I did it again!

Well, time really flew by this time. So lets see, what is going on? Hmmm, its hotter than H-E-Double toothpicks!!! :o) And my hot flashes are continuing and are even more intense now than they have ever been. Oh, the joys. 95 degree days and intense hot flashes...not a good combo.

I feel like we have been housebound for way too long. I guess this is the equivalent of enduring a cold winter when its too cold to go outside. Now it is just too hot. Unfortunately we havent been able to enjoy much of our new patio. Since it has been in, the temps have been ridiculous!!!

We are getting ready to head to Iowa for Bix weekend, which means our anniversary is this week and Charlie boy will turn 4 this week! Lots of celebrating, starting tomorrow with Danns 39th birthday. The kids stayed in Iowa for a week right before the 4th and enjoyed a long camping trip with Granny and Poppy. They had a great time. I think they ate enough smores to last the rest of the summer.

School will be starting soon. Time to make my annual visit to Target to pick up the crazy long list of supplies...for 2 this time! Yeah! Charlie will be in school 3 days a week, which means I will have some free time finally! Of course, I volunteered to do playground/recess duty every week so I guess that equates to a job, sort of.

The kids are fighting like cats and dogs lately. I guess its all normal, but it drives me crazy. I keep telling them Im going to start wearing a black and white striped shirt if I am going to have to be a constant referee!! I have decided to let them work out their differences, unless I hear a "real Im hurt" cry. Last week was filled with lots of time outs in their bedrooms and one child was sent to bed immediately after bath for the night. I am happy to report much better behavior the following day from the boy...oops, I let the cat out of the bag, as if there was any question.

Rachel is taking gymnastics now and loves it. It seems to be a good fit for her. Its fun to watch her in her class. It gets a little intense when she starts flipping all over the house.....if only it was as padded here as it is in the gymnastics building. OUCH!!

Both kids are finishing up swimming lessons and are really good at swimming, unlike their mother....I really have been trying to get my swim classes going, but so far it hasnt worked out.

The kids saw Toy Story 3 with Catherine and they loved it. Now Charlie is all about Buzz Lightyear, so there is the theme for this years birthday party! Party in Iowa and then we will have a party here for his friends here. Rachels will be next. The birthday lists are flying around here!!
Better sign off and finish up this day. time for kids to get to bed so we can get up and do it all over again tomorrow!!!

Where has time gone???

Well, it seems since I got home from Chicago time has flown by!! So lets catch up. We survived Chicago, then it was on to Rachels Kindergarten Graduation, followed by Sandy's suprise 50th birthday party. Wow...what a fun month. The birthday party was a lot of fun. Nicole picked a perfect setting, Brenda made an incredible cake, and Aunt Betty and Aunt Maria did a wonderful "Devil/Angel" skit to commemorate the occasion. Oh and Brad and Carmen did a very good job on putting together pictures of her life. She was surprised with a beautiful necklace from Tiffanys! I think turning 50 deserves a little blue box with something wonderful inside, dont you?

We made it through the first week of school being out, then it was off to VBS. Both Charlie and Rachel attended along with a friend of Rachel's from school, who spent the week with us. It was a lot of fun having an extra girl around...when they weren't constantly bickering. :o). I had fun co-teaching 1st Grade with a fun school Mom. We both agree that 1st Grade is a rather challenging grade, but somehow we made it through the week. The kids all seemed to have a great time, so that is what is important.

Now we are getting back to normal, somewhat. Charlie is going to daycare 2 days a week, but I have yet to find entertainment for Rachel. We start each day with the normal questions---"What are we going to do today?" "Can we go swimming today?" "Oh, I dont want to do that,,,its boring". Stay tuned to see how this goes. We are only into our 3rd week of no school and already everyone, including me, is bored to death. We will be making lots of trips to the libraries and other entertainment venues over the next couple of months.

We are anxiously awaiting our new stamped patio to be installed. We gave the dude a down payment on May 8th and have had very little conversation with him since he cashed the check.....something doesnt seem right, but we are sort of stuck, so just praying it will be in by Fathers Day, since he originally told us it would be done in 3-4 weeks. Maybe my calendar is different than his, but I think we are well past the 3 -4 week mark. Dann did say he saw the dude wandering around the back yard earlier this morning with another guy, so maybe he is sizing up the project to see when he thinks he can possibly squeeze us in. I really do hate dealing with hired people to do jobs for you......you are so at their mercy. This guy knows nothing about customer service, as we are finding out the hard way. Hopefully I will have good news to report later in the week. If it turns out like we have planned, it will be very nice and a great place to relax. That is, if the weather gets better. Its either raining or hot and humid. Ughhh.
Well, I better sign off for now. Hopefully I can catch up again later in the week.

Wow! Time to catch up!

Wow, that was a long break in blogs. Well, lets see, the weekend in Chicago was perfect. We had a great time laughing and catching up and seeing all the sights. The odd thing is I wasnt even that tired after it was all over with, which is a huge suprise. We did a lot of things for the birthday girl, but I must say the highlight of our trip was lunch at Dicks Last Resort! That place is a riot---rude waiters and all. We laughed so hard our cheeks hurt.

We worked a shift, which inlcuded overtime, at the Hersheys chocolate store on Michigan Ave. We got paid in chocolate, so not a bad gig. Sandy was serenaded with an operatic birthday song from the Hershey Baker, which was lovely. We shopped at Filene's Basement (which oddly enough, we took an elevator UP to?). The other highlight of the weekend was dinner at Carmines. Fantastic Italian food. It was a nice dinner out with the girls and we enjoyed our time there.

Now we just got home from Iowa for the weekend to celebrate Sandys's 50th birthday---it was a surprise bash and was very nice. The ever famous "Angel and Devil" showed up to do their skit, which was hilarious! I had never seen this before, so it was a thrill for me to finally get to witness this! Very funny and great actresses!

Then to Davenport to help with my good buddies daughters high school graduation party. It was great spending time with her and helping prepare for the festivities. Hard to believe our little Maddie Beth is all grown up and heading away to college. It was a great party, with wonderful food and lots of guests. Kathy always has known how to throw a bash and this was no exception. I only wish I could have stayed longer, but back to STL we went.
The pool opened this weekend, so we had to get home so we could enjoy soaking up some sun and letting the kids splash off some energy.

Today was my first "official" day home with both kids.....oh boy....its gonna be a long summer. I was on the phone all morning trying to line up activities for them to keep the occupied and to keep them from asking me every 15 minutes "Can we go to the pool today?" Augh!!! Enough already. We already have a swim play date set for Thursday....the first of many Im sure.

Well, not much else to report that is exciting. Oh, Charlie boy just ran in the house to let me know he just peed outside, behind the tree, "like Evan does." Our neighbor boy does this when he needs to, so Charlie has decided its time he give it a try. I wasnt sure whether to yell at him or praise him? Hmmmm, yup, not sure? Ideas anyone?

Better get the kids in the bath so we can start winding down. We have extended their evening schedules by 1 hour for the summer. Lets hope this isnt a dumb choice later in the summer.
Over and out for now.
Shark

Its Thursday....already!

Wow, this week is going fast. Well, first news to report is that my dear Lee DeWyze is still in the running to win it all on American Idol!! This is such exciting news for Rachel and I as we are glued to the tv every Tuesday night. Gee, what will we do once it is over? I guess that will leave Tuesday nights for gymnastics classes.

Charlie and Danns favorite show is about to begin. The boys LOVE Wipeout. It is a pretty good show, but it captivates the boys attention for the full hour.

We woke up to rain again today!!!!!!!! Say it isnt so! Not sure what is going on, but I know I dont like it. The pool opens next weekend. It will be interesting to see what the weather is like.

Well, its finally here!!! Time for our Girls Escape to Chicago!!! I leave tomorrow to meet up with Mom and the sisters. We are all really looking forward to this escape. We have lots of options for entertainment, so Im sure we wont be bored.

I just finished the blingy t-shirts and am almost finished with the glass pendant necklaces! I think everyone will know that we are all related, not that is isnt apparent just by looking at us all.

I hope the weekend weather is good here for Dann and the kids and especially good in Chicago!!

Everyone enjoy the weekend. Im sure you will all be eagerly awaiting the next update after the crazy girls weekend in Chicago. I will give you as many details as I can. :o/

Its Hump Day

Hello world of followers. Its Wednesday. I really dont like that expression Hump Day...where ever did it come from? It is getting closer to departure time for our Girls Weekend in Chicago. I am still waiting for my iron on transfers to arrive. If they dont come by tomorrow I will have to resort to plan B.

So its just me and Charlie boy today. His new favorite word is YUP. And whenever you ask him a question his answer is Yup! I guess its better than Nope! He is making me chocolate chip cookies out of play dough this morning. He is quite the sight in his slippers and apron. The good news is he informed me I can have them even though they arent on my diet. Everyone is always looking out for my waistline.

On the way home from taking Rachel to school we were talking about sewing something and he said he would push the pedal for me, because "thats called helping". Somehow this doesnt sound like a good idea to me. And besides, we arent sewing anything anyway.

After he went potty the other day he said that he should always put the seat down, because I needed it that way in case I had to go potty. Gee, if only every man thought this way, wouldnt the world be a better place????

We are having a play date with one of Rachels friends from school today after school. These 2 girls have a way of scheming to get what they want from us parents.
We just never know what they are going to come up with when we pick them up from school. Thankfully we are flexible. Lucky girls.

Only 7 more days of school! My it went by fast. Kindergarten Graduation next Friday. Our little girl is growing up so fast.

Better scoot and get going on this day. Plenty to do, as always. No sitting around eating Bon Bons for this Domestic Engineer...and forget about Oprah! If I want to see that I have to DVR it!
Chao

The sun is BACK!!!

Oh, what a glorius day!!! That huge yellow orb is in the sky and out from behind the clouds!!! I woke up to gorgeous sunshine, birds singing and me being in one of the best moods I have been in for days. the kids thought I was a bit strange as I ran around the house this morning singing, Mr. Sun (you know, from the Barney CD. Good bye and good riddance to the rain clouds!!!!!!

Today is my only kid free day so I must make the most of it,,,that is by volunteering for playground duty at school. Nice idea, huh? What was I thinking? Anyway, its also Tuesday, which means I get to hear my favorite American Idol sing tonight and get one step closer to winning this whole thing. I know that Lee will do great and even if he isnt the "chosen one" I feel confident that I will be able to buy his music in the near future. I am very tempted to take a quick detour on the way to Chicago this weekend and venture into Mt. Prospect, IL, Lee's hometown, to pick up a bottle of that Lee DeWyze water! I wonder how much that sells for?

Not much news for today, other than the report of sunshine finally. Im heading out to enjoy it.

Is it Monday already???

I know what you are thinking. Why does it matter if it is Monday to a Domestic Engineer? One word---Schedules---yes, back up early, getting Rachel off to school, then off to the gym with Charlie boy to, as he says it, to get my fat off me. :o)

Which reminds me, this weekend the kids were playing Twister, thank you Aunt Brenda, and Charlie suggested to Rachel that I could play with them. Now consider, this conversation went on while I was in the laundry room with my head in the dryer pulling out mis mated socks, no doubt. So I over hear this conversation between by 2 precious gifts from God and I hear Rachel say, "Well, she might not be able to play because she's sort of not skinny and you have to be a little bit skinny to play this game!!!!" AH!! The nerve. Honestly, you know what they say, sometimes the truth hurts. However, sweet little Charlie stuck up for me. He very boldly stated back to her, "Yes she can Wachel!" Needless to say I decided it would be best if I just spin the wheel and tell them what color to put what body part on. Sometimes you just gotta take a deep breath.

This is the same girl who was playing store with Charlie on Sat morning, when Granny called and as she was talking to Granny, she said to Charlie, "Did you pay for that with your debit card?" Oh dear...we are in trouble. A little later I heard them playing store again and he told her one of her purchases "will be delivered on May 25th--that is Saturday!" Where do they get this stuff from????

So I am starting to feel a little better thanks the Z-Pack I got from the drive up Dr, as my dear Nanny calls it. I have a bad feeling this is going to turn into bronchitis just in time for our Girls Gone Wild in Chicago weekend coming up.Even if it does, it wont stop us from painting the town RED or PINK or whatever color we feel like. I can feel it settling in my chest now......Im not a Dr. but I really think sunshine would help. Lets see, this must be our 6th or 7th day of rain and clouds. Who wouldnt feel sick?

I suppose I better get going on my daily routine. I still have to shower, load the dishwasher, entertain Charlie, put away laundry, return overdue library books, and be in carpool line up by 2:30.

Oh wait, Im afraid Charlie has sunken into a deep depression. As I type he is digging through the closet for his winter coat, winter hat, mittens and SNOW BOOTS!!! I better talk him down off the ledge...the sun WILL shine again little boy......dont worry. And as he always tells Dann and I "Never give up!" hoping that is....to see the sun again....someday.
Now he has spotted a "one eared bunny rabbit" in the yard.....um, maybe it appears to only have one ear because you can only see one side of it??? Hmmm, how DOES the young mind think.
TTFN dear ones!!