Wednesday night we hurried up and headed over to church. The kids have this new class that they really seem to enjoy- it is more activities based and they are excited to attend church on Wednesday night, which is more than I could say when I was their age. I also enjoy going because we have begun a new Beth Moore study. I think I will really enjoy it, I just got my book this week, because I was out of town last week. So now I am playing a little bit of catch up but I am excited at the possibilities.

Last night we had Boy Scouts, at our house. 7 boys that are 7 years old running around like hose monkey’s, need I say more?

And then, there is the cookies. Thank goodness we are only 2 full weeks away from the end of the sale. Emily is about 380, still a ways to go to hit her mark, but we have three booths this weekend and hopefully we will boost those numbers up here this weekend. Work has dried up, I have only sold like 6 boxes all week, yuck. I was selling 20 boxes a day the first week. So, I hope we can make our goal of 540 and she can earn all the stuff she is aiming for. I am ready to be done, because I am afraid we are going to end up with a ton of cookies. I am not checking anymore out because I am afraid to have to turn them back in. I am not going to be the one to turn in too many. Not me, no sir-ee.

So there is our life in a nut-shell.

I have nothing today. Work has sucked the soul right out of me. I have tried several times to be cute, witty, profound and I got nothing. I can tell you all about the property I saw last Monday if you like, but trust me, you don’t want to know.

Wow, it is actually going to happen

Wow, it is almost real. We are really going on this long awaited trip and I can hardly believe it. I have wanted to return to Disney World since I last left it almost 8 years ago. I love the magic and whimsy of it all. Even though I have seen the underbelly of the “show” that they produce everyday while working there, I still love the idea of taking my children to such a wonderful place. Even though I have seen The Little Mermaid smoking out back with her fin unzipped, I want more to see my kids faces light up when they see the castle.

We have been planning this trip for years, the kids have heard me talk about it time and time again. I think Jacob is excited at the possibility (as he gave me the money he made in his garg sell yesterday to go towards our trip to Disney World, even though he doesn’t know we are going in 3 months!) of going, I don’t think he even really knows what the whole thing is about, but he is still excited at the possibilities. And even though Emily has been to the Magic Kingdom she doesn’t remember it, and when we talk about it her eyes light up. I can’t wait to see their faces when they see where we are going.

And now it is almost real, because today, I bought the flights for Emily, Jacob and I. We will see if Josh is going to come, haha- I am half a credit from getting a free flight, so we are holding off to book his, as I should get that extra credit sometime soon, hopefully. And then it will only cost $10 to book his flight to join us. It is an amazing feeling knowing that we are actually going. I can’t wait. It’s only 88 more days! I think I might drive Josh a little crazy talking about dining reservations and height requirements (Jacob can ride all but 2 as it stands right now, and he is only 2 inches short for those 2!). But I really don’t care who I drive crazy because this is our big vacation that I can’t wait to take!

Now I just have to get over my fear of calling and booking the room/tickets/meal plan. That really scares me for some reason.

Grag sell for kids

So what do you on a Sunday afternoon when mom has kicked everybody outside because it is finely a nice day and there is NO need to be inside playing on the computer, Wii or watching TV?

You have a garage sale for kids:


And someone actually gave my son money for half used pencils. I have to wonder about these neighborhood kids!!

A two week update

It has been a day or two since my last post and many things have happened around our household.

Most importantly I turned 30. It was a great day, I got everything I wanted and more. Except the promotion, but I didn’t let it dampen my day at all.



Cookie sales are going very well. As of this morning Emily was at 258 boxes sold and we have both a Wal Mart booth and a Wag A Bag booth tomorrow, so we should be able to kick it up over 300 in no time. We are ALMOST half way there. I am not sure we will make it, but I am sure hopeful! She is neck in neck with another girl in the troop for most cookies sold. It will be a race to the end!



Jacob had his pine wood derby last weekend. He only won one race in his heat, but he had a great time and I feel good about next years race. There were a ton of boys participating and there were some really neat cars racing.




Josh received official notification that he has been released from the county last week. A bit of a bummer, but not a surprise at all. The surprise is that because he could never take/have any time off his check for unpaid vacation and holiday pay is enough for us to take a nice little vacation. We are planning a nice little SURPRISE trip to Disney World this spring. We are not telling the kids, but I am so excited I may pee myself. Plus we can’t really tell the kids, because we have been having some trouble with behavior and don’t want it to seem like we are rewarding the bad behavior.

I guess nothing besides cookies and planning a surprise trip is going on with me. But that is plenty for me. And the whole turning 30, well, that was exhausting. I am glad its over and the stress of it has past. Now I just have to figure out how to get my face back up where it used to be.