Sweet Sixteen

My first baby, Savanna is 16 today!
She is the one who taught me how to be a mom and endured so many of my mistakes. She is the one who is most loyal and I will always be able to count on her. She is the one who brings life to our house, though sometimes with too much drama. She is the one who was the first grandchild in our families, the shining star. She is my only daughter and my sweet sunshine forever.
I love you Savanna!
Happy Birthday!

No one believes me!

I guess I am just not the "cheerleader" type! My daughter and my neice and people who didn't know me then just CANNOT fathom that I was a cheerleader in junior high. (in fact I was captain in 8th grade!) Not only that, but I was pretty good and I loved every minute of it, even the practices. Our team was the St. John's Tigers and our colors were green and gold. It was the 80's though, so our skirts were white and our sweaters were green and gold striped. Ours was a very small private school and those sweaters were OLD....very heavy wool for football season, but we only cheered during basketball season. We wore white Tretorns with a gold stripe. We also did a pom pom routine for each halftime break, which was the best part of each game, we actually had the full attention of the crowd. I do not have a single picture of me cheering; I'm thinking of trying to contact some of the other cheerleaders, but it would be kind of awkward after all these years. I still have my medals anyway!

Waiting for the Rain

It looks like it will rain! it has been too long, I am willing it to come down.

My goals for this weekend:

Do something fun for Savanna's birthday on Sunday
Take lots of photos
Relax for once; don't spend the weekend in a frenzy


That's IT! I always tell my kids to 'go with the flow' but I never do it myself. I rush from one chore or activity to another and I end up not even knowing where the weekend went.

Wish me Luck!

Late at Night

I am staying up TOO LATE! I have to get up at 5am! I am CRAZY!

But it is so nice when the kids are asleep (or quiet anyway) and the windows are all open bringing in fresh cool air and the crickets are chirping. I just love it. My ideal sleep schedule would be midnight to 8am....I dare to dream.

Tomorrow I should post about how many times I nod off during the day tomorrow. (occupational hazard when rocking babies) and how many times I think, "I stayed up too late!"

Needed a few days off

I just couldn't face writing down any of the crap that has happened in the last few days and I still can't.

Instead, I will remember that I only have two weeks left with my big kids. They leave for a four week visit with their dad on July 2. Part of me enjoys the break (especially from the high grocery bills with two teens!) but I mostly worry. Nobody can take care of their kids like their own mom. I will miss my lovely daughter, who is always on my side, even when I'm being irrational. I will constantly hope that this isn't the visit that turns my son into a "man" who doesn't need his mommy anymore. I dread putting them on a plane by themselves. I wish I had planned something fun for BEFORE they go, but we already have a trip planned for August, so there is no vacation time until then.

Two weeks seems very, very soon.

10 Things I wish I knew in High School

In no particular order:

1) I didn't really enjoy my life. I wish I had tried to imagine how hard it would be to always be responsible and accountable. Even when I was having a great time, I was always wishing that I was the next step ahead, getting a driver's license, getting a job, etc. I wish I had lived in those moments.

2) I had no idea how smart and pretty I was. I was horribly shy, even with girls, always thinking I couldn't possibly measure up. I had a brief chubby period when I was 15 and from then on, I always felt "fat" even when I wasn't.

3) I wish I had ignored the existence of boys. I had a few that were nice and plenty that really liked me, but I wasn't dating for my own reasons, just because I was asked. There were so many guys and almost none of them had any impact on my life. Pretty much a waste of time and a distraction.

4) I wish I had stuck with my guitar lessons. I only took one year and I didn't come away with any permanent "skills." It would be nice to be able to pick it up when I wanted to and play something basic, even campfire songs!

5) I wish I hadn't lost my first two diaries. Sometime between 15 and 17, they were gone. There weren't many entries, but I would love to have them now! I wish I had known how important they would be to me someday.

6) I wish I had been confident enough to stay in the college prep school I was in instead of transferring to the local public high school. Even with mediocre grades, I may have somehow ended up in college if I had instead of working until I got married and had kids.

7) I wish I hadn't idealized rock stars; it led to hanging around the guys who were in bands, and while often entertaining, it was a dead-end. Some of those guys were truly talented, but not a single one ended up in the music industry and lots were hooked on drugs before they made it to adulthood. I think I have already lost some hearing due in no small part to all the concerts and from sitting 10 feet from all their amps. I totally didn't fit in anyway, being a virgin and a non-smoker and all that "uncool" stuff.

8) I wish I had spent more time with my sister. Even though she was younger, she was much smarter than me and basically, did all the stuff that I wish I had done in high school and didn't do all the stupid things I did. I wish I had paid attention to her, I might have learned a few things.

9) I wish I had been able to "listen" to myself. There were some pivotal moments, when I knew I was going in the wrong direction, but went ahead anyway because I was afraid to admit to anyone that I was making a mistake.

10) I wish I had known how BADLY a perm would ruin my hair. I don't know what happened, but my best friend talked me into a perm when I was a freshman and what was once healthy, shiny slightly wavy hair was NEVER the same again. That stupid perm was a tight as a poodle for over SIX MONTHS! I don't know what kind of chemical crap her mom put on my hair, but it was just awful.

Today was really really bad

I am way down in the dumps today. 1) I think I am getting a cold from the babies. 2) we are so totally broke, this will be day 2 of pb&j for dinner. 3) today was the twins 1st birthday and they were horrible; crying, not eating, just so out of sorts. I finally gave them some Motrin and that seemed to help, maybe they're teething? 4) I had to yell at my 13yo. He got mad at Harry and shook him...I told him "There is NO excuse for shaking a little child!" and haven't really spoken to him since. 5) Brian did not get paid anything AGAIN ...and got a nasty virus on his computer, setting back his work AGAIN.

What's that line from "Heathers?" about the way that life can suck?

I was sailin' along...

and today my computer wouldn't boot up. It was the first time it ever happened without Harry's help. I had to reinstall OSX and my printer, so I am not now in the mood for anything else! I have no idea what happened, but I still get an error when I launch the OS. It was a pretty easy fix so far, but I still spent my evening doing it! Bllllleeeeeeecccccchhhhhhh!

Saving my Skin

I went outside for just a little while on Sunday to skim through a book (a scrapbook idea book of course!) and just like that, I sunburned my back. So every night I make Brian lube me up with Lubriderm. I have been using this lotion since I was 14 because I developed allergies to EVERYTHING else. I really do love the stuff!

How to torture a four year old...

My sister and I have been discussing what Harry should wear in her wedding this August. She didn't want a little mini-man in a tux, so we decided on a white sailor suit, but I just couldn't resist these shoes:



I have no idea if he will like them or what-but I think it might be my last chance to dress him up in such a babyish way.

Quite an Accomplishment!

My son Steven brought home two certificates from school this week and I was very excited. He's struggled in a few classes this year, so I was hoping that all my help and encouragement had paid off! Well, here's what he got:





Talk about things that make you go hmmmmm....

Thinking of Rainbows

Yesterday while I was driving Savanna to work, we saw a rainbow that was so low, it didn't even look like it was in the sky...all the colors were in an arc across the hills. I have never seen anything like it before. We got a LOT of rain this week and it looks like it might rain again tonight. I love the rain, can't get enough.

I can remember the first time Harry saw a rainbow. We were driving back from lunch with some friends and he was only a little over a year old. He has always looked for rainbows ever since. I hope he never stops.

My Girl is a "working" girl!

Savanna started working at Subway last week. She's not quite 16 and it's her first job. Total trip! When you have little kids, it seems endless and they will always be around-not so. I guess it would be easier if she was acting like a teenager about it; not wanting to touch gross "meat" or clean up messes or wear a goofy hat and apron, but she is like, totally mature about it. It's a good thing I have 4 year old Harry to keep me busy so I don't think about it too much.

Rainy days always make me ***relax***

It rained all day today and it was lovely. It was a day for really old tshirts and lounging on the couch (in between keeping Pete out of the dog food and hugging the never-satisfied Kate) The twins took a two hour nap without a fuss AT THE SAME TIME. It was glorious! I wish I could have done something productive, but since I was at my brother's house, I simply watched "Days of our Lives" and "Passions." Right before I left, Kate took TWO steps by herself. We really whooped it up and she was so proud of herself. Where did the babies go?

My Scrap Space v 10.4

I finally have all my "stuff" set up pretty much the best way I can right now....I am pretty satisfied with it! I got three spice racks for all my MM paints and labeled all my storage boxes. It is really nice knowing where everything is for once! All I need now is a new printer because mine just died a few days ago!

Kind of a Fun Day

Today we went shopping with my mom. I ended up toting Katy on my hip almost the whole time, but we had fun. My mom bought material to make my sister her wedding quilt and I got a Pulp mini scrapbook. It is very cute!

I have been trying to get back on a low-fat diet, but my Mom took me to Wendy's! I did have a plain chicken sandwich, which isn't too bad, but I had fries with it. I should have gotten the salad! I only have 10 weeks before my sister's wedding-barely enough time to lose what I need to. ACK!

First Day on the Job

Well, I've joined the fray....instead of just reading other people's blogs, I'm going to start one of my own.


Question is, will anyone read it?

Well, since I finally got around to archiving my photos, I don't have anything interesting to include here, so tough!

We drove out to a brand new library today and I checked out some movies and some books on digital photography. I thought I'd better figure out how to use my Rebel instead of just letting it do whatever on its own. In fact, the bathtub is calling me now....and it says to bring some books!