This Week

Bad Hair Day + Nothing to Wear = Grumpy Me! 

Ugh - I have been in a funk/bad mood all week, much to the delight of my family I am sure!  There are just too many commitments, not enough sleep, etc.  Something has gotta give, but what I am not sure.  I am so ready for this week to be over.  Thank goodness it is Thursday.  To top it all off I leave for Atlanta on Sunday for a conference.  Maybe a few days away is what I need since part of my funk/bad mood is caused by the other people in my house (what can I say, I am honest)!

Speaking of those people, Chatty has a report to do on an animal and their habitat.  They were able to choose an animal from one of the following habitats: prairie, forest (not rain forest though), underground and pond.  So what does she choose??  Bet you will never guess ... CATFISH!  Random yes but she swears she loves them since my parents have a small one in a a fish tank at their house (long story).  So we started researching and all we could find was stuff on mammoth catfish that can eat people whole ... ummm no.  With much discussion and argument (she's a stubborn one like her mamma), we finally helped her choose a different animal ... the Bald Eagle!  Way cooler and much easier to research.  She has to write a report, cite her resources, make a poster/diagram/etc. and present it all in class next week (all in 1st grade).  I don't care what the stupid polls say, she is getting a top notch education and it is a public school!! 

She completed her outline and wrote her report (I was so proud of her - she worked so hard on it).  We even sketched how she wants the poster to look.  I told her I would help her get her poster completed on Saturday so Mr. ESPN doesn't have to worry about it next week while I am gone.  He and Bia can just listen to her practice her presentation (can you picture it???  I am sure Bia will be interrupting every 5 seconds).

Ok - off to get a Diet Coke ... that will surely improve my mood!!

A little Behind

I can't seem to get ahead this week - or any week for that matter.  It's Thursday already and this is the first time I have posted this week.  Not sure what I have been up to (work, sick Bia, soccer, etc.) but I haven't had much time to blog and/or post pictures.

Last weekend we were supposed to have our good friends (AZCottrells) over to watch the GO CATS (as Chatty refers to them) pound the Huskies. Unfortunately Bia woke up with a fever on Friday that lasted through part of Sunday. So instead of getting together for the game we cheered them on in separate places and Mr. ESPN and Matt texted each other during the game!  Afterwards we had a family night of Wii bowling.

Chatty started out happy and dressed for I am not sure what

Then she started losing and looked like this

And this

This is how Mr. ESPN bowls

Bia can now bowl (yes another fashionista in the house)

"Come on Strike"

"Woo Hoo I got a strike!!"

Puppy played too

Sunday we celebrated our neighbor's 3rd birthday ... the weather was a little cool (for desert standards) but we had a great time.  Luckily Bia was feeling better and was able to join in on the party ...

Self Portrait

Chatty Played some hoops

Check out that concentration

Bia showed her silly faces

All in all a pretty good weekend - especially since we had Monday off!  This weekend - lots of soccer practice and a Girls Night for me on Saturday night!

QUOTABLE QUOTES

I read so many blogs that have all of these inspirational quotes or Bible verses and I always think - wow I wish I knew those by memory and could put them on my blog.  Yes I know it wouldn't take much effort, with the internet and the Bible APP on my phone (thanks Mr. ESPN - maybe that's a hint I need to read it more), but life gets in the way.  So instead I decided I am going to try and remember to write down quotes I hear at work and home and post them.  My favorite quote from work this week (which I posted on FB):

• "I can't fix STUPID!" - Love it!

Some others I heard at work this week:

• "I am a MOG, part man part dog.  I am my own best friend."
• "It doesn't matter what she wears he will find something to say about it.  She's got curves, it's kind of hard to hide them."
• "Sorry I have cerebral flatulence today."
• "You can work with the people in Bangledoor." (really they are in Bangladore, India - not Bangledoor)
• "We make sh** fly!" (The company I work for makes avionics, wheels, brakes, etc. for aircraft - we are on most commercial flights and yes one of our slogans is We Make It Fly)

Let's see what next week brings ... maybe Chatty and Bia will supply me with some material!

Back to Life ....

Back to Reality, Back to the Here and Now (you can thank me for having this song stuck in your head all day) ... I am back in the desert after a long - long - did I mention long - cold week in NJ or as I refer to it as Tax He**!  It was that good people - not!  11 hour days of tax with people who like to hear themselves talk! This resulted in breaks and lunch being delayed and shortened almost every single day (not good for a girl like me who enjoys eating).  As if that wasn't enough we had two group dinners too!  Ahh it was like the gift that just kept giving!

After two weekends in a row being cut short due to travel ... I was in bed by 8:15 p.m. last night.  Pretty romantic for Valentine's Day!  In my defense I picked up Pei Wei for dinner and brought Mr. ESPN beer back from NJ (his favorite) and thanks to the Kingston Queen for packing some of his beer in her suitcase too!


Mr. ESPN survived last week and didn't need to call in back up support, although I think he was just as excited to see me as the girls were - or maybe it was because he knew I had beer in my suitcase!  Whatever it was he was happy!  Funny comment from Chatty at the airport.

Chatty: "Mom I learned how to shoot tonight!"
Me (dazed and confused): "You learned how to what tonight?"
Chatty: "I learned how to shoot!"
Me: "Umm what?"
Chatty: "I learned how to shoot a goal at soccer tonight!"
Me (relieved): "Oh that's great!"

Note to self remind Chatty using the term shoot at an airport isn't the best idea in the world.

Happy Birthday to my Granny yesterday!  The girls and I called her last night and both sang their own rendition of Happy Birthday to her.  It was cute!

OK - is it Friday yet???

Dinner Table Conversation With Kids

Those of you who have been following this blog for awhile know we are very good friends with our neighbors across the street.  We hang out with them ALL THE TIME (and even vacation with them).  Last night my neighbor e-mails me this:

Tonight at dinner, Dad smacks (not hard - don't worry no animals were hurt) one of the pups down because they were jumping up and yapping at us. One of them whines a bit at being smacked and the kids laugh and the following conversation ensued.

Mom: "Its not funny." 
Dad (to the kids): "No one does that to the pups but me."
Kids: "Why?"
Dad: "Because I am the Master."
A pause ...
7 year old Son: "And Mommy is the Master of you - the master of all?"
3 year old Daughter: "Yeah!" 
Dad: "Is Chatty telling you that stuff?"

Mr. ESPN and I were dying of laughter! 

Thoughtless Thursday

Not much going on around here (hence the reason I haven't posted all week) - just the usual chaos that is our life. 

• Yesterday we had a high of 42 degrees with 20 mph winds.  Needless to say soccer practice was COLD for us here in the desert!  Speaking of which, one kid shows up in shorts, t-shirt and thin little hoodie!  For pete's sake - can't her parents figure out how to dress her warmly - a little common sense people! 
• Another note from soccer - I was so cold I took my scarf and wrapped it around my head and then my neck.  I looked like someone from the Middle East ... my friend was cracking up (it was quite the site)!  You do what you gotta do right?
• I have to go to NJ for work on Sunday ... nice right?  Lovely, snowy, cold NJ in February!  And I won't be able to thaw out until Friday when I return to the desert (yes I know some of you live in cold places but I am from FL and have only lived in FL and AZ ... my body isn't programmed for extended bouts of cold weather).
• My kids were up and dressed by 5:45 am this morning.  The early rising gene did NOT come from me!
• Karma will bite you in the a**.  In the middle of the night Chatty came in complaining she had a nightmare.  I told her she was fine and go back to bed.  Then I fell back asleep and had a nightmare!  Note to self - next time Chatty has a nightmare at least offer to tuck her back in bed.
• I took my first Zumba class on Monday night with my friend L.  It was fun and funny!  I mean really funny when I looked at myself in the mirror during class!
• I asked Mr. ESPN if he wanted me to make any food for he and the girls to eat next week while I am gone.  Chatty answers and says "Brownies", I say "OK, what else?"  Chatty says "Cookies!"  She's my kind of girl!
• Bia has no concept of time.  Last night I told her I was leaving on a plane on Sunday and two minutes later she says, you leave tomorrow? (mmm ... depends on how you and Chatty behave)
• I don't think I took any pictures during the month of January.  Note to self - take some!
• Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday ... I am bailing out early so I can get some provisions for my adventure to the blustery northeast!

Honestly ...

(yes I copied this idea from someone else's blog)

• Is it possible for your child to be described as an Angel at school and then be the complete opposite anything less than angelic at home?  I had a wonderful parent teacher conference with Chatty's teacher.  She was gushing about how smart, sweet, eager, etc. she was.  Her first words to me were "Chatty is an Angel in class!"  Honestly?
• Was it necessary to to make our new Children's Hospital look like the Rio Hotel in Vegas on the outside?  The red lights change to different colors of the rainbow as they go up and down (you can see the purple on the bottom).  While I am all for spending money on a top notch children's hospital, I have a slight issue with the excess that was undoubtedly spent on this part.  Especially since this is the same hospital who at one time sent me a letter saying they no longer accepted our insurance even though they accept people without insurance!  I am not bitter - Honestly!

(this was the best pic I could find since I didn't whip my phone out

while I was driving on the freeway this morning at 6:15 am)

• It is possible for you to not lose weight while training for a half-marathon and in fact you can even gain weight while training.  Honestly!
• Can one kid leave school early two days in one week and be completely healthy?  Earache on Monday - 1 1/2 hour doctor visit later = nothing wrong.  Vomit in dance class on Wednesday - go home = nothing wrong.  Bia are you looking for some attention, honestly (Bia loves her school - honestly!)?
• I may be more excited about going to Disneyland than my kids.  Yep - Honestly I am!  Probably because I get to see one of my most favorite cousins and hopefully meet Casey!
• I told Chatty I needed a 4 day vacation from her bad attitude.  Honestly! (not sure why I said 4 day but in the heat of the moment it sounded good).
• I wore jeans to work today (we're only supposed to wear jeans on Fridays).  But because my boss is in another state and no one in my department works in this building I decided to do it (and because secretly I am a rebel).  Honestly!