10 Year High School Reunion

amazing! i loved it! i loved seeing everyone, how much the had or had not changed. finding out what had been going on with everyone over the last 10 years, sharing what i'd been doing. the class officers did a good job, and i am really looking forward to keeping in better touch with so many of you.
warren, you are still a lovable and amazing guy, just a little taller i think! you have such charisma (sp). you're funny, and smart, and you will always be special to me!
kim, you are super! you are how i remember you, witty, and really funny! who knows we may just have to pack it up to the beach and visit you!
jason, oh dear god, you suprised me the most! i just keep hearing myself say "are you sure that's jason b.?????"
tony, still a big teddy bear! can't say you've really changed at all! well you got married and had three kids, but other than that, lol.
melanie & toni, you two are the same ole pot of trouble you always were! i do miss you two, now if only you'd come away from that pool table long enough to chat!
naomi, you are as naturally beautiful as you ever were. as kind, and soft spoken. you did a wonderful job. thank you!
paige, you my dear have only broken out of your shell. still paige, still cute as a button, with a bright smile, and a heart of gold - just not nearly as innocent and naive!
michelle, oh michelle, you will never change. you have to be one of the funniest people i know. with a smile as big as her........personality.
john, john, john..........yeah. k, enough said.
i know i've left some out, but it'll be ok, you'll forgive me, and if not, you'll leave a comment and i can stroke your ego a bit for you later!
photo link below!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=oqmc03y.2e7k1eqm&Uy=-cdsnxy&Ux=0

Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman

ok not really, found this guy outside our bedroom window while i was painting, i think it's a writing spider, gonna do a little research on him. i HATE spiders but maybe its the glass separating us that keeps me from being too creeped out. and when he saw me, he shook his leg and began to pulsate his web, very cool

8 Bucks to Smoother Mornings

so i read this bright idea in a mag, and boy am i glad i tried it. Eight bucks for a hanging shoe rack, the little cubbie holed one. Has 10 slots. On Sunday I put 5 outfits for Jake and 5 for Neal. Each outfit contains shirt/shorts/undies/socks and N's are the top 5, J's are the bottom five. These kids caught right on! They hop out of bed, pick one of the 5 outfits and dress themselves. then come down for hair and teeth in my bathroom. man, this is a great idea!!!! no more fighting about what to wear!

Breaking Point Reached

today has been a great day...until NOW. maybe it was the heat and my killer headache from said heat. i am trying to get the yard done (cut grass, weed eat/edge, and blow off all the debris from said chores). i've got the front done. i'm hot, exhausted, and my head is pounding. the kids were into everything. took me forever b/c i had to stop every 5 minutes to see what they were into (from tools to water guns to just too close to the truck). so finally i'm done. we can move to the backyard, i can keep an easy eye on them and get it knocked out. hell no. i had to lock the doors to keep them from coming in the house, where i can't see what they are into (knives, water, snack cakes). ok, problem solved. hell NO! i finally gave up with about 1/8 of the yard left to cut, and all the other chores incomplete. i mean i say "don't play in the fountain, it has chemicals that can kill you" said offense was made more than 3 times by jacob and zach. "don't play in the water spicket, i can't afford another $182 water bill b/c you want to be wet" said offense was made more than 3 times by jacob and neal. then i take a water gun, which they are filling in the water spicket i said not to play in and i chunk the water gun over the fence. neal screams as if i've cut off his arm. then jacob screams. all the while zach is playing with the lock on the gate meant to keep them IN. i just broke. i was at a point where i could see a person who was not completely sane hurting their kids. seriously, shaken baby? does that expire at a certain age b/c i could have shook the life out of neal, he's eight for cryin' out loud HE KNOWS BETTER. i could have just pinched their little heads right off i was soooo mad. so rather than doing what in my moment of complete insanity, i wanted to do i just calmly walked into the house (from the garage, remember i locked us out from the back) counting the whole way, unlocked the back door and called them in one by one and sent each to a corner. dared them to even breathe the wrong way, much less remove their bodies from their alotted corner, until i came out. took a cold quick shower to rinse off the grass i was covered in. then i sent each of them to different rooms for solitary confinement. they can play with the toys, but they can NOT come out until their dad gets home. yes, this is a concept that took jacob and zach a second to get. you can play, but don't come out of this room. and here i come to get it all out, find my sense of sanity again, before i head back into the jungle of my kids to do what is still in need of being done. however, for my sake and their safety, i'm going to go down, take a dose of asprin and a tall glass of water, then start dinner, then when chris gets home let them eat while i go out and finish what i started in PEACE!
god give me the patience to be a better mother. to not yell. to not beat the living day lights out of them. and remind me..........OFTEN.......of the good moments with those "my love yous" and "you're the bestest mommie i've ever had" and flowers picked from my very own garden and pictures of me, stick thin of course with a big smile and great hair.

2 Moms, 6 Kids, and LOTS of Poptarts!

my friend chelley and her sweet kids came for a visit this past week. i was certain the chaos would be enough to send us to drinkin' - well ok maybe not since chelley's pregnant - but you get the point. we had the BEST week. it was so much fun having her around here. we are just so in tune, we can sit in silence and be ok with it or blabber on and on about nothing and everything. i love her dearly. we spent our days tending the kids, swimming, going to chuck e cheese, the park, the museum, etc. and at night, after the kids were all tucked in and sound asleep we enjoyed girlie time, we ate sweets and watched lifetime movies. a few nights we went out for dessert and to just loaf around town, then came home for our movies and more junk food. and the chaos, truly, was no more than usual - AMAZING huh? the kids really did get along just great, and i love her kids so much, especially Jillian, poor kid was the only girl in six kids, but she didn't miss a beat. we laughed tons, especially about poptarts since that seemed to be the only thing anyone requested to eat - but we didn't fold, we did feed them veggies once. they just left a few hours ago and i miss them all like crazy already! here are some pics, enjoy!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=oqmc03y.8uz8wo4u&Uy=kbl1x4&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

today i'm leaving....

my kids with a 16 year old sitter..... i have to admit, i'm a little nervous. but chris and rachael are both nearby and the teacher next door is home and the cop across the street is home, so hopefully all will be fine. she's super sweet and so far is very responsible. her mom was zach's teacher that he loves so much, Mrs. Patty, from sunshine house. anyway, we'll see. if all goes well i may be supplying her with plenty of school clothes money over the next few weeks. i am going to atlanta to meet with the corporate recruiter for a major georgia broker. i'm skeered.

Big Toes and Skill Saws

Just ask Chris! So as you know we've been busting our ass in the backyard this summer, we're getting close to done and I'm so excited. Anyway, last night I was having a cookout for my little cousin's birthday. Nothing big, but I wanted him to know I remembered his birthday, he's 14, wowsers! Just as they arrived and I was about to put the burgers on the grill, Chris looks up at me from the raised flower bed he's finishing and says "I think we need to go to the hospital". Of course for anyone who knows Chris, one he has the highest pain tolerance of anyone I have ever known, and two, my first instint was "ha ha very funny". Then I realize by the color flushing from his face that he's serious. He cut his big toe straight down the middle from the top to the first joint. NICE. So 3 hours and some stitches later we're home. He'll live and his toe will be fine, but I bet you a dime he never holds a board with his foot again while using a skill saw. The cookout went on without us and went well I suppose. Mom and dad stayed with the boys until we got back home. Poor Jacob was so scared, when we got home he told Chris "I thought you were done." Little guy thought Chris was going to die, not funny, yet some how funny.