Daisy of Love

I have the house all to myself tonight...I could be getting SO much accomplished, but I can't seem to pull myself away from this Daisy of Love marathon I have created. Sigh... Having kids has probably saved me at least fifteen pounds...I was sure to be a soap and bon bon girl :) Great, thinking about it makes me want some Lucky Charms right now.

I just got home from Chicago this evening and I thought mostly the whole drive about everything I was going to get done while the kids were at Grandmas and Marc flies home. I was mostly going to finish writing about my Chicago trip and get a little wine buzz. But the first thing I did was turn on the TV to unwind a little. I recorded this crappy show a couple months ago...I got suckered into Rock of Love 2 too...dammit. I thought this one was harmless, I mean WHY would I want to spend my whole night watching this show...but I CAN'T stop.

I'm four episodes in and I don't plan on stopping any time soon. I HAVE to see what happens when Fox gets a call from his girlfriend ;) Besides, I have to do something with myself for the next eight hours. I am going to have a really hard time falling asleep. I HATE being in this big house all alone...gives me the creeps. Why do I have to be so scared of the boogie monster AND the dark...

Have I really just sat here and watched four more episodes??? I can't believe it is after 3AM. BUT I also haven't gotten those Lucky Charms ;) I wanted to stop before the last episode, but then the preview showed the exes coming back and those are always sooo good. I think I am tired enough to fall asleep now. No more recording crap!!!

Chicago - Vegas Style

I used to think that my need to go...go...go...was just my personality, but now I think it's just the Vegas blood in me. My aunt and uncle are HUGE Cubs fans and they always spend some time in Chicago when they come to visit me...they usually go to several baseball games. My mom, the kids, and I decided to join them this year...we have NEVER been as pooped while visiting Chicago as were during this trip.

Wednesday
My aunt and uncle left a day earlier than us to catch a baseball game. We had to get a nice early start today so that I could get my grandma here with enough time to get to the Cubs game. After Mom and I dropped Grandma off at the station, we made our way to the Field Museum. I think that one might be my favorite...it has a good mix so that both the kids and I can enjoy it. We were all having such a good time that we stayed until they kicked us out...literally. That place starts shooing you out fifteen minutes before closing.

The kids LOVE the Underground Adventure.

After we left the museum we began our next adventure...finding the hotel. We are staying at the Holiday Inn at Market Place/Plaza/Square or whatever...it's in the Sun Times building. I usually stay downtown and know my way around pretty good I think. BUT I must say...I like this place a lot. The rooms are nice and there is a food court here (that will be REALLY convenient in the mornings.) There is also a subway station connected to the building.

My family takes the subway A LOT when they are here. I have stayed clear of it because I am usually here with the kids by myself. I pick my battles and dealing with three children on a subway alone is NOT one I am up for. BUT they are getting to an age where I am less intimidated by the idea...and I HAVE used the subway in NYC and Philly (why not add Chicago to the list).

The scariest part was waiting for the train to come. I wouldn't let the kids get off the bench until then because I was so freaked by the thought of them falling on the tracks.

The boys were thrilled to ride the subway for their first time...

they LOVED standing up while the train was in motion.

Aspen was so pooped from the long day that she wanted to sleep at dinner. BUT, I realized tonight that my boys DON'T get tired. As if the day wasn't long enough, we decided to take our chances and head to American Girl and do some shopping in The Water Tower...but it had just closed :( So we just window shopped for a while. After we missed our station we decided that we walked so much we might as well just walk all they way back...it was a trek, let me tell you (especially after 10PM)...and when we got back the boys were still going...STRONG.

Thursday

Today was the lonnngest day I have EVER had in Chicago. My kids may not have been tired and grumpy, but I WAS. We started out at Navy Pier because 1) The kids and I LOVE it there and 2) I thought it was a good place for my mom to go to on her first visit in the Windy City. I realized two things while I was there, 1) Grandma LOVES to smoke and 2) Mom LOVES to text...I think that woman might text MORE than a teenager. I had to pull the parent card out on her at lunch and tell her it was inappropriate to text at the table ;)

After our walk along the pier ALL I could think about was fried dough and gelato...a stand advertised 24 flavors. I ate really healthy at lunch (too healthy) so I could be REALLY naughty. I was even tempted to order yummy key lime pie, but passed because come on...when would I have another chance to get fried dough outside of a fair??? After the kids got their Dip n Dots and Grandma got her sundae (my mom was being REALLY good and not getting anything) I walked to the end of the pier to get my dough...I wanted it so bad I was probably salivating...thinking the WHOLE time about what flavor of gelato I was going to have.

When I asked the guy what flavors they had he responded, "Well...we have vanilla?". I thought he was just being a smart ass...duh, there is ALWAYS vanilla...but no, he meant that was ALL he had. WTF??? I asked about the 24 flavors and he corrected me, "Actually, it says FIVE of 24 churning flavors" or something like that. FINE..where are the other four flavors dammit. Sigh...I tried to settle down and tell myself that vanilla gelato is really yummy too. Now what topping did I want, fudge or caramel? While I was debating about that he added, "Oh...we don't have any dough either"...OMG. I had enough...I gave up and walked away...I was NOT compromising with myself that much. I was down right PISSED...I had salmon and rice...NO pie...all for NOTHING. My addiction is obviously desserts ;)~

The kids had a great time though...they enjoyed their dessert. Aspen was really bummed though that she couldn't go on all the rides like the boys. She was especially upset over the flying swings.

But Great-Grandma made it all better...she got her some tokens for the boats.

AND a ticket for the carousel.

Aspen WAS super excited that she could go on one big girl ride.

She's a natural (see how her hands are in the air?)

We ended our visit at Navy Pier with a trip on the Ferris Wheel.

From there we took a taxi to the American Girl store. I might love that place as much as Aspen...poor Nicholas hates it though. My mom had to take him out after a while because he said he couldn't take all the girlishness anymore...where was the boy stuff? ;) Aspen decided that she was moving up from the bitty babies and REALLY wanted Molly. I couldn't justify getting her a $100 doll just because...getting her out of there WITHOUT the doll was going to be fun. Luckily I came across mini-dolls (I didn't know they made those) and was happy to see they had mini-Molly. I CAN'T wait to get her big Molly for Christmas.

My mom may be lacking a lot of female traits...but shopping is NOT one of them. That woman LOVES to shop. At least she likes girl stores now...I would have never thought, EVER,that I would be waiting outside of a BeBe store for my mom. Too bad we don't live closer...I might actually want to borrow her clothes now ;)

From there we made our way to the Lego Store for the boys. We had every intention of walking back to the hotel again, but then it started to rain steadily and my mom thought it would be best for us to get a taxi. I was too pooped to even think about leaving the hotel for dinner so we just ate at the restaurant in the lobby.

FRIDAY

Today was a GREAT day...besides telling my family goodbye when they had to depart for the airport this afternoon. We started out with a nice breakfast at a local cafe near the hotel. Grandma headed back to the room after that (she was still pooped from us dragging her around yesterday) but the rest of us decided we would take a water taxi...just for the sake of taking a water taxi (we were really just trying to kill time.)

We wanted to go into the Sears Tower, but it was a 45 minute wait. After the long last couple of days I knew better than to try and push my luck with the kids...I did NOT want to get the day off to a bad start by getting frustrated with their impatience. We ended up just walking around downtown some more instead.

After my family left I took the kids to the pool, hoping to tire them out. Who was I kidding??? Of course that didn't work. The boys seem to find anything and everything to fight about these days. I was definitely looking forward to some alone time after a very busy week. I had every intention of going out with some girls tonight or just spending some quality time with a friend but the thought of just vegging out by myself was just too appealing. I don't even want to entertain anyone with my presence tonight ;)~

A Wonderful Visit

Some of my family arrived from Las Vegas on Saturday...my mom, Uncle Eddie, Aunt Jen, and my grandma. I haven't seen any of them yet this year so it's been a real treat. It has been really great to see my mom again and boy has she changed in seven months. That woman loves herself haha. I will have to bring her back to Earth in a few months, but it is so nice to see her happy...finally.

The weather has been on our side so we have mostly just been hanging out here so they can enjoy a week of "perfect" summer weather ;) It has been so nice having them around my babies and simply enjoying and showing them what family can be about. I feel that here in Michigan my kids only have us, my grandma, and Marc's mom. It makes me really home sick. Why can't I just miss Vegas enough to want to go back? Ugh...but I DO hate it there...I know this will sound weird, but it's kinda boring. We could never have what we have here. I love the beautiful seasons here and what each of them bring. Besides, I think I do a good enough job as a mom (I hope) making up for most of my family being across the country....I'm a Mommy, Grandma, and Aunt all in one ;)

We had Marc's side of the family over on Sunday to visit. Everyone got some real entertainment while Amber and I played badminton against Becky and Blake. I would love to say that we were both retards, but apparently I am the weak link. Marc said that watching my mom and I play together was priceless. But I don't think I have ever laughed so hard playing a sport :) My mom and I were equally slow, and Amber and I couldn't stop hitting ourselves with the rackets. I even managed to hit myself if the face and make my lip bleed...yes, I am that clumsy.

Grandma cooked for us all day Monday. She started with her delicious coffee cake (whom Marc said he didn't like, but devoured it when he came home from work) followed by the best spaghetti EVER. It made me look forward to our upcoming week in Tenn. so much more...lots of Grandma's cooking :) I will have to try to behave myself a little though...it was when we got back from TN two years ago that I started to work out after a three year break. I felt so gross after eating sooo much.

We did A LOT of frog hunting too. My kids just love frogs. We found out that they like to hide in the rocks along the pond. At one point there were seven of us searching. Blake thought it was sooo cool that Aunt Jenny would hold the frogs (I won't). I hope my boys at least remember that it was always me that would go frog hunting with them. It's just so cute to see the adventure spirit in their eyes when we go looking...I don't want to miss a moment of it :)

My mom spent A LOT of time with the kids in the sand. They made all kinds of stuff, but the coolest thing was a volcano. She even made lava flow out of it. When it got dark she put some fireworks in it. The kids loved it. Hmmm...if I am this awesome now I wonder what kind of Grandma I'll be (Grandma's are always more fun :)

Chucky Marathon

Okay...so I failed to mention that while we were on the RV this past week we spent most of that rainy day watching Child's Play movies. It was what Nicholas picked for his movie to watch. He has been wanting to watch "Chucky" ever since he heard about it from one of Blake's classmates. It just so happened that there was a special set of four movies (Child's Play 2 - Seed of Chucky) for $13.

Blake, being the chicken that he is (but so am I), didn't want to watch the movie but couldn't take his eyes off it either. Then HE decided that we should watch number three. We took a "Chucky break" and went dune riding when it got nice out, but the kids were eager to watch The Bride of Chucky when we got back. Of course, once it was over Blake didn't want to go to sleep alone...I knew watching it at night was a bad idea. But that didn't stop him from watching Seed of Chucky the next day. It's a good thing the kids are used to naughty language because I think that is the worst part of those movies.

Chucky was pretty much forgotten once we got home...until Marc decided to practically bring him to life. Last night we had dinner with Jay and Meredith and were talking about our Chucky marathon. Meredith informed us that she has a Chucky doll at home. Marc got the brilliant idea of bringing him home to scare the kids. I was COMPLETELY against it. I knew Nicholas would be fine, I wasn't sure how Aspen would react, but I KNEW that Blake would freak out.

Marc almost forgot too (I knew he would so I kinda stopped protesting the idea) BUT then Jay ran over when we were about to leave the parking lot to remind him...sigh. We drove over to pick up Chucky...I have to admit that "I" wasn't thrilled of having him in the car with us at night. I made him go in the trunk and seriously thought about that hunk of plastic the whole ride home. That's probably why I totally sympathize with Blake...I know what it's like to be ridiculously scared.

I begged him to at least wait until morning. I knew that if we brought it in at night Blake would NOT go to sleep easily. Besides, to scare a child right before bed is just plain mean. Of course Blake was the only one up when we get home. Marc just couldn't wait. Blake had a total freak attack. The poor boy was scared to death I think...I'm surprised the other two didn't wake from his screams of terror.

I guess you could say I was no longer team Blake this morning. I told Marc to wait until I had the video camera before he showed the other two kids. I don't even think Nicholas blinked a wink when Marc brought Chucky in (is that normal?). Aspen was a little anxious at first but quickly became Chucky's "friend" when she was convinced he wasn't real. Blake still wouldn't calm down. It's pretty bad when your baby sister tries to explain to you that it's not real :) Even though it was mean of me to record it, the video is hilarious...I posted it on facebook. Hopefully Blake will laugh about it in a couple years.

We finally calmed Blake down and agreed to take Chucky back to Meredith's house. Getting him in the car with Chucky in it was a very dramatic scene. He couldn't decide which was worse...Chucky at our house, or in the car with us to take away? Aspen befriended the doll very quickly. She was very upset that she couldn't bring him into La Rue's for breakfast (she even cried). We agreed to let her take him inside to meet Dave, but Blake refused to go in the restaurant while Chucky was inside.

Aspen was very sad to give the doll back to Meredith but agreed when we told her she could play with him when we visit. Hmmm...maybe that's not a good idea. I don't know how I feel about Aspen playing upstairs with Charles Lee Ray this fall when Meredith watches her ;)

DeForest versus DeForest

You would think that I would have learned by now NOT to ask Marc to play games with me...but I guess I'm a slow learner. He showed me a lonnng time ago that the only way to keep the peace (and remain talking after a game) was to basically let him win. Unfortunately, for the both of us, I'm not really the peace keeping type.

I remember our first "competitive" game like it was yesterday. It was Checkers of all things. We were at a little cafe in Reno and we had probably only been together for a couple of months. I had already had the pleasure of hearing him go nuts over computer games and the N word no longer had the same impact it did before I heard it on a daily basis. But I didn't think he was like that in person?

Needless to say, I whooped his butt at Checkers. He must have forgotten how to play or something because he was just awful. It was definitely an easy win. But any happiness I was feeling was instantly gone when he stormed out of the cafe...I thought he was going to leave me there. I followed quickly behind...very confused. He sped out of the parking lot like a mad man and just ranted on and on...mostly about how HE doesn't get beaten by girls (was this guy serious?)...well he did by THIS girl. I don't remember much after that, but I DO remember that we had a rematch a few days later and he won (he must have done some research on how to play or maybe I let him win so the day wouldn't be ruined).

So today should not have come as a surprise to me. I asked him to play a game of bags with me. He wasn't too bad, but I still won. Instead of saying, "That was fun" or "Good game" he flips the game pieces over. I think I must be getting immune to his behavior because in response I asked him if he was ready for me to kick his ass in mini golf next.

Mini golf did not go as planned. Before we started playing I decided that I did NOT want to keep score but Marc was very persistent. He must have been feeling confident about his game. He got all serious on me, "How many mulligans do you want...one, two, or three?" I knew what a mulligan was...pretty much a do-over, but what I DIDN'T know was that he meant one for the entire course. Marc usually needs more do-overs than I do, but he is a better putter. Why would I want to give him more than one freebie?

Just as expected, he used a mulligan within the first couple holes. Hole five was really tough. I didn't necessarily miss (usually we take a do-over if we hit up hill and the ball rolls right back)...my ball got stuck in the water. The current was supposed to send the ball through a pipe but it got caught on a rock. I HAD to do it over. He asked if I was using my mulligan but I thought he was just being a turd. Later in the game I REALLY needed a do-over (one of those damn hills). He informed me that I already used my mulligan, "Hey, you're the one who picked only one"'. Frustrated AND pissed, I think it took a good four strokes just to get the ball up the hill. He was WAY ahead of me in the game and I was NOT happy. I told him that I didn't want to keep score anymore but he said, "Too bad".

It ended up coming back to bite him in the butt. A few holes later he got stuck. It was difficult, but even Aspen got the ball to bounce through the water (I think that only pissed him off more). He just couldn't get the job done...after about seven stokes (and allowing me to take the lead) he threw his putter over the hole. I don't usually get embarrassed by his behavior but the course was packed with people. I knew the score keeping was over and I also knew better then to harass him about being a quitter. Oh well, at least we quit while I was ahead :)

Silver Lake (7/20-7/23)

Monday –
I know you won’t believe it, but I might have actually had us staying at the dumpiest campground in the Silver Lake area. I guess dumpy isn’t the right word, but it definitely wasn’t “nice”. Those Yogi Bear parks are a hit or miss, but usually when you book a “premium” site you expect something good. The look on Marc’s face when we pulled up to our site was that “you’ve got to be effin kidding me look”. It was a back-in site, which isn’t always a problem, but the sites were way too tight for our big rig. Luckily we had passed a really nice “RV Resort” so I made the suggestion of just going there. Thank God he took it…he is usually persistent about making things work which usually ends ugly.
So without even attempting the tight squeeze we made our departure. I was a little pissed at the park anyways. When I was checking in they said they couldn’t accept our discount card during the month of July. WTF? On the back of the card it says that it is good at all Jellystone Campgrounds for a 10% discount. When DO people camp….JULY, duh?
The Silver Creek Resort was probably one of the nicest RV parks we have ever stayed at. The sites were really big with nice paved and grassy areas. It was even the same price as the other one. That is where the fun began. We went back to Jellystone to inform them that we were NOT staying on their property. The girl was so annoyed with me. She was persistent on trying to persuade me into moving to a different site. She just wasn’t getting it… I wanted to just say to her, “Look, if we try to squeeze in and mess anything up on our RV “you” are going to deal with my husband for the evening instead of me.” Then she went on and on about how they are not supposed to give any refunds and how they would be losing A LOT of money (I just made the reservation last Monday?). I finally said to her, “If you don’t want to refund me that’s fine, but I am just going to call my credit card company and charge it back”. She shaped up and decided to give me all but $10 back, I felt that was fair.
Our next dilemma was deciding where to eat. The area is very small making the choices very slim. Wanting to make the evening go as smoothly as possible, I agreed to the thirty minute drive to Applebee’s. After thirty minutes had passed, starving, and still not knowing how much further to our destination I couldn’t help but regret the decision. At that point I wished we could be more like Mike and Trish and be more open to trying new places. Funny, we had just discussed this with them on Friday. But I do have to admit, all that was forgotten after we made it to our “safe” place and our soul food was fantastic.

Tuesday –
We have our own little routine on the RV. Everyone usually wakes up between 9:30-10. I make breakfast and we just hang out for a couple hours so Marc can get some work done. We usually don’t get going until 12 or 1PM. Then we go and do some area activities. Today we went on Mac Wood’s Dune Rides. It was a good time, but I don’t think we would ever do it again. The kids really enjoyed it. Aspen loved that she was able to sit like a big girl without a car seat. We also toured the Little Sable Point Lighthouse. I knew that Marc was afraid of heights, but I didn’t think he would start getting paranoid when we were half way up. None of the kids have inherited his fear of heights so the rest of us enjoyed the look out once we were on top. I didn’t bring the kids bathing suits with us (I didn’t know the lighthouse was right on a public beach area), but the kids enjoyed the water anyways…a little too much. We also went mini golfing later…that was a hoot. It deserves a blog all on its own ;)

Wednesday –
A new tradition this RV season has been going to a store and buying a few movies to watch during the trip. We sleep in so late because we don’t start watching a movie each night until after 10PM. They really came in handy today because a storm came through.
Our original plan for the day was to visit a dairy farm and go horseback riding. Not really knowing what the weather was going to do (you just never know with good ole Michigan), we headed to the dairy farm. About five minutes before we arrived it started pouring. There wasn’t a single parking space available so we were going to have to park a good distance from the entrance. Marc nor I were in the mood to get soaked (or be around soaked cows) so we opted to drive through the parking lot so the kids could look at the cows…Hi and Bye Cows :) Wouldn’t you know it, after driving for another five minutes the rain stopped. Oh well, it just gives us an excuse to come back.
After the rain cleared up we went on a jeep tour through the dunes….way more fun. The kids had a blast. In fact, we all want to go again, no guide next time. We took the kids to the lake afterwards to get some of their energy out. We spent a lot of time in the RV today watching movies since it was so crappy out. Sometimes it is nice just to stay in though and snuggle :) I would love to spend another day here, but back home we go tomorrow :)

One of THOSE Mornings :(

After six purple hooter shots and one Malibu Breeze last night at bowling I expected this morning to be a nightmare, but I really wasn't expecting it to be one of "those" mornings. I had one goal when I got home last night...not to puke. I really didn't want another shot after the fifth one, but then Crystal sent another one over (dumb ass ;). It wouldn't have been so bad if she had come over and brought me back to her table, but right in front of Marc wasn't the best idea...the lectures began. "Your gonna puke...Remember, you said you weren't doing this again...OMG." But being the lushy friend I am, I went ahead and threw it back...besides, I haven't puked in like a month :) And those two incidents where I DID puke within two weeks just had to of been a fluke ;)

There is nothing more I enjoy than a challenge with Marc :) I probably would have declined that sixth shot if he hadn't started in on me. But I just had to prove him wrong. And I did :) Surprisingly, I even woke up before the alarm went off. I came downstairs to get on the computer since I had some time to kill. The boys weren't far behind me. They started playing the Wii. It wasn't long after that when the morning took its turn for the worst.

I went upstairs to get dressed. I wanted to stop by the gym after I dropped the boys off at camp, but after being upstairs for less then five minutes the screaming began downstairs. How can those boys be tired of each other after only being awake for less than fifteen minutes? I was instantly annoyed (I wanted Aspen to stay asleep so I COULD go to the gym) and quietly ran downstairs to do that yell while gritting my teeth thing that moms are known to do. And it was all over a damn controller, "He won't give it back to me!"..."He said he didn't want to play and now he's playing!" Soon after I heard a soft pitter patter above me :(

But whatever...so I didn't get to work out at the gym again, big deal. I sucked it up and got three kids ready and out the door instead of two. Once I got to the Nature Center I realized I had forgotten the boys backpacks (with their lunches)...sigh. What really pissed me off about it was I just had this feeling I was going to forget them...like deja vu or something. I already told myself NOT to forget them and even put them right by the door. I must have killed a little too many brain cells last night.

Back home I went, thinking to myself...what better way to get over not being able to go to the gym this week than indulging in a yummy 500 calorie Cinnamon Melt from McDonald's (with an iced coffee ;) OMG was it sinfully delicious :) Back I went to the Nature Center. I was so tired of that drive that I decided I was going to try a different route on the way home.

You know, there have been lots of times that I have thought to myself, "You really shouldn't text while you're driving" (the thoughts haven't stopped me of course), but the thought never occurred to me that I shouldn't mess with my navigation while driving. I was messing with the map when I looked up and saw I was headed right for a mailbox...I swerved quickly, but too late. BAM!!! Aspen quickly asked me if I hit a car. Ugh...I see the side-view mirror is closed. I seriously can't help but laugh at this point. ;) NOW I have to drive home and tell Marc I messed up yet another car...he's going to take away my licence. Before going home, I get out to check the damage. Luckily the mirror was still in tact...just the plastic over the blinker light was broken. Relieved a little, I get back in and head home, debating bringing him coffee in bed to break the news.

I also had to find a way to stop laughing. But I couldn't help it, I felt like it must be a dream...how could this be happening. How many times am I going to have to walk down that path where I have to tattle tail on myself....it's the worst. I always feel like a child when I have to tell him about my car screw ups :( He just got the BMW fixed after Nicholas hit it with the golf cart (my fault for letting him drive). Now I have to tell him about the Mercedes. Thankfully, he wasn't home when I got back :) I had a little more time.

I ended up meeting him for lunch (felt better about breaking the news in a public place). Luckily, he was in a fantastic mood about HoN :) When I started to tell him about the "incident" his first reaction was, "OMG...did you break the mirror off the car in the garage again?" (I have already done that to the Escalade once). That was actually a good assumption because it made the small ding not nearly as bad. Of course, HE did find more when he came out to examine it himself (what I thought was a splattered bug was actually a chip). Luckily, he was in such a great mood that he didn't get that upset about it, but he still didn't laugh about it with me :) Instead, I got that familiar look of disappointment. I just gave him a smile goodbye and told him I would try to bring her home in one piece :)

Tea for Two

Girls are never too old for a tea party. Aspen and I just finished having a little girl time outside. We brought out a blanket and her princess tea set. Cinderella was our special guest. We had delicious sugar cookies and started with coke, but we both agreed that water was a better choice. I took at least fifty pictures outside...she just looked so cute and happy I couldn't help it.

We really had a great time today. We did all kinds of girlie things. I put make-up on her and we painted each other's nails. I got a pedicure yesterday and she is obsessed with my green toenails. She says pink is her favorite color now, but I know she still has a secret love for green ;)

I didn't think the day was going to turn out this nice. We didn't get a good start this morning. I had to take her with me to drop the boys off at camp...she was surprising already awake anyways. I have done a horrible job with getting my butt to the gym lately...there are just so many things that I would rather do and I just can't find the motivation. BUT I really wanted to go this morning. But Aspen was not going to let that happen. She through a fit in the gym about going into the kids club. I spent fifteen minutes trying to beg and bribe her with no success. I finally just gave up and we left.

I DID get a small work out in at home. I did NOT play dolls with her today though. That was the deal we made at LaRue's (or the stance I was taking), since she didn't let me to go the gym I wasn't going to play dolls today. I probably shouldn't have done all the other fun stuff either, but I had looked forward to it too and didn't want to punish myself. I hate it at the end of the day when I start to analyze the poor choices I made. Like I wonder if I would have been a little more smooth and less irritable maybe I could have conned her into going in the kid's club? I was just so pissed at that moment that "I" wasn't getting "MY" way. Either way, this experience reminds me how much "fun" preschool drop-off is going to be the first few months :(

Wonderful Wednesdays

Biggles the stud
Oreo wasn't so happy, maybe it was the dress :)

I am really enjoying the kids this summer, but I also welcome Wednesday each week. It is pretty much my day to just do whatever I want to do. I usually don't do anything that exciting, sometimes I even just chill in Marc's office working on stuff that I can't just sit and do at my leisure at home. With the boys at camp, Aspen and I have spent a lot of one on one time together the last couple of days. I just don't think I could handle a third day in a row playing dolls. I got so bored with it yesterday that we tortured the cats. We dressed them up in doll clothes and made them dance.

I got to go to Food Dance for breakfast with a girlfriend this morning...it was so yummy. After that I went over to the office to work on our RV itinerary. I already have all the reservations completed, but I am extremely anal and organized. I put together this document that has the date, campsite, confirmation number, and any area activities that look interesting. I even put the address and phone number of the activity. It is A LOT of work. Well, my computer didn't save any of it. I save very impulsively all the time and had no idea it wasn't working. I spent well over two hours on it today :( I don't like "wasting" my Wednesdays :(

I was so pissed that I refused to spend anymore time on it today. Instead I took myself to Walmart for a quick pedicure. I would love to try the martini pedicures downtown but I can't figure out if it is worth it when I have to just jump right back into reality afterwards and I don't really consider myself an afternoon martini girl. I would love to do it while I am on vacation someday. Speaking of vacation...I am really feeling the need to go on a girls trip.

I am enjoying Summer so much that I have started really asking myself if going to school this fall is really what I want to do. Things will be so much different in a few years when all the kids are in school. What do I REALLY want to do with myself. Why can't I just be content doing what I am doing. I just need to make sure that I am doing it for me and not to prove a point to everyone else. Fall is going to suck...ugh. But I will at least drag myself to make it through the semester. I have too good an opportunity ahead of me to just walk away from it.

I have gotten to spend a lot of time with a friend this week since our boys have been in camp together. She used to work and doesn't really plan on going back to it when all her kids are in school. That tells me that I must not be missing out on too much (and she seemed to love her job). I have just been thinking lately that life is so short why not just enjoy it and the freedom I have been blessed with. Why do I have to be so damn ambitious???