Bring on the heat

There are literally thousands of pictures saved on my computer and scrapbooked into many books in my house.  My family loves to look at all those pictures and pages and reminisce about the memories they bring.

On this cold January day, as the forecasters call for yet another winter storm (ice this time), I wanted needed to remember warmer times.

On this day last July, we went to a Cincinnati Reds game as a family (one of the things on our "Summer To-Do List").  The game started at 1:10pm.

It was 100 degrees.

We sat in the sun, soaking up the rays and sweating them back out, only to soak them up again.

Looking at this picture makes me feel warm again.  I can almost taste the heat.  Almost.  And it makes this cold day tolerable.  Until tomorrow, when I may have to drag out every summer picture I own to erase the effects of the ice storm headed this way...

In three months, winter will be but a memory.

I can't wait.

What do you do with your photos?  How do you survive the winter months?  Which do you prefer-summer or winter?

Mean mom, fun mom

Put away your laundry.

Do your homework.

Be nice to your sister.

Don't wrestle your brother.

Do NOT talk to me in that tone of voice!

Brush your teeth.

Wash your hands.

(Repeat on endless loop.)

Some days, it seems that the Mean Mom role is all I play.

So when the kids brought home straight A's on their report cards, I decided to let Fun Mom come out to play.  When I found a great deal for day passes to Coco Key's Indoor Waterpark, the idea was born.

I called the kids off sick, packed our bags, and surprised them with our tickets to a day of Fun.

Gabe is currently on the couch, "vibrating" with excitement in anticipation of our adventure.  Despite the snow, we are getting on our bathing suits and heading out in an hour or so.

Sometimes I like being Fun Mom.  It's, well, fun!

That's what (blog) friends are for...

Life has been pretty hectic around these parts.

Yesterday, I had to take Joe's dad back to the hospital on my way to class.  He is back in atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, and is extremely short of breath and symptomatic with it all.  Once he was settled into his room and I was able to discuss his plan of care with the cardiac nurse practitioner, I had to head downstairs to take a quiz in my community nursing class, then sit through hours of (very boring) lecture.

All this to say that by the time I got home, I was ready for dinner (beer and pizza...no diet today) and bed.  The fact that I had a paper due at midnight the next night did nothing to deter me from falling asleep to Obama's State of the Union.

When I awoke this morning, the anxiety kicked in.  Wednesdays are early release days, which means the kids' schedules are wacked, which means MY schedule is also wacked.  Instead of sitting down and just getting the darn thing done, I checked my email, started some laundry, visited some blogs and whined on Facebook about my plight.

Wearing my crown as the Queen of Procrastination, I dillied and dallied until MEP from Not to Brag chimed in on my status with a suggestion:


 "Here's one of my tricks. Pretend the paper is due in one hour. Sit at the keyboard and type your brains out without editing yourself. Then, when the hour is up, take a look at what you have. It's usually better than you think and you can revise, add, and edit from there."


I took her suggestion and got to it.


90 minutes later, it was written and submitted to my professor via the digital dropbox on our school's website.


I thankfully breathed a huge sigh of relief, took off my crown and prepared to enjoy the rest of my day.

Thanks, Mep!  You have reinforced my belief in the power of blog friends!

I try

January:  the month where we evaluate where we are, and where we want to be.

The planning of vacations.  The losing of weight.  The earning of money.  The bettering of our bodies.

I have planned our vacations.

I have thought about losing weight.

I checked a few books out from the library about both.  Books about Tennessee and Michigan.  A book about becoming a "Skinny Bitch", losing weight and eating healthier.

I didn't make it past the first chapter of that one.  When they talked about giving up caffeine and only drinking water, they lost me.

I'm a night shift girl.  Caffeine is seriously my savior, at the beginning of my 12-hour night shift, in the middle, and most definitely at the end, when I am trying to drive home after being awake for >24 hours.

I'm going to have to find another book.  Or maybe write one.  "How to lose weight on the night shift".

It might just be a winner.

Vacation:  A period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation.

One of my favorite things to do in January is plan our vacation for that year.


This year we are planning a couple of small trips, rather than one big one.


We are doing a friends-and-family getaway to Tennessee over spring break.


And the kids and I were invited to go to Michigan with a girlfriend and her kids.  I have never been to Michigan, and haven't done a girls/kids trip since I was the designated vacation babysitter in my teens.


I cannot wait!


Planning vacations just makes me happy.  And makes the pain of surviving January much more tolerable.


Are you taking any trips this year?  Do you love to plan ahead?  Have you ever been to Michigan?

Snow day survival

Sleep in.

If the kids' internal alarm clocks won't let you hit snooze, go ahead and fix breakfast and get some coffee in your veins...it'll help.

When you're tired of watching the oldest kid play hours worth of video games, kick him outside and watch him shovel the driveway from inside your cozy kitchen.  Smile and be glad you're not twelve years old.

Send at least one kid up to Mamaw's house, to lessen the number of quarreling siblings in your own house.

Make peace with the decision that NOTHING is going to get done today.  Go ahead and have "art class" with your youngest kid at the kitchen table, complete with that chipboard that you still haven't used and LOTS of glitter glue.  Get crazy!  Admire your creations, and acknowledge that your kid may indeed have more talent than you...

Decide to go ahead and organize the five thousand Legos in your son's room, only to have him bail after ten minutes to go sledding in the snow with the neighbors.

Approximately 6.2 minutes after spending double that time bundling him up, help said son shed his snowy clothes and get warm.  (Baby, it really is cold out there!).

Spend the rest of the evening at your in-laws' house, eating a turkey dinner, visiting, and kicking some husband bootay at euchre; say a prayer of thanks for the blessings of family, food and fun.

Tuck the kids in, drink a glass of wine and snuggle up with your husband.  Don't forget to say one more prayer before nodding off:

Please, God, let there be school tomorrow!

The answer is yes.

Elijah asked.

We pondered.

We investigated and inquired, hemmed and hawed, but we finally came up with an answer.

Yes, son, you can go to Washington, D.C. in the fall.

(But no, I cannot chaperone...only teachers can go.  I know he'll have a great time, just like I did when I went with my class back in 1992, just after they had invented the wheel :)