Fully Alive…Ready to Smile

Anyone wanna venture to guess what THAT is behind our house? AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

I was sitting on my deck enjoying the beautiful weather when I glanced up. I noticed inordinate amounts of traffic going down the gravel road beside our house and suddenly my attention was riveted to the horizon. Is it smoke? Is it rain? Um, Jer? Jer…

We’ve never had tornadoes around our parts that I can remember until the last 2 years. Last year it went right over our house (wasn’t touching the ground and it took our neighbors trampoline for a bounce) and this year we got front row seats to the action. Thank the Lord that it disappeared back into the heavens within a few minutes.

The last month has been one of personal struggle for me. It’s been stressful. Probably one of the hardest months that I have faced in a lot of years (in regards to my own personal head space). I’ve seen myself in a new light. I’ve seen ugliness and loneliness, vulnerability and fear. There’s been a dose of self-loathing, some guilt and quite a bit of panic at the revelations. The issues I’m working through aren’t new, it’s stuff I’ve been sitting on for years, but have never been brave enough to face or call out.

Now I’m not saying that I have been unhappy all these years or living in denial. I just chose not to face the monster under my bed because frankly, I’m still afraid of monsters. I pulled the blanket over my head so that I was cozy in my little cocoon knowing that in just a few more hours the sun would be out again and I’d be able to relax.

There comes a time when the monster must be ousted out of hiding and dealt with face-to-face. I haven’t beaten him…I still don’t know when or how that will happen or even if it will. It’s going to be an interesting journey, that’s for sure.

But in the midst of the turmoil in my head and heart, apparently goodness surrounds me. Always. In the middle of it all I couldn’t see it, but looking back at the pictures of the last month I realize that God sent a balm to my spirit in the form of my little girls. Their lovely little spirits shine brightly and remind me that life is precious. They are precious. Unfortunately, they are probably the ones who suffered most from my angst and it was by far one of the hardest months for me as a mother. That being said, it is them who have kept me going forward and hoping for better days.

_{**In case anyone is worrying, these are not mental health issues or depression or anything dangerous to myself or anyone else out there, just some personal things I’m working through**}

Here are 2 digital scrapbooks (a new find for me) that show some of the goodness in my life right now : )  In the first slideshow it gives the option to zoom in on each page…doing so will enable you to actually SEE the pictures and read the comments I’ve journaled on each page.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I got my new “cocktail shaker” and “jigger” today.  It actually all came together in a nifty little set.  Pretty sweet.

Jer laughed at my new acquisition and asked if I was trying to become a bartender and no, for the record, I’m not.  Just want to be able to make fun martinis since I’m going to collect martini glasses and all, so the correct paraphernalia is pertinent.  I was very excited to find these…

Walmart is a wonderful place : )

I’m going to make Jer my guinea pig and try out my first Chocotini on him.  He doesn’t seem to mind.

So, have you had any good martinis?  What kind?  Know any good recipes you’d care to share?  Val, you really need to find out what was in that Raztini we had at Robbie’s.  I so LOVED it.

to my new deck : )

Ain’t she a beaut?  I love it.  Too bad we’ve had wicked gale force winds pretty much every day since, well since Christmas, really, but in the last few weeks it’s just been wind, wind, and more wind!  It sucks.  Now I stare longingly at the pretty furniture and all my lovely plants, wishing I could be enjoying my new little oasis.  Hopefully this week the wind won’t be so bad.

My goal this week is to learn how to make chocolate martinis and then have a girls night on my deck once it warms up.  This also means I must buy some martini glasses and a shaker…how fun.  I’ve decided to collect martini glasses.  I have a friend who collects them and I’ve always thought it such a neat collection, so I’m going to copy her.  I mean who wouldn’t want to drink something out of this…

or this…

Yeah, I know.  So sweet.

Once I’ve mastered the art of martini mixing you’re ALL invited.  Well, maybe not all at once…then I’ll need a bigger deck.

It’s been a fairly relaxing, well rounded weekend. There was laughter, heart-to-heart talks, tears, bonfire, a tent, mango creamsicle martini, movies, good food, wonderful friends. What more could a girl ask for?

Friday I was invited to a spa party at my cousin Alecia’s. This party is all about relaxing and products to make life a little nicer…makeup, foot products, bath stuff, face care, lotions, anti-aging products. Sounds delish, doesn’t it? Loverly, I tell ya. Once said spa party was over we were invited to stay for a bonfire and drinks. Well I was all over that like a fat kid on a Smartie. Louise and I decided to go and change into bonfire appropriate attire and on our way to my house she springs a question on me…”Wanna tent in Leesh’s back yard tonight?”

Huh?!?

Deciding that fun and adventure was in the stars that night I jumped at the chance to be spontaneous. Even though I.DON’T.TENT!

I get home to change and grab a pillow (since Louise was going to bring tent and sleeping bags) and Jer’s like “What are you doing?”

“Getting some things to camp over at Alecia’s with Louise.”

“You don’t camp.”

“I do tonight!”

Here’s where the hilarity comes into play. The tent that Louise brought was a single person + equipment kind of tent that her hubby uses when he goes mountain climbing. One end tapers to about 18″ and the end with the door is about 3 feet wide. And we were BOTH supposed to sleep in there. I stood and stared at the tent as she was setting it up with a look of pure stupified amazement on my face.

“We won’t fit!”

“Yes we will. It’ll be cozy. We’ll just have to back in, that’s all.” She confidently informed me with a grin.

“Well I don’t want to be spooned, just sayin’!”

It caused much laughter and mocking amongst our peers. We ended up staying by the bonfire until 5 a.m. and then we backed into our tight sleeping quarters and managed to get 3 hours of sleep. And no spooning was required…thankfully. I love ya, Weezer, but NOT that much.

Saturday I lazed around until early afternoon. Then I got ready and headed to visit a friend for the evening. We went out for dinner and drinks (that’s where the mango creamsicle martini comes in) and did some serious talking. We headed out after supper to see “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” (which, by the way, is a fanfrickintastic movie) and drooled over Ben Barnes…(yummy.) During the movie there were some rather rowdy girls behind us. Their obnoxiousness escalated during the last half of the movie and at one point my friend leans over and says “if they say one more word, I’m going to tell them to shut up.” So she did. She turns around and says (loudly I might add), “Would you please shut up?” And a lady sitting beside us and directly in front of these girls turns around and says to them “And I second her. I think we’ve ALL had enough of you!!” I was so proud. They were just being dumb. Making very loud remarks during every scene. Ruining a perfectly wonderful movie for the rest of us. When we were leaving the theater I didn’t get a chance to look at them, but I assumed that they were just young girls, you know, 14 or 15. I was completely dumbstruck when my friend announced that they were actually more like late 20’s early 30’s kind of age group.

Anyhoo, then we went back to my friend’s place and sat and visited some more until it was getting late and I still had a 45 minute drive home.

This morning I slept in and then went and sat on my lovely new deck and enjoyed the muggy, cloudy morning. Eventually the sun poked out and we all sat outside and ate our lunch. I lounged on the deck for a while and Jer set up the new lights (of which only 4 of the 10 actually are working at the moment). Then we got ready and went out for supper and to see “Indiana Jones.” Not so sure about that one. Took a little turn that I wasn’t really expecting and well, it was alright. In true Indiana Jones fashion it had lots of fun and funny moments, but it was more for Jer that we went to see it.

Now it’s 10:35 and he is setting up my Singstar for me. I finally got it on Friday and it’s taken this long to set up. Granted I haven’t been home in the last 48 hours, but still. Now he thinks he can out sing me. He forgets…

I’m a superstar!

 I saw Linda had done this handwriting analysis and since I’m not a big fan of my handwriting, thought I’d try.  That and I didn’t know what else to write at the moment.  It’s kind of difficult to emulate your handwriting with a mouse, but I think I got it (actually like it better than my actual writing, lol).

What does your handwriting say about YOU?

The results of your analysis say:

You plan ahead, and are interested in beauty, design, outward appearance, and symmetry.
You are a social person who likes to talk and meet others.
You are diplomatic, objective, and live in the present.
You are a talkative person, maybe even a busybody!
You enjoy life in your own way and do not depend on the opinions of others.

***(How could they possibly know all that?)***

I’m here. I’m alive. I’m starting to see a glimmer through the dark clouds in my head. It’s been a long few weeks, but I think I’ve found my footing again. I didn’t want to blog during this time because I was afraid that nothing good would come out of me and that’s not allowed on my blog. I want to always be real on here, but I don’t think it’s necessary to dump my garbage into the atmosphere. I thank those of you who emailed or talked to me. I appreciate the support and love I feel.

On a happy note, the deck is officially up, finished and still standing! My furniture is assembled and it’s beautiful. Patio lights have been purchased.

As has the umbrella. It’s gargantuan…ten feet across!  (And btw, that’s a picture taken from the store’s website…we didn’t get the chairs, just the umbrella.)  At least on those sunny, hot days my girls can actually be out on the deck and not get scorched. I love it because it has the pole to the side so that you can put it over top of any patio furniture. Mine is chocolate brown. Mmmm…

I bought all my herb plants (parsley, oregano, basil, cilantro, garlic chives) and today I picked up some pretty planters at Walmart for cheap. Tomorrow after Ella’s swimming lesson my mom and I are going to go to some greenhouses to hopefully buy some flowers for all my pots. I’ve decided that since I can’t have a garden at this house, I’m going to make my deck a little oasis. I’ll have some patio tomatoes, my herbs, perhaps some peppers and then lots of pretty flowers. Jer asked if we’d actually be able to walk on the deck when I’m all done : ) I’m hoping it will all be put together by the end of the weekend and then I’ll take some pictures and show it off.

Aidan calls our deck “the yard” which I suppose is accurate since it’s about the only place they can be outside right now.

And that’s about all I have in me today. Maybe there will be more tomorrow. Maybe not. For now I’m just happy I’ve made it through an afternoon and most of an evening in fairly good spirits. I’m going to go walk now and hopefully continue to clear my head space.

***I swear if Aidan gets out of her bed one more time to poo, pee, throw away garbage that magically appeared, take off an item of clothing because she’s sweaty or anything else, my semi-good spirits may be dashed upon the rocks…grrrr! Why does bedtime have to be such a challenge? Anyone else have children who can make bedtime into an Olympic event?***

I just have to say, I’m having a moment here. I got the package yesterday, knowing it was from Joanne at Frutto della Passione, but for some reason my head was saying Milanese Masala…don’t know why. So I said that even though it was wrong (Milanese Masala’s probably like “What the…? I didn’t send any crazy Canadian anything!”). I’m sending out an apology for touting the wrong horn (even though I still really like Milanese Masala, too). They are both fabulous and it was the FABULOUS Joanne who I got the package from. Okay. I feel slightly better. My shade of red is lessening to a pink. So sorry, Joanne! Post has been rectified and changed with the correct info. Now you all know exactly what kind of week I’m having. Hopefully a sunny long weekend will help me sort my head from my butt. That’s all.

…is brought to you by the letter “I”, the number “6″ and Frutto della Passione!

I got a package this afternoon from Italy (Yeeee!!!!) and in it were 6 very fun things.

Before I could take everything out I had to take a deep breath of the pure packaged Italian air. Yes, I am that crazy. I *heart* Italy and anything Italian and I just needed to breathe it in today.

First off there was a nice hand written note which is so cool because it’s just another way it makes a person that has up till now just been a blog and an email come to life. And it is so nice to receive a hand written note.

Next there were these two packages of saffron. I’m really excited about these (although you may hear me say that about each item) because I’ve never cooked with saffron. It is something I’ve always wanted to try and now I can. And I’m going to have to use it when I cook for someone truly special because to use my saffron from Italy is going to be a big deal : )

Next I took out a package of “Tartufi di cioccolato” (chocolate truffles). Sounds wonderful even if you wouldn’t know what it is, doesn’t it? Everything sounds wonderful in Italian. It contains “nero e bianco con nocciole scelte” which I think means “dark and white with hazelnuts” or something to that extent (am I right?). They are delizioso!

One of the lovelies…

Included was a little treat that my kids were very excited for. Doesn’t matter what language, chocolate is universal, isn’t it?

Next was something that got Jer all excited. If I had known he felt so deprived I would have got him some last time I went grocery shopping. But again, I have to agree, coming from Italy it is even tastier. Besides they are just so darn cute and they had this great little sticks with them. We just ate them right out of the container ; )

I also got a balsamic glaze. Judging by the pictures on the bottle it can be used on salad, meat and even ?dessert? Huh? Anyone out there in Italy know the best way to use this? I’m excited (see I told you) to try this out.

And possibly my favorite part (besides the chocolate) is this…

…white truffle (different kind of truffle this time) olive oil. Mmmm! Again, anyone know the best way to use something like this? I don’t want to ruin the flavors or use it in the wrong way. Any help I can get would be greatly appreciated.

So what makes me so special that I got all this fun stuff? Well, my bloggy friend said one of the things she missed about Canada (since she’s originally from here) was Tim Horton’s. I offered to send her a tin of Timmie’s coffee just because. She asked if she could send me a treat from Italy. Who am I to say no? Heck she could have sent me a box of air from Italy and I would have been ecstatic!

I’m seriously considering sending myself in the package to escort the coffee : ) Goodness knows, I need a vacation or something.

So thank you very, very, very much Joanne! I appreciate the gift and the smile today : )

As I was sitting here wallowing, I remembered something that I thought was hysterical…and not in a mental institution kind of hysterical, although I had quite a few of those moments this evening.

We were at my mom and dad’s for the afternoon some time shortly before our weekend in Grand Forks.  My mom pulls out $15 in US cash and gives it to Ella to buy herself something fun on our trip.  Aidan arrives on the scene and demands some “dollars” of her own (not that she has any idea what to do with it, but if Ella has some it must be good!).

I replied to this by saying, “Aidan, why don’t you go hit Papa up for some cash?”

She looks at me very sternly, eyebrows furrowed like only she can and says in a very low and extremely serious voice (this, in itself being somewhat comical considering I think her voice already sounds like a cartoon character), “Mommy.  We don’t hit kids!!!”

Gee, where has she heard that before?!?  This coming from the QUEEN of hitting!!  All I hear all.day.long in a shrill, whiny voice is “MOOOOOMMMMM…she HIT me!!!!!”  She beats up on her big sister! Has been since she was old enough to sit.  And Ella takes it.  I say give it back.  Fight to the death.  Give her a taste of her own medicine…umm, I mean…where was I?

Anyhoo, I had to rephrase my statement to, “Go ask Papa if he has any money for you.”

And now I will return to rocking and humming.

As you were.

I really, really, REALLY need spring to get it’s butt in gear and for the weather to start staying warm.  I’m so tired of being in the house and I’m feeling a little mental.  Too much time alone is not a good thing…and it’s amazing how you can still feel alone with 2 kids.  Alone with my thoughts.  Bored out of my skull.  I keep thinking I should involve myself in a project or a pick up one of my 10 hobbies, but I just can’t seem to find any motivation to get into anything.  It’s making me a bit of a crazy person to live with.  I’m not feeling at all like myself.  I pace.  I wander.  I seem to be in a desert looking for an oasis and I’m just not finding it.  I do find mountains of unfolded laundry : )

Nothing is sparking any interest, which is weird for me.  I’m trying to get back on my cleanse, at least for a while longer and all I can think of is the cheesecake in the fridge calling my name.  See, I’m even hearing voices : )

I have 35 books that are waiting for me to read them.  When I think of them sitting there, I get all excited, but the excitement fizzles out quickly as my mind wanders when I start reading.  I think I have 4 or 5 books started.  All of them good, I’m sure, just not keeping my attention.

I’m reading blogs, but having absolutely no words to comment with.  My mind feels blank and I don’t know what to say.  I’m tired of blogging about day to day occurrences.  I don’t have my sense of humor the way I usually do.  It feels like work to say anything and the things I’d like to say, I won’t.

All I can think of is sitting on my deck (which isn’t finished yet).  In my new patio furniture (which is in the process of being assembled).  Basking in the warm sun.  Wishing I had plants to start taking care of.  Or a garden maybe.  Not in this house, though, unfortunately.  Maybe I’m just a little Vitamin D deficient right now.  Got me singing the blues.

Sorry for the downer of a post.  I shouldn’t even be posting this ’cause I’m not looking for pity from anyone.  I just have nothing else to say and this is me today.  I’m not fully alive.  I can’t say I’m really smiling, either.  I’m hoping that the sun poking out of the clouds will help uplift my spirits.  Maybe I’ll go for a walk and just be.  Yeah, that sounds good.

Last week Ella had a little accident.  She was taking her jacket off and as she was trying to wiggle her arms out of the jacket she kind of toppled over…face first.  She banged her chin and apparently teeth into the floor with no arms to brace herself.  Other than a little bruise on her chin we were happy to report no damage done.  Until a few days later she started telling us about a loose tooth.  I kept telling her not to wiggle it because maybe it might tighten up again.  Or not.  The other night she went to bed complaining about her tooth hurting and shortly after she went to bed she came running back out of her room with this to show us…

We informed her that the Tooth Fairy would probably come visit her that night.

“Really?!?”  She exclaimed.

“Yup, so you better get to bed.”

“Well, what time do you think she’ll come?”  She inquired.

“Not until you’re fast asleep, so get to bed.”

She was so excited that she fell asleep half sitting with her arms folded in her lap waiting for the Tooth Fairy to come.

In the morning she was excited to announce that the Tooth Fairy did indeed come to visit, left some money and made no noise whatsoever.  Sneaky Tooth Fairy : )

As a mom, most days would be great to rewind. If I could take back a reaction or a moment or a harsh word, I would. And no matter how we berate ourselves, somehow we do it again. Every day I start off thinking “Today is going to be better!” Yet, still there are minutes and even whole hours that I would like to redo in each day. I wonder if I’m getting anywhere, if I’m making any difference in my girls. I wonder if they hear anything I say. I hope that one day they will love each other as friends, as well as sisters. I hope that they will take care of each other and be there for one another. Then I see a moment like this one and I know that somehow, some way, it’s all going to work out in the end.

Aidan was sitting at the table crying because her finger hurt. Ella rushed over to see and announced that she would go and get her a bandaid to make it feel better. Then she lovingly put the bandaid on Aidan’s finger. That right there…that’s what it’s all about.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the lovely women out there who strive everyday to make a difference and bring up their children the best they know how.  May God bless your efforts and give you wisdom in the face of each new challenge.

Last night I flitted from one party to another. I started the evening with some fun girls

having a birthday dessert party for this sweetie!

A highlight of the party was when we stole the dessert of the neighboring table after they left.

It’s wrong to leave cheesecake, people! PACK IT UP if you are not going to finish it. I think we had the waitress in a quandary when she came by our table and saw 2 plates that were half eaten on our table that we didn’t order : ) I think this scenario is almost as wrong as stealing someone’s french fries at McDonald’s. Okay, I can see you all gasping in horror that we would do something like this, but I’ve left out some pertinent information. We knew the other people. Some of them are actually quite good friends…but we still stole their left over food, lol : ) Oh, it still makes me laugh.

A quick 45 minutes and I had to fly to my next date. This one with my Singstar pal Louise. I picked her up and we were off to another girls movie night. We stopped at Walmart on the way and I bought her Singstar 90’s for Mother’s Day (I’m her prayer sister) and she was so excited she KISSED me!! KISSED ME!! On the cheek, but still. It was funny. The other big exciting purchase for the evening was the new Madonna cd. Yeeee!!!! You should have seen us leaving Walmart as we read the song list on the back of the Singstar 90’s package. We were ridiculously excited. I mean it’s the soundtrack to our high school years. Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, Savage Garden, Paula Abdul, R.E.M., Spin Doctors, Seal, Chumbawumba, Boyz II Men…happy sigh. I can hardly wait.

We watched “Made of Honor” with McDreamy pants…aahhh… SUCH a good movie. We agreed it’s a purchaser. It was funny, sweet and so good. Did I say that already? Hmm, well, it was!

And yes, we took more pictures of ourselves in the movie theater…I know, I know, we are pathetically vain.

Then we made a late night pit stop at McDonald’s. I hadn’t had McD’s fries in sooooo long. I’m thinking cheesecake, popcorn and fries is a little much in one night, but it was a girls night. I decided I would enjoy it to the fullest.

Now, I’m off to Louise’s for “Louise and Erin’s Rockin’ Singstar Fest!” I even dressed for the part…

Check out my shirt…

Rock Forever! I didn’t even notice that when I bought it or put it on this morning. It’s a sign.

I’m a SUPERSTAR!

I went to Louise’s today to pick up Aidan (who was there while Ella and I went to swimming, but that’s neither here nor there). She has Singstar. She convinced me to play Singstar with her. In other words…SING! In front of her. With her. I shook my head, no, no, I don’t sing in front of other people. Well, it turns out I do now.  In fact, it’s already been ordered.  It’s my Mother’s Day gift to me. From my family : )

My husband came home for lunch approximately 15 minutes after finishing my Singstar debut and I announced to him that I would like Singstar for a Mother’s Day/Anniversary gift. Well apparently he’s not interested in Singstar for himself so he said why don’t we just make it your Mother’s Day gift. Okay. Whatever. As long as Erin is Singstarring!!! I should interject here that we don’t actually have a gaming system to PLAY Singstar so Erin is also getting a PS2 for Mother’s Day (hello, Dance Dance Revolution…YES!!!).

Anyhoo, Jer says “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“Well what were you thinking? A bouquet of flowers? Some shrubs, mayhap? Nah, I think I’ll take the Singstar, thankyouverymuch! Besides, patio furniture is what I REALLY want, but who has $1000?”

So Jer goes on his merry way to make his lunch and I sit down to order my Mother’s Day present : ) He turns around and says, “So what about our anniversary?”

“What about it?”

“I have an idea.”

“Which would be?”

“Why don’t we go on a date and go for a nice dinner.”

Nodding my head, “Okay.”

“…and maybe look at some patio furniture?”

Ya’ll wanna see what I had ordered 25 minutes later? : )

What?!? It was on sale! : )

Besides, our deck material got delivered today and if I’m to have a deck in a week or 2, what good will it do me with nothing to sit on? Exactly!

As I trudged through the long list of posts in my bloglines I realized something…I’ve been inspired today! By you people out there. After my fourth comment stating that I’ve been inspired, I thought “I need to actually jot down these inspirations and do something about them.” So what has inspired me today?

Well, Robin over at My Melange has been taking her passion for everything Italian to a higher level and taking Italian language lessons. How cool is that? And not only is she just doing what’s expected she’s going above and beyond. I’ve always wanted to take language lessons and learn either Spanish or Italian and she has totally inspired me to want to actually pursue that! So thank you!

Devon from Living the Small Town Life has a great little Etsy shop and she apparently makes pottery. I was reading her post about one of her attempts to make some mugs and I was so intrigued. I’ve thought about trying my hand at pottery, but the furthest I’ve ever gotten is painting it at a local firing studio. I hear it’s not easy, but it would be interesting to at least try. Successful or not, I think it would make for a fun process.

Let’s see, who else inspired me today…ah, yes, over at Jo Beaufoix (who’s blog you should read just cause it’s so much fun) I was reminded of my urgent need to learn to make chocolate mousse. Apparently someone she knows made a wonderful one, proving to me that a person can actually make mousse. So now I want to go and track down a recipe. Any volunteers to try it once it’s made?

Tiff over at My life, my love, my reality is giving away scrapbooking stuff. Pretty, pretty stuff. At first I thought, “ooh, more new stuff, I should enter the contest!” which I did, but it also inspired me to go through my gazillions of scrapbooking things that I have collected over the years (some of which I’ve never used) and have my own give away! What do you think? Anyone out there want some new scrapbooking paper and supplies? I’ll make that next weeks project (right after I dig out all my stuff to get my income tax filed…a week and a half late).

Then my own daughter inspired me (or rather, begged, pleaded and cajoled me) to join her in her endeavor to color for as many hours in a row as is humanly possible. Resulting in about 2 1/2 hours worth of My Little Pony, Hello Kitty and Strawberry Shortcake pictures.

The one thing I was NOT inspired to do today…

get out of my pajamas, do my hair or put on any make up : ) Hehe.

I’m only about half way through today’s bloglines and that’s what I’ve come up with so far, so perhaps there’s more. Time will tell. What has you inspired?

Has anyone out there ever played the Sims games? Because there are days when I feel like I’m living in a virtual reality that is a Sims game! Like today. Lemme’ explain.

On the game, each Sim has these little green bars that show if his/her needs are being met. So there is a bar for hunger, comfort, hygiene, bladder, energy, fun, social, etc. You have to make sure that your Sim is doing everything they need to do to keep them happy and the little green bars filled up. It can get really difficult to know what to do in what order so that the green doesn’t suddenly run out on one need while they are doing something else to fulfill a different need and suddenly you have a grumpy, temper tantrum throwing Sim on your hands who refuses to cooperate. Anyone see a parallel here to real life?

This morning I’m up at 8:20. I know that I have a friend coming to visit in the evening for supper. The list of things I needed to accomplish before she arrived were:

• shower
• make bed
• style hair
• makeup
• breakfast for kiddos
• do a load of laundry
• wash dishes
• run dishwasher and re-stack with dirty dishes
• lunch for kiddos
• go to bank and mail
• go to store
• make dessert
• make supper
• wash floor
• sweep entrance

I start my day off with my shower. So far so good. Girls are playing quietly in their rooms. Feeling good. I get out of the shower and I start pinning my hair up to blow dry and straighten it. Aidan starts yelling for breakfast about 1/8 of the way into the hairdo. So I go in the kitchen to see what they’d like for breakfast. While I’m in the kitchen I realize I’m thirsty and that the water jug needs to be refilled. Refill jug and halfway back to the bathroom…oh, yeah, breakfast. Okay what do you want to eat? Bread with honey. Good, I can do that. Get them settled with their bread and back to the bedroom. As I walk into the bedroom I see that I still have my suitcase lying on the floor from the weekend. Oops…start putting a few things away, remember flat iron is still on and hair is quickly drying into a weird kinky mess from the pins, back to the bathroom. What did you say, Ella, you want a drink? Okay, I’ll be right there. Just a minute. Finish another round on my hair and pick up the pile of laundry I’ve been collecting and bring it to the laundry room. Yes, I’m getting your drink, hang on. Okay, you want milk? Good. Give girls drinks and head back to the bedroom. I still haven’t made the bed and it’s almost 10:00. Fold up the blanket on the bed and put it in closet remembering my hair is STILL not done as I walk past the bathroom mirror. Back to hair. Manage to finish hair, and clean up bathroom counter. Finish unpacking suitcase and haul it to the back entrance. Aidan, stop running around with sticky hands! Go wash up and go pee while you are in there. Start tidying up breakfast dishes when I remember I was in the middle of making the bed. Back to the bedroom. Bed’s made. And so on.

Anyone see a time management issue here? Sheesh. By the time I made it out the door to go up town to run my errands I had been running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off and barely managed to get anything done (or so it felt) and it was after 11:00. THREE HOURS to shower, make my bed, do my hair and makeup and get the kids fed and clothed.

There are days I’d like to hit reset and start the game over. Save a particularly good day and go back and start from there. But since life isn’t a computer game, I guess maybe I should at least start making a list of things I need to do each day so I can actually feel like I’ve accomplished something when I cross it off. That or just go sit in a corner and rock back and forth humming.

To start, make sure you get a hotel with a water slide and nice hot tub. Very important when bringing your children (or Erin). We chose to stay at the Holiday Inn and at first glance the water slide didn’t look too challenging. Deceiving! One time down and I was hooked. But I did have to master the art of coming off gracefully. It picked up so much speed on the way down and kept throwing me into the bottom of the pool. I took a few injuries until I figured out how to not bounce off the bottom and scrape up my extremities.

This is one of the injuries I got on my back. Doesn’t really look like much today, but that’s 3 days after receiving it…you can imagine what it looked like the day of the incident. Rather raw and about 5 times the size. Jer gasped when he saw it directly after I came out of the pool.

But this didn’t stop me and eventually I had the beast mastered. Us adults spent as much time going down the slide as Taylor and Rebeccah. We had a grand time! The one down side was that our girls couldn’t go on the waterslide because they were too small and we couldn’t take them down with us.

Luckily they have a nice kids pool with 2 small slides, a big bucket that dumps water, geysers and other waterworks. Ella spent most of her time doing water ballet or sitting in her floaty turtle. She and this turtle had a special rapport going on. When I would glance over at her, she would be chatting it up with “T-Turtle” (it’s name). She even gave it swimming lessons and when it was time to come out of the pool she lovingly dried it off with her towel before drying herself!

Aidan spent time playing with Rebeccah, going down the little slides, floating in her ducky ring and just splashing around in the pool. She found extreme joy in splashing Bentley, who she adamantly declares she doesn’t like : )

When we weren’t sliding we were soaking in the nice hot tub. I appreciated the fact that this was a HOT tub. Some hotels we’ve been to have what should be called lukewarm tubs.

In the food department, Mexican is a must. Paradiso (”chips free, dinner extra”) is our favorite stop on the Grand Forks agenda. In fact, this weekend we hit it twice. You get so much food and the price is great. Sunday’s the kids 8 and under are free. We fed our family for $17. Can’t even go to McDonald’s for that!

Another goody not to be missed is Culver’s. Mmmm…I had my first burger and fries in 6 weeks. Enjoyable!!

Then of course it’s time to shop. And shop we all did! Jer spent THREE HOURS in Gordman’s!!! I was done after half an hour. The rest of the time I spent waiting for him. He came away with a whole new wardrobe.

I didn’t find much this time around for clothing, just one pair of white capris, but what I did find was such a steal of a deal that I was ready to do a happy dance. At home my perfume (Ralph Lauren “Style”) costs $90.00 and I found it for $30. To make it even better I had a 20% off coupon which made it $24.00!!!! That was worth the trip for me. I ran out a few weeks back and was cringing at the thought of paying so much for it. So yay for me.

A few other fun purchases were some treats we don’t have here. Like the bestest chocolate ever! Notice I bought 3…well actually I bought 4, but have already consumed one.

And no trip can be complete without some goodies from Archer Farms…Mmmm! My new find this time. Oh.So.Delectable!

My big splurge…I finally gave in. It’s been 7 years since I first became addicted and about 5 years since I last played.

And the best part? They have “Kitchen and Bath Interior Design” for the Sims! How cool is that? I’m so very excited. I could hardly sleep last night because I wanted so badly to play, but I restrained myself and I’m waiting until later when I can play without neglecting my children, duties and life in general. I feel like a kid again : )

Of course, you can’t go to the U.S. without making the mandatory Bath and Body Works stop. I was looking for perfume (this was planned before I found my RL perfume at Gordman’s). Little did I know that since my last time at B&BW they have come out with perfume in all the signature scents. I LOVE their soap scents and to see them in perfume was heavenly. Now to choose! How?!? I stood there for about 15 minutes getting high on yummy smells and finally came away with Midnight Pomegranate. I’m not sorry. It’s so yummy.

Finally, make sure you go to with good friends. In the downtime between swimming and shopping we had a lovely time visiting with Bentley and Helen and their girls. Lots of laughs and good times. It was relaxing and enjoyable from beginning to end. I just wish it had been longer. Although I’m sure my girls were happy to go home. They were up until midnight both nights, and no naps for Aidan made for some harrowing moments with her. But we survived and happily, they both slept on the way home.

I leave you with a funny for this lovely sunny Friday.  And I’m off to relax…have a great weekend all!