What's goin' on...

So, not too, too much going here any more. I'm still going to New Orleans for the weekend and am really looking forward to that. Thanks again Matt for taking care of my younguns. ;o) I know they will have lots of fun while they are there. Make sure to take pictures. lol. I know you've been so great at that lately. He He:)

We are no longer going to Washington next week to see Petra. Awe :( That's ok though, really. I know we will make it up there someday. I will definitely make it to North Carolina to see that whole clan once they get settled in there. That will be fun.

The original plan was:
1) Go to New Orleans for the weekend of May 30th-May 31st
2) Go to Washington from June 3rd-June 7th
3) Take a weekend trip to Texas if it can be worked out with relatives maybe on the weekend of June 12th or 26th.
4)Have Karen's birthday at Build A Bear on June 20th

Those were my original plans for the month of June as far as anything eventful is concerned. However, since I am not going to Washington, I have made other plans for next week. We weren't planning on spending much money while Washington, doesn't mean we wouldn't have, but we were going to try not to. Anyway, since we aren't going, I have found something else to spend the money on. I know, the smart thing to do with it would be to save it, but that's no fun. :) So, I found out a friend of mine has been trying to sell her bowflex for a while now. It is maybe a year or so old and has been used at most 10 times. I am going to buy that from her. We have certainly had exercise equipment before. I use them for a little while, then end up getting rid of it. Although, the last thing I had, I totally regret not keeping. I think I'll do way better this time. My plans are to go on a serious diet and work my butt off on my new toy, literally! I have gained soooo much weight in the last 2 years, it isn't even funny. And now that I am doing so much better emotionally and am getting "right in the head" I think I will be able to get myself back. I want to get back to the way I was a few years ago.

Ok, now that I've rambled on and on about that, my plans for next week are to completely redo my office space. I am going to pretty much gut that room, paint it, and make it a workout/computer room. I just have so much furniture in there now that I will have to find somewhere else to put most of it. Those bowflex machines are not small. I still have to decide what color I want to use, and we all know I love lots of color. Well, maybe we don't "All" know, but I do. My downstairs, which I've yet to post pictures of, is very colorful. Maybe it's even too colorful. I want the bedroom to be cohesive with the rest of the upstairs though. I do think it is going to take me several days to get this done, so that's good. It will keep me busy. And I am so excited about having a "new" room to workout in. Yay!!!

I know this summer I will also be kept very busy by the kids. The pool in the neighborhood is now open, so we will no doubt spend a lot of time there. We are also going to join the summer reading program at the library, and there are things going on there at least once a week. I have to keep them entertained to some degree I suppose.

Those are pretty much my plans for the month of June. Not too, too much on the list, but enough to keep me happy. I just like to have lots of stuff going on pretty much all of the time. Oh yeah, my birthday is next weekend too, and since Petra will not be making me a glutten free cake (lol), I will be doing something for that as well. We may take a short trip somewhere for the weekend. Right now we are thinking maybe Niagara Falls again. It is just so darn beautiful there. I haven't decided on that just yet.

As for this past weekend, which I've yet to post about, we went up to Matt and Carolyn's. We had a good time. Just hangin' out in the pool/hot tub, watchin' movies, kids playin'. You get the gist. I really do like going up there. We may have to squeeze some more of that into the month of June as well. We shall see. Of course, they are always welcome to come down here too. (You know that, right?)

I did take a few pictures of the kids just before we left their house last Monday, and I will post them later today. I still have to upload them to my computer. I don't know why I didn't take more than I actually did. I guess I was just too busy visiting to worry with the camera. I don't really know. I will also have a ton of pictures from this coming weekend as well. Those will come on Monday more than likely.

Well, I guess that's it for now. I could go on and on, because talking/typing is something I certainly have no problem with. lol. I always say, "I could talk to a tree stump". So, I'll shut up now, or stop typing. However you wanna look at it. :)

Several posts in one

I have several pictures I have wanted to post about in the past few months but never really got around to. I had this all done yesterday, but this stupid site would not cooperate with what I was wanting it to look like. I just gave up after a few wasted hours. Ugh! So, now I am going to try it again. I'm sure this time I will have no problem since I've just decided to leave all of the pictures smack dab in the center and comment above and below them.

Kristen blowing a huge bubble: Kristen had God knows how many pieces of double bubble in her mouth. She does tent to pack it quite full. I bought a large bucket of gum from Sam's Club to take on our trip to MS with us for spring break. She kept insisting I take pictures of her.

This does remind me of the time about a year ago when we went to Chili's to eat dinner. She had her mouth packed full of gum at that time as well. She had an enormous bubble, and it popped all over her face and in her hair just as we pulled into our parking space. I was rather irritated to say the least. I was ready to go eat, and she was covered in gum. So we ran over to the Home Depot and got some Spot Shot. I had to use that once to get gum out of the carpet when the kids had gotten it ground into it. The Spot Shot worked great. All of the gum came right out of the carpet with a little scraping. So I thought surely it would work on her. Of course, it does say on the can not to use it one your skin. Well, what was I supposed to do? She was covered in gum, and we were hungry. I sprayed her down, and what do ya know, all that gum came off and it didn't kill her. I don't know why they say not to use it ON yourself. Spot Shot is awesome!!!

My kitty kitty:

This is my fat, lazy kitty kitty, Polly. We have tons of pictures of her, but this one was convenient. I pretty much chose it for that reason. Anyway, I just wanted to share a picture of my kitty that we rescued from the pound 3 years ago. I love my stupid cat. She's very, very messy and is always in the way, making me trip, but I love her. :)

My beautiful Tulips: This is my most favorite flower ever. It is just so beautiful. Billy got these for me for Valentine's Day. And I know, I should have put this up a long time ago, but we all know I wasn't doing so great during the month of February. So I'm doing it now. :) I'm just glad he got me flowers. I love to have live flowers in the house; I just don't like the cost of keeping them around. They do liven up the dining room table though. ;)

The whole pot:

As you can tell, this is the whole pot of them. Oh so pretty! I love 'em, love 'em. :)

Karen in a silly bunny hat:

Obviously this was taken around Easter time, because when else can you get a silly bunny hat like this? I just thought she was cute, hence the picture. :) This was taken in Cracker Barrel. I love that restaurant. Ya know, they don't have Cracker Barrels in the Vegas area. We were out there a few years ago and I wanted to go to one. I asked a lady about it and she said she had never heard of it. Wow, those people are really missing out as far as I'm concerned. I love the Cracker Barrel. Yummy food and a cute little store all in one. Love it!

Dolphin Mural in Hunter's orthodontist office:

Now if you didn't think I was strange before, I'm sure you do now. lol. I will take pictures of just about anything. I actually took this one for Kristen, because she loves dolphins. I thought maybe she could use it as wallpaper on her phone. It is pretty though, don't ya think? :)

Sea turtle mural:

Aren't the babies so cute? ;) I took this when I was still planning on going to Hawaii for our anniversary this year. We were going to go scuba diving, and I was really hoping to swim with the sea turtles. We found a really cool place to do it and everything. Awe, I'm sad now that we didn't get to go. Maybe next year. That is definitely on my "to do before I die" list.

Hunter buying his girlfriend flowers for his first date:

We took Hunter and his girlfriend on a double date the weekend after Valentine's Day. This was his first date. :) He wanted to buy her some flowers, but I didn't want him spending every penny he had on them. We went to a few floral shops, but they really didn't have what we were looking for. They cost too much anyway. So we ran into Kroger really quickly just to see if they had anything, and sure enough, they had a ton. They actually had a lot of Valentine's left overs and that saved him a lot of money. Hey, it's the thought that counts anyway. Right? I just wanna raise that boy to treat girls right and be wise with his money. ;)

Karri and Hunter at her house:

This is when he gave her the flowers. :)

Karri and Hunter at Logan's:
Well, that's my hodge podge of pictures for now. :) Kind of random, I know. But hey, I just don't have a ton going on at the moment, so what do ya do? All of these are things that I, at one time, had planned to post about. So there ya go. :) I'm just making up for lost time. lol.

Lots of posts to come

We had a busy weekend. I have a ton of pictures I'll post this week from our weekend. Friday night, Kristen had her 1st formal dance, so I took some pictures of her all dressed up. Then Saturday we went to the Mall of America for the day. It was a lot of fun, but it was also a really long day. Then Sunday, we didn't make it to church, cuz I was just too dang tired. So, I slept in then we just spent some time in the hot tub. So, of course, I took some pictures of that too. I'll get started on that tomorrow.

Later guys:)

Something less depressing :)

I decided I would like to post something not so depressing as the last post. :) So, I will just talk about what I've been up to lately and what I plan on doing in the near future.

I never did get around to talking about how spring break with the kids went, so I guess I will start with that. We drove to Mississippi, because I wanted to have my van for the week. I did miss how much shorter it is to fly though. And I know I could have rented a car, but it was cheaper to drive.

We got there Friday afternoon, April 3rd. We went to W.C.'s house first. He is my brother that is my age. We just hung out that evening. The next morning we got up early and headed to New Orleans. I had never really been there except to get on a cruise ship. We met a friend of mine from high school at the zoo there. I was a little nervous, because I hadn't seen him since I was 18, in 1992. So it's been a few years, and boy do I look different. And not in a good way. lol. We all spent the day at the zoo and the aquarium there. Before we headed back to his place, he took us down Bourbon Street. We didn't spend much time there at all though. It was interesting. Interesting enough for me to want to go back. I'm just a curious person. I like to see interesting people and their odd ways of life. I'm weird that way. lol.

We left New Orleans and went to his house, which is closer to Baton Rouge. On the way, just before getting to his house, we stopped so he could pick up some crawfish. I'd never had that before. He also picked up a small bag of something unidentifiable for W.C. and me to try. It was called cracklins. And if you ever have the opportunity to eat this, don't. He wouldn't tell us what it was until we tried one. I was feeling adventurous, so I ate one. At first it tasted good. It had good flavor. Then I bit into it. YUCK!!! It squirted into my mouth this nasty gush of stuff. It turns my stomach just thinking about it. It think this was just about as nasty as escargot. He then told us that it is the fat just under the pigs skin. They cut it into squares, deep fry it in grease and toss it in the flavoring. So the gush of nastiness was the oil. And it was chewy because it was just a square of fat. GROSS!!! I may be fat, but I don't like to eat fat. :)

We got to his house and unloaded the van. Then people started to arrive. He had invited some of his friends over. When I walked out to the back yard, he had begun to dump the crawfish on some newspaper on the table. I would have taken pictures, but I had a little too much to drink and didn't really think about it. (I don't drink often people.) I looked at those crawfish and thought "Yuck". They looked like big bugs. My friend showed me how to eat them, but ripping their tails away from the rest of their bodies just didn't appeal to me. I love lobster, but even though these kind of looked like mini lobsters, they had eye balls and stuff. It was just, well, different. I only ate 2. I just wasn't willing to do the work you had to do to eat them. They tasted pretty good though. Not as good as lobster however. Oh, and watching the people there rip the tails off, eat the meat and suck on the head was kinda nasty. I'm just sayin.

The next day, we went to the Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula, LA. It was like any other little town festival I've ever been too. There were just stands of crafts and food everywhere, rides and lots of strawberries. We had a nice time. We just walked around and talked mostly and the kids rode some rides. I did drink a daiquiri called a kick in the butt daiquiri. And like the cracklins I mentioned earlier, don't ever drink one of those unless you really do want a kick in the butt. And that's all I'll say about that. lol.

Once we were ok to drive, we headed back to W.C.'s house. This was Sunday night. We just talked a lot. He is going through a difficult time with his divorce. That is the main reason I took him to New Orleans. I thought it would be nice for him to just get away from his worries for a little bit. It always works for me. I guess that's one reason I love to travel.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I spent with Terra. We took the kids to see Monsters vs Aliens. I thought it was kind of stupid. But that's just me. Well, actually, Terra and I took the younger ones to see that. Kristen and Hunter went to see the Haunting in Connecticut. They like scary movies. We shopped and ate out and did the usual kind of stuff I suppose most people do. Billy flew in Tuesday late afternoon to spend the night with me. That was really sweet. He flew home early, early Wednesday morning so he could go back to work. I spent pretty much all day in the bed on Wednesday because I wasn't feeling well. Hey, it wouldn't be a normal trip if someone didn't have a day like that. Doesn't someone have to get sick while on vacation for at least one day? Well, this time it was me. I think it was my medicine I'm on though. I just felt super dizzy and that made me nauseous. So, I wasn't really that kind of sick. Ya know, not sick sick.

Thursday I was back with W.C. He had court and I went with him. We were there all freakin' day. It was boring, but interesting, if that even makes any sense. I won't go into details on that though, since it's his business to tell, not mine.

Friday I took the kids to see the Hannah Montana movie. It was actually kind of cute. I liked it anyway. It was much better than the other one, to me. I took them to the park and out to eat. Then that night we just hung out with W.C. and some of his friends. So that was pretty much it with the trip.

We all had a pretty good time. I spent way too much money, again. I always do. It's hard to go on a trip with 3 kids and not spend too much though. At least for me, because I like to go out and do things. I did do my best to keep it at a minimum though. I think it was roughly $500 just while we were in Louisiana for 2 days though. Luckily I did much better the rest of the week. Otherwise, Billy would have killed me. lol.

Saturday, Billy flew in to the Jackson airport so he could ride home with us. That was super sweet. I have really needed him more so than ever here lately. I am just wanting to spend as much time as possible with him. So we got to spend the day together instead of him being at home waiting on me and the kids to arrive. It is just so sweet to be able to fly whenever. I love that.

As if I haven't rambled on enough. I will finish by mentioning what our near future plans hold. This weekend we are taking Kristen to the Mall of America in Minneapolis, MN to go shopping for her birthday. We had her birthday party last Saturday and she got some money. I'll post about the birthday a little later and post pics too. So, she is really excited about that. I am too. I don't really have any money to shop with but it looks like a totally cool mall. The largest in America. And of course, Sunday is Mother's Day, so there's church, which I am trying to get back into even though I'm not too keen on being around a bunch of people at the moment, and we will try to go out to eat I suppose.

Then the weekend of the 16th is the Delta block party. That is where all Delta employees have basically an appreciation day. Last year Billy took Kristen and they won all kinds of stuff, tickets to the Braves game, tickets to an event at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, and best of all, ticket to Cirque du Soleil. We used the last tickets in Vegas last year for my bday. So that is an all day thing. I am looking forward to it. And again, Sunday is church.

The weekend after that is Memorial Day weekend. We are planning on spending it up at Matt's house. Hopefully that pans out, because I am looking forward to that as well. We haven't seen each other in a few months. So, Matt, don't cop out on me now. lol.

The end of the month, Billy and I are going to New Orleans to see my friend again. We will spend Saturday and Sunday there. That should be exciting. I've always begged him to take me, and now he finally is. :)

We will get home on Sunday, the 31st. I will go get the kids from Matt's house on Monday and hang out there for a few hours before heading home. Then on Wednesday, the 3rd, we will head to Petra's in Washington, and stay there til Sunday, the 7th. My birthday is on the 5th, so Petra, ya gonna make me a cake. lol. Just kidding. (or am I?)

So, as you can probably tell, I don't do a whole lot during the week, but I do try to keep my weekends busy with the family. Hopefully I'll get out of my funk I'm in and start being more productive with my weekdays as well. I'm sure the kid will keep me busy during the summer though.

I'll get busy with the pictures later today hopefully. I'll try not to procrastinate too long. :)

Now that looks just stupid. Apparently it sends it in separate texts so its split on my blog. How dumb!

So, Im testing this to see if I really can blog from my phone. That will be cool if it does work. I don't have a full keyboard kind of phone tho. Well, h

ere goes. :)

Looks like my post will have to wait til tomorrow. I was getting ready now to start on it, but now my husband is home. So, I guess I'll get on it later. Not that big of a deal I guess. Later guys:)

Ok, well obviously I've not gotten around to posting a thing about my trip with the kids. But I promise I will get around to it. I've just been going through a lot of personal CRAP. I will no doubt be posting about that soon. I've just been in a bit of a dilema. I'm either way too emotionally unstable to post my current issues with my idiotic family or my medicine is actually doing it's job and I just don't give a rip. In either case, I just haven't been in quite the frame of mind that I want to be in to post the post that I really want to put up here. I guess you could say I'm holding out for that just right kind of mood. I do feel that I am almost there though. The thing is, I just want to do the right thing. Not just the "right thing", but the right thing for me. So y'all, that's been pretty much the deal as to my apparent disappearance here lately. If I'm having a hard time holding it together on a daily basis, blogging tends to not be so high on the list. Ya know? Well, I have no doubt some of you all know exactly what I mean by that.

Anyhow, I will absolutely be posting one heck of a post on here soon. I will not, however, be doing so on my iPod which is what I am using right now. So that's the deal guys. I'll be back soon though, no doubt!!!

I've not done too good on posting. I guess that's obvious. I spent a week in Mississippi for spring break and went to New Orleans too. We had a good time. I'll post some pictures tomorrow. I didn't take very many. Not sure why. Anyhow, I'll try to start posting more often. At least a few times a week. My life really isn't all that interesting. I do have a great one though! All is well here and I'll be back tomorrow hopefully. Lol;)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (It's on the very short list)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Held a praying mantis
9. Climbed a mountain (Does Stone Mountain count? I hope to climb Mt. Fuji with Troy when I go back to Japan.)
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (no desire to do so, ever!)
12. Visited Paris (hotel in Vegas. :))
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (at the Venetian in Vegas. lol)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (I'm just happy if I hit the ball.)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (til it was all spent:))
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (on my own machine at home.)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (I watched a live feed of it on the internet last year. Does that count?)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (I saw it while passing through the Straight of Gibraltar but never actually stood on land there.)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (I've seen the Eiffel Tower at the Paris hotel in Vegas. :))
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China (This too is on the short list. I'll go just as soon as I can talk Billy into it.)
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (I paid $600 for a six month contract for my son to not take it. That should count for something.)
59. Visited Russia (I flew right over it on my way to Japan, but it too is on the short list.)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (It's on the short list. I hope to go this summer.)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I did this once, and it did not go so well for me. Apparently it's a good idea to eat more than 14 hours prior to doing this. lol)
65. Gone sky diving (It is definitely on my to-do list!)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (I've eaten escargot, that's just as disgusting. Does it count? lol)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (and I hope I never do!)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous ( I actually met Nikki Sixx from the Motley Crew band on a church outing when I lived in Tampa in 1986. He had left the band and was trying to get his life right. That didn't last long. :))
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100.Read an entire book in one day

Looks like I need to get busy. However, there are several things that I have no desire to do, so I may go back and revise this list of things I've done and really want to do, then post it. For example, I don't ever want to be stung by a bee, so that should not be on my list. Besides, isn't it more of an accomplishment to make it to my age having never been stung? I think so. :) So, I know you can change this around. I get that. But, I wanted to post it as is first. Now I need to get working on a better version. :) Because, half of this list is a "never wanna do" type situations. There are many thing on it that I want to do before I die though.

This n That

Well, I let Kristen spend the night with her friend after all. I told her friend that her dad would have to come over for a while for us to get to know him. He stayed for a couple of hours. We had a good, long talk. I wanted to make sure I didn't get a creep vibe at all. We, of course, got all of his info and did some checking up on him as well. lol. (After all, Billy is a cop.) I think I have a really good read of people, so I felt completely comfortable. However, it isn't something that will be made into a habit.

All in all, it was a good, lazy, lazy weekend. I have accomplished absolutely nothing. Oh well. There's always tomorrow. Right? Ok, so I'm not doing a great job starting off the year with improving on my procrastination. But, I made no promises, now did I.

I did talk to Brynn for almost an hour last night. (That is Troy's wife for those who may not know.) So anyway, we are planning a trip to Japan again. That would be Terra, Ben (Terra's oldest), Billy and me. I am so excited about it, so I hope it all works out, meaning, Terra can get off work, Troy will be in town, and the money we need will be in place in time. Ok, so a few things need to work out in our favor in a short period of time, but I think they will. Let's pray they do anyway.

Japan is a really awesome place. Billy, me and the 3 kids went there one year ago and loved it. I didn't think I would ever really want to go anywhere in Asia, but I was wrong. I would love to go to China as well. I'll have to wait til Billy is ready for that adventure. We did a lot last year while in Japan, but there is still so much more I'd love to do and am so glad to get to go back sooner than I expected in order to do those things. I'm sure Brynn will have some fun, new things planned for all of us as well.

I am pumped enough to go even if Troy isn't going to be there, and even if Terra can't go. I may still plan to go and just hang out with Brynn. She is a really sweet girl, and we love hanging out with her. So, it would still be a great trip. I would like to see my brother though. :) I guess when you travel that far, it would be nice to see the sibling. Right? I just have a small traveling addiction I need to work on. Wow, I have sooo many things I need to work on this year. lol.

So, what, the list thus far has:
1.) Stop procrastinating so much
2.)Be less self-involved and be a better wife and mom
3.) Definitely eat better and get much, much healthier
4.) Work on the NEED to travel - I need to say no, when I know we don't really have to money

Ok, so it's not a super long list by any means, but still. And it IS NOT a resolution list, cuz I don't do that anymore. It's more of a self improvement wish list. Yeah, that's what I'll call it. :)

So that's about it for now. Tomorrow I'll put a few pictures we took in Japan last year. It'll really get me pumped and ready to go then.

Spending the night

Well, tonight the girls each have a friend spending the night. They seem to have someone over every weekend. I'd rather their friends come over here instead of them spend the night away from home anyway. Not because it isn't nice to have that occasional break, but I just can't help but wonder if they are behaving themselves when they are away. I don't worry too much about Karen because she is only 8, however, Kristen is now a teenager. I know how I was as a teenager. I can't hold my teenage actions against my kids by any means, but I do plan on watching out more for them. I guess my parents tended to trust me a little too much at times. I realize it is a fine line. I hope I am able to straddle it well.

Hunter on the other hand won't leave my side. He is such a mama's boy. Granted, he is only 10, almost 11, and has a severe case of middle child syndrome. lol. He's a good boy. He never has anyone spend the night and never wants to spend the night away either. I have no problem with that whatsoever though.

I'm not particularly crazy about the whole spend the night thing anyway. But what do ya do? You gotta let your kids be kids and do those kid things. Right? Within reason anyway. I know I loved having friends spend the night when I was a kid. It wasn't until my teen years that I realized I could get away with a whole lot more if I spent the night away from home. :) I trust my kids, but I don't want to give them the opportunity to get into too much trouble. It's that fine line thing, ya know?

My first blog :)

This is my first attempt at blogging so hopefully it won't be too difficult for me. lol. I say when it comes to computers, "If I can figure it out, anyone can."

Ok, so the Christmas picture is the one I had on our cards that just got mailed today. Pathetic, I know. And I didn't have enough, so not everyone will get one. Sorry about that. I just started at the top of the list sent to me by Petra. It was my intention to get one out to everyone on time. I actually made sure to get the pictures made and have them back in time to get them to everyone before Christmas. I am an extreme procrastinator, hence the very late card mailing. I will try to do better next year but make no promises. :)

I do hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I know we did here. This was the first Christmas ever to not have people over for dinner. To my surprise, it was quite nice. I guess I have to agree with Petra in that Christmas day should be just my immediate family. I never thought I'd like that, but I did. So, I think that is how it will be from now on. We also had a much simpler dinner. I usually make all of the normal ham and turkey and side dishes, but this year we opted for steak and shrimp. Thanks to Tami for that suggestion. It was great. So much easier for me, and everyone loved it.

So far the new year is off to a good start. Granted it is only 6 days in, but last year it was in the first part of January that my precious little doggie was hit by a car and died. Therefore, it can get off to an awful start. I had a good year last year overall, but I do hope that this year will be much, much better. I know that I am going to try my best to be a better wife and mother. I was way too self indulged last year but didn't see it at the time. I'm not really going to make any resolutions per say, but that is truly going to be a life long goal. Thus far, I think I am doing an ok job. The kids tell me that I am the most wonderful, awesomest mom ever. So I guess that says something. :)

The kids started back to school today. It was nice and quiet around the house after having them home for 2 weeks along with what seemed at times like half the neighbor hood. I got my upstairs carpet steam cleaned, and it looks SO much better. I've only had my new steam cleaner for 8 months. Finally, we took it out of the box the other day. (I really am bad at procrastinating. I need to work on that.)

I guess I need to get dinner started. I sure hope I like this blogging thing. :)