Saturday, July 25, 2009....3:17 pm

I'm happily napping away....I had been sleeping for about an hour.

I feel this poking on my shoulder....*poke....poke*

I opened one eye, see my daughter on the phone...then my one eye looks over at the clock...

I growl a bit....

I really need one more hour of sleep and I've put in my minimum + maximum time for napping. It's 2 hours...always. Not a minute less, not a minute more. 2 hours. Exact.

My one eye looks at my daughter, I raise an eyebrow...."what?"

"Can me and BFF in the WWW go over to _____'s house to go swimming....please?"

*growling....* I close my eye that was opened....let out a big sigh....

"I'll take you over...but you gotta find a way back...can your friend's parents bring you back?"

"Yup!"

"Okay, go change NOW....do not make me regret doing this...."

She happily skips off to change ... and of course what happens....she and her BFF in the WWW is taking their sweet time.

I'm growling a bit louder...."What you did, my dear daughter, is ILLEGAL! You...woke...up...your...mother!"

They hurriedly came out and off to her friend's house we went. I looked at my daughter..."Have you forgotten "Mother's Laws"?

Well, I'm very forgiving...but the rule is if they know I'm very tired and I'm down for my dose of 2 hours plus nap, they are not to wake me up unless there is an emergency such as...fire or someone dying.

But really, I rather the girls go OUTSIDE and have fun instead of sitting at the computers allllll day long ...so....

Yeah.

energy drainers....

all my nieces and nephews are...

energy drainers.

they drain your energies from you!

yes they do.

4 nieces and 3 nephews today celebrating one of my nieces' birthday...

but it was good to see almost EVERYBODY come together.

and I got to share holding baby Andrew. he was just so sweet. awww.

now it's late, and the kids have drained all of my energy from me today...i shall sleep well tonight.

good night.

Yippee for Friday

The long week is over! I never thought it'd be such a long week! I'm so glad it's Friday.

However, I'm not happy July is halfway over...that means summer is halfway over. Where is the warm days? We have had nothing but cool days....I want to go to the lake more often.

Tomorrow means a trip out to Sister #1's house for all the cousins to play together and jump in the pool and stuff....and just hang out. Oh yeah, I'm sure we 4 sisters will be gushing over our newest baby nephew, Andrew. Aw. Can't wait! If you wanna know who Andrew is, check out the Etsy pics on the right side of my blog---yeah, look to your right, and scroll down a bit. You see that baby lookin' at you with a hooded blanket on his head? Yeah? Isn't he adorable? That's Andrew! Yes! I can't wait to see him tomorrow.

Ashley and her BFF in the WWW are sleeping away in the living room, and I'm trying to catch up on stuff here....I got slammed with a migraine yesterday after work. Good thing I went to bed early. I feel....somewhat refreshed....

Now I need to jump in the shower and get my day started.

Have a happy Friday, y'all....

*sigh*

the house is quiet.

my daughter and her bff in the www is at another bff's house 1/2 hour away from here.

my son is at his grandma's for the week.

just me and the husband.

we're a couple of old farts...some life we have.

at least i'm cooking rice for my dinner with sauteed red/orange peppers and onions. will melt cheese in that.

i let my husband have that chicken from the crock-pot...and made burritos with that.

life goes on...

la la la la......

My Birthday Boy!

My Son has officially turned 9 on Friday evening, but we celebrated it with a big splash yesterday.

Happy birthday, Josh!

He invited some friends over for a swim-party. So altogether, there were 7 kids....yeah. They played many games and really went for it. We grilled burgers and sausages, and ate chips and cukes...and drank lemonade. Then the kids made their own sundaes....(no cake this time).

His Uncle Dave came over and wow, it was great having him there. I had never expected him to be there, let alone bring grandma! So it was really such a nice time. Uncle's girlfriend came (of course, her son was invited to the party) so she hung out with us. We all had a good time.

Today, I'm stiff, sore and happy for my son. Uncle Dave is a very generous, big hearted man, and a very good uncle. He is so good with children...and gave Josh a lovely PSP (it's a handheld playstation thing)...so Josh was just out of the world. He has yet to play with his other toys he received....

All that excitement and everything, Josh did get sick last night. But after visiting the bathroom, he felt better by going straight to sleep.

This morning, he's back to normal.

And this momma survived.

Happy Birthday, Josh...and many more.

Oh ye of little faith!

The other day, I was asked if I could loan the van to help deliver a brand new dining table/chairs to sister #5's home.

I was little hesitant because the Van has problems. He's old, cranky, rusty and arthritic. And his brakes aren't good either. So I did volunteer to drive it myself.

Then Sister #5 asks me, can Betty (car) do it?

She even sent me a picture of the new table she's getting, along with measurements and after answering my question, yes, it won't be assembled. It'll be in boxes.

Oh sure! Betty can do anything.

She was very unsure of that. (Yes I can see you rolling your eyes at me!)

So I met up with her at Art Van.

I had everything put down in the back, so it's actually bigger than it looks...looks from the outside can be very deceiving.

I even once delivered a 6 foot long box in my car before!

So we poked around Art Van .... I fell in love with this majestic bedroom set. Oh. My. But how does one get up there on the bed? Run and jump? Need a jumping pole, I think.

When our number was called, I jumped into Betty and drove her around to the bay. I had to wait for our turn.

Then when it was our turn, I patted Betty, "You can do it!" and backed up against the loading dock.

The 2 guys there had very high raised eyebrows---very skeptical. Sister #5 was standing there, very unsure.

I just smiled at everyone, "it will fit in her. Betty can do anything!"

So, moving the front seats up a smidge...and making sure the table box was snugly inside, then 3 boxes of chairs (2 each, I assume) on top of that. And the guys were actually quite surprised. Closed the trunk and hey, it fit. And I can see out the back window, still!

Sister #5 just chuckled...."Had to see it to believe it!"

Pfft...ye of little faith in my Betty.

So driving home, I took the highway where I could safely cruise control for the majority of the ride---as it was very difficult to drive with the knees up to my chin. Like...um...Mr. Magoo or something. Like a giant driving a Smart Car---knees up to your ears.

Arrived at Sister #5's house, and happily delivered the boxes. I think her in-laws were surprised too. I just chatted with the mom-in-law about a great deal on clothes for 99cents. I forgot where she said she got it at. Cool!

And Jordan...oh Jordan...my boy! I love that boy. I love the feeling when he says, "heyy!" and comes up to hug me & be picked up. He didn't hug his mommy first. He came straight at me. Sorry, Sis. But oh that was a great feeling. Of course my niece, Katelin, came out and gave me a hug and a big smile.

The father-in-law was just ... I don't know but....I just looked at him, and said, "my car can do anything. Just gotta have faith, right?"

"Yup."

I love my Betty.

GAHHH!

July is flying by and I can't make it slow down!

I want summer to be longer.

Please???

I need a vacation.

Anyway, having to deal with a son that is grounded, 2 hungry girls (Ashley and her BFF in the WWW is here) and a husband who...um...well...sorta in trouble with me.

And all this after a long hard day at work.

I do enjoy my job, seriously. I like the rush it gives me. I was able to catch up on the work, and catch my breath. It just happened to be one of our busiest week ever. Took us by surprise.

Anyway...choices for dinner tonight:

Blueberry pancakes or make your own ramen noodle soup.

They all opted for their own ramen noodle soups. Good choice.

This momma is tired.

Happy 4th of July!

Hi y'all. Happy Fourth!

Well, yes, it's early in the morning for me...I do normally sleep in on Saturdays. But knowing I have to bake cookies and do laundry, my job is never, ever done.

I did warn my company that...yes the house is picked up....but I am not in the mood to do the "clean-freak-out cleaning deal"....as long as there's toilet paper on the dispenser thing by the toilet, and the kitchen counters are cleared, and there's places to sit in the living room, it's good enough.

*oh honey, let's stuff some of that stuff in the bedroom and close the door?*

I got a load in the wash.

I got a batch of chocolate chip cookies in the oven.

I should be shucking the corn right now but....I'll wait.

When our friends come this afternoon, we'll probably drive out to the lake and just hang out. The kids can jump in the lake, and we'll grill our food and just hang out. I might jump in the lake too.

Oh what's the menu?

Teriyaki Beef Strips. Yeah...it's so simple and I have to thank my dad for that. See, just cut up some beef strips (or your deli can provide you with couple pounds of beef cut up for stir-fry)....and grab a bottle of Teriyaki Sauce. Now, in the past, I've always bought it from the oriental section at the grocery store. When I started NOT finding them anymore, I would find those Lawry's sauces and they do have Teriyaki. While it is good, it can be expensive. So...just my luck yesterday, across from all the bbq sauces and condiments, was the oriental section! And I found my sauce! YES!

Okay, back on track. Put your meat in a bowl or container or...ziplock bag, and pour the whole bottle of teriyaki sauce in it. Try to coat every piece of the beef.

I let it marinate over night.

So, now when it's ready or when your stomach starts growling/barkin' for food, then fire up the grill. Gas or charcoal (in my case, it'll be charcoal today) grill....just put 'em all on and cook until desired effect. I like mine well done. They're easy to eat with fingers. They are almost like beef jerky but not as hard as beef jerky.

Serve with a number of things such as salads, baked potatoes, corn on cob, etc., etc. Anything.

Yummy.

What are you guys doing today?

Don't forget your sunblock! Gonna be a great, lovely day.

Again, happy fourth.

Kids!

I guarantee this, you parents out there in the world....every single child of yours that you have will add gray hair to your head. Each one of them will cause your heart to stop or go up in your throat...

Actually, they are my pride and joy. I have NO regrets being a mom to 3 wonderful children. Even though my first child is no longer with us, she was greatly cherished and loved...and everything else. She also taught a lot about life and death. But during her illness with cancer, it has become a very stressful time in my life, being a single mom, working full time and having to care for her and totally ignoring myself. The stress and the heartbreak of caring for a sick child can really take its toll on you. When she passed away, it was the worst experience of my life. As time went on (now 14 years since), it became easier to cope.

Now, last summer, my daughter went ahead and got hit by a van. Most of you remember my posting about that last year. That certainly can add gray hair to your head. The seriousness of the accident, and concussions and bruises/scrapes and bumps....but very blessed she came out of it just fine. However, the van didn't look too good. Actually, worse than my daughter.

Recently my son did something very stupid and scary that I do not wish to share at this time (maybe down the road in the future...). But I know it certainly added few more gray hair on my head. While I'm glad he's okay, he is in big trouble with me.

I am just praying there will be no more surprises and um, I feel quite very old at the moment, with seeing the gray hair growing more and more.

OR, I'll become like my mother, become a silvery white haired woman? That would be something. I think I'd prefer to go all silver when I'm fifty. Not while I'm only 40. 10 more years, please.

So, guess it's time for me to go out and get my hair dyed....to hide those gray hair. Yeah?