I'm Baaack!!

Maybe you didn't notice I was gone? Sorry about that! I guess if I posted on here more regularly, you'd miss me more! Ha!
Anyway...
I'm back from our first OBX vacation in 10 years!! What a needed and tremendous trip to our favorite place in the whole world!!
Yeah, we had some crap - our Jeep being dumb on the way there, while there, and back, That Man's car (which K1 drove) doing some crappy losing the bolts things, high water, being trapped in the house all day Tuesday due to the storm surge (but, really... we had wine, beer, pina coladas, a pool, two hot tubs, and beautiful sunny beach so we didn't care) stress in some form or another... But on the whole it really was an amazing trip. We did things we've never done before - like go out on a charter boat to fish (very cool for those that weren't chumming all day. At one point, we'd lost 1/3rd of our group, despite motion-sickness medicine, but it was super, super awesome and K4 caught a shark!), shared our beach with people who have never been before (some loved it and some not so much), had some amazing family time (family soup & a ceremony), had a few injuries, got to watch Mr. B loving the beach, aquarium, life in general (he was so stinking cute!!), hang out with cousins, and our uncle and aunt, had an awesome ashes ceremony for our folks, saw a lot of sunrises, sunsets, stars, laundry, sand, shops, food, a fire on the beach, driving my Jeep on the beach (even though that was super stressful, when it should have been fun, thanks to losing my radiator hose in the parking lot - it was fixed super quick, but still)...
I could have stayed another week, if not, forever....
We got back pretty late last night thanks to stupid traffic. Our Elsa was waiting for us. Our awesome friends had her all week and then dropped her off at home for us so they could get their brand new puppy. Our other awesome friend watched our kitties and facilitated the puppy drop off. Everyone was safe, happy, and healthy when we got home.
It's good to be home. But not at the same time. I'd like to start the vacation over again, please?
We were all off today, but tomorrow is back to the grind. And it's our town's annual Halloween Parade, so we'll have a houseful of company.
Oh and did I mention I was one of the injuries? Yeah, scraped the back of my foot on a rusty metal block as we were waiting for everyone on the docks after the charter boat. It was just a dead skin thing, really. We doctored it up Thursday night, and it felt really good until today. Now I'm soaking it in peroxide and dreading having to wear actual shoes tomorrow.
So now we're back to the grind...
We're in the 50/50 challenge in my writing group and I've already exceeded the daily goal. Awesome. I'm trying to get back into my groove. This challenge will totally help.
That is all for now! I hope to have pictures soon!
Behave!

Winding Down...

Summer, that is...
We have precious days left... Tomorrow. Saturday. Sunday. That's all.
Tonight we went to Back to School Open House. Dealt with some frustrating information relating to K3's summer school - none of it makes sense, but they're investigating everything and have promised us they'll make things right. K4 got to meet a few of her teachers and some other students, she finally chose her electives and despite the classroom structure being different from what she expected, she's willing to give it a shot and see how it goes. K3 is happy to get back to his friends and his senior year!
Tomorrow night is school shopping. We haven't had time to do it yet. K3 doesn't need much. K4 needs pretty much everything. It's going to be a long night.
Saturday is a trip to the Renaissance Faire. We are so excited! We haven't been yet this year. This won't be our last trip. I got our tickets today!! I'm very grateful we have someone to stay with the pooch all day. Otherwise...
Sunday... well... That's kind of up in the air at this point. We're supposed to do Family Dinner at Mom's, but with everyone going back to school and a lot of us having to complete The Ice Bucket Challenge -- I don't know what we'll end up doing...
Writing... Yes, I am writing. It's slow, but I am.
The new routine will be welcome, I think. I hope. I think it's time for the new normal...
Behave!

The Saturday of No Sleeping In...

So... I was going to sleep in a lot longer... My phone rang at 7:48am. I heard it, but rolled over and ignored it. (sometimes That Man calls me to try to get me out of bed... and I had gone to bed late so...no...) Then, the notification that I had a voice mail sounded. I knew it couldn't be good. I listened, and as I listened, I got up and put clothes on. That Man flew into our room and said he had to go, because he got the same call. I was going with him, because my dad had fallen and Mom needed help getting him up. So... we went. And yes, I went in my Mickey Mouse jammie pants and an ugly sweatshirt. That Man got Dad up, he made him tea. We chatted for a few minutes and then That Man and I went about our business of setting up new bank accounts thanks to the breach at my payroll company. What a freaking pain. (Oh and I did go home to change out of my jammie pants and ugly sweatshirt first) I went back to the 'rents so my mom could go to the grocery store. I wrote many words. I started laundry for my mom. I looked for this freaking cool-as-hell bowl my sister needs, but sadly, didn't find it. My dad slept. I put on obnoxious television, but he didn't wake up. I tried, but he was tired and in pain.
Mom got home and I rushed to meet K4 at the haircut place. She was in the chair when I got there. Half of her head was shaved. Despite the shock value of her new haircut, it's super cool. She loves it. I do, too. It's so her. And, seriously... it's only hair.
The d-i-l had picked her up previously to take her to the mall, specifically to Victoria's Secret to be fitted for bras. Since they hadn't been able to get her a bday present, this was a big deal. VS was having an enormous sale and many bras (in the right size) were bought. Both of my girls were happy. Baby B was a huge flirt during this whole process. After the haircut, we had lunch, then found a 50% off bathing suit and cheap flipflops. Also super cool.
Then grocery shopping where I saved a significant amount in coupons. Then rushing to get K3 to his Improv show at the coolest venue! A bookstore! Cheap coffee. Cool building, except they don't do fiction. But still! When we got home, K3 left to do teenager things. That Man and I made our food for tomorrow's picnic. I talked to my parental unit and now... it's now...
And I'm super tired and must go to bed. The sleeping in thing? Yeah... Not going to happen tomorrow... We're going to hear K4 speak at her job. Then we're heading to The Wilds for the holiday picnic.
We're sad we couldn't camp this weekend... Very much so...But, we weren't ready and there is all of this stuff going on and needing to be done... So whatever...
Behave!

April Fool

It's been a while since we've had a really good April Fool's joke around here.... I wasn't even thinking about it this year since I'm in the middle of training and so totally brain dead...
But...
Let me give you the back story...
On Saturday, I attempted to log in to my electric companies website to pay my bill. I was redirected to a place where I was supposed to register all of my accounts. What? I have one. It's already registered. I just want to pay my freaking bill.. I get nowhere. I send an email to customer service. I stop trying.
So Monday morning, I can't sleep. I wake up at four am and try as I might, I'm up. I decide to tackle the electric company website again. When I clicked, I got their page, but every picture and flash thingy and everything was pictures of Nicholas Cage. I didn't even know what to say... I was kind of afraid that the site had some kind of virus so I quickly wrote down the contact info and closed everything down.
I tried to call the electric company on my lunch break. I got no where. They said they had an abnormally high volume of calls, so I figured everyone was seeing Nic Cage.
I had plans Monday night to see the friends I never see. I went to dinner and had a great time, though I left way way earlier than I wanted to. I get home to chaos. The grandson is here. Dinner for the following day is under construction. Homework is being done. Things finally calm down and I log onto my computer....
Every freaking picture is Nicholas Cage... every picture in my email, every profile picture, meme, picture of mine, advertising... EVERYTHING....
I go into freak out mode thinking the electric company website gave me some kind of virus. I'm running scans, complaining... you get the picture.
The kid, K4, says... "Sometimes extensions can do that to you." I pretty much ignore her, because I don't have any extensions... forgetting the fact that I've let her use my computer to do her homework...
She starts laughing hysterically...
I check my extensions and see "nic cage"...
Yeah... She got me. Big time. And it was one of the most hysterical things ever!
I finally managed to pay the electric bill, then received an email back from their customer service telling me the site was down for maintenance. How lucky does my kid get with her prank?
Oh wait.... This kid was the one conceived on April 1. She wins. No matter what!
Behave!
ps... I love my new job! (and that's no joke)

It Has Begun...Again

It's been several years since this flamingo has been around. I think it needed a vacation after its last appearance at the beach.
Imagine my surprise when I went out to start the 'burban and see this wired to my wiper blade - hanging out there so anyone driving by could see and wonder why the heck its there. I died laughing (which probably also made people wonder).
I texted my sister and brother-in-law telling them that I think we have a situation. My sister knew but isn't the one who wired it there. My brother-in-law, however, agreed that we are in the middle of a situation. Ha!
The last time this bird was out we were at the beach. It showed up everywhere - beds, the washing machine, showers, hot tub, pool, in cars, in the elevator. We never knew where it would appear, but it always did.
Now that it's back and in my possession, it's up to me to figure out where it should go next. I'm thinking really hard about that and will let you know what I come up with.
Behave!

Christmas Eve...

As I sit here at the dining room table with K4, trading funny videos and discussing the plans for today, I find myself looking at Christmas's past and at how much my family has changed.
Fourteen years ago I was heavy with child. It was K4's due date. I was running around like a crazy person trying to make Christmas as perfect as possible - cleaning (again, because it was constant), doing laundry (also constant), cooking, herding three kids ages 3, 8, and 10 and being in the early stages of labor. (and not taking the time to realize it since I was so busy)
This year I am not heavy with child. (ha ha) I am not running around like a crazy person trying to make Christmas as perfect as possible in an attempt to be Superwoman. The house is clean, the laundry is done, the food for today and tomorrow is prepped. I have to pack up the items for going to my parents later, shower, and possibly run the vacuum, but that's all I have to do. The presents are wrapped (except for two things, really four, but That Man is finishing up last minute details on two, and two will most likely not arrive in time) - most are already under the tree, except for K3's and K4's.
This is not the Christmas I envisioned two months ago, but I think it's still going to be a good one. I am blessed beyond words with great kids, awesome grandkids, fantastic family, great friends, and the best friend in the world. We don't have a lot in the way of presents, but we have more than many people - maybe not material things, but with love and a mutual enjoyment of each other's company.
I am looking forward to hanging out at my parents later and the kids coming back here after to do their Secret Santa exchange. We'll also have Christmas with K2 and J since they are with J's family this year.
In the morning, we'll have Christmas with our down-sized family. Just the four of us for the first time ever. We'll have presents, good coffee, tea, breakfast, That Man and I will have mimosa's. K1 & J will arrive and we'll do Christmas with them before switching gears for K4's 14th birthday. Tacos, friends, family, more presents for K4...
I am looking forward to it.
Many blessings upon your family!
Behave!

Ugly Sweater Head....

We had our First Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party tonight... It was low key due to funds. We weren't able to invite as many people as we would have liked. It was family this time! We're hoping next year is way better! (So if you didn't get invited, you most likely will next time!) It's going to be a tradition! Because... We had a blast!

This is That Man's Ugly Sweater Head... He and K4 had this secret scheme cooked up shortly after we decided to have this party. They went shopping for paints Friday night - hiding the whole process from me because it was a surprise. I died laughing. K4 did such a good job painting this ugly sweater on her dad's head. Yes. His head is shaved to look like male pattern baldness. It was epic!
There was a lot of food. A lot of good food. Not much booze, which was absolutely fine. (it was byob and it's Sunday night. Most people have to work tomorrow!)
The winners of the Ugliest Sweater Contest were divided into several groups.... Cutest. Most Creative. Ugliest, New Category.
My niece's boyfriend went all out. He had a really ugly sweater that included battery operated lights. He won first prize. My not-biological sister's (but should be) boyfriend won for most creative. My adorable grandson won for cutest with his elephant sweater that included a trunk and a tail. The new category was created by my awesome brother-in-law who showed up looking like an identical copy of Eddie from Christmas Vacation. Perfect and AWESOME!! (I would post the picture, but my phone is not dropping photos to iCloud like it's supposed to and I can't access the pictures! Something is wrong with my new iPhone! Yikes!)
Besides the ugly sweaters, we had a ton of fun! A ton!
I can't believe Christmas is in less than three days! That Man and I had a blast yesterday during our day mostly alone in honor of our 27th anniversary. We had K5 in the am...for breakfast and shopping for her momma - which has been our tradition with her. K5 wanted to buy her mom a razor to shave her face! LOL! Silly and no, S does not need to ever shave her face. K5 found some good and some silly gifts after not eating the pancake she was dying for... We had a snowball fight, a lot of selfies, Great-grandma visiting, pretending we were sleeping, bunny slippers, plan making, and fun. God. I love that kid. So much.
After we dropped K5 off, That Man and I tackled our immense shopping list while K1 & J took the younger K's home with them (because they are awesome!). And we got the shopping done, except for two things... Two things that are stressing me out! I hope to take care of that stress tomorrow!
Other than that, we're ready. Presents are purchased (even though some might not make it under the tree in time! Dammit!) We took care of the wrapping and had a fantastic day alone with Chinese food, adult beverages, watching movies that were then wrapped and put under the tree! LOL! I missed being with him like that! It was so good! We slept in this morning, cleaned, grocery shopped from now until Christmas, cooked, and laughed a whole hell of a lot.
So... It was a good weekend!
I hope your pre-Christmas weekend was good as well!
Behave!!