953

Weekends drag on forever when that guy that I like so much is out of town.

Especially when it rains.

We went to Target. We went to Taco Bell. We went to Macy's. We went to church. We went to Maggiano's.

Yawn.

Brian bought a new hat and I asked to take a picture of him. He (as usual) agreed.

And this says it all:

Brotherly love.

=0)

(Oh...and 953 is the number of posts I've done. Crazy!)

Matthew

Happy Birthday!

My boy. My baby boy.

He's 20 today.

TWEN-TY.

How can that be? Wasn't he just a babe in my arms?

Whoosh.

First day of Kindergarten?

Whoosh.

13?

Whoosh.

Learning to drive?

Whoosh.

Going away to college?

Whoosh.

Leaving the teens?

Whoosh.

My boy is TWENTY.

What a fun journey we're on, Matthew. Keep doing what you are doing...you are doing it well. You've got one proud momma over here.

=0)

(be safe on your trip...love you!)

(Oh...and I stole this picture from his facebook page. The mohawk is gone and add earrings. The smirk? 100% Matthew, which is why I like the picture.)

Ugh

This is going to be the post in which I rant and rave and moan and groan.

Just letting you know ahead of time.

• I have spent the week trying to work with people who have no desire to be worked with. I have been cussed at, belittled, ignored, and told I was a 'young idiot'. (that was my personal fave, since I have a son leaving teen-hood tomorrow.) From crossing guards. Yep, your friendly neighborhood crossing guards. Today after being called a name that I myself have never even uddered (shocker), I climbed in my car, drove a few blocks and cried. Like a young idiot.
• I tweaked my back last night playing Dr Mario. Dr Mario, you ask? Isn't that a game that you play sitting down and don't move any muscle except your eyeballs and thumbs? I looked over my shoulder and felt something pull. Oh, and it's not just my husband who is out of town...my chiropractor is too.
• I ran into Costco to return some shorts I had bought for Brian. Had two things on my list...eggs and 1/2 and 1/2. Bought eggs and forgot the jug of 1/2 and 1/2. Drove home, grabbed the eggs and dropped all 18 of them in the street in front of my house.

Whew. There you have it. All will be well.

=0)

Busy Week

My favorite things of late:

sunshine.

a quiet house.

a mozzarella/fresh basil/sundried tomato panini

one diet coke a day. in a glass.

=0)

It's been a busy week, full of crossing guards and jewelry orders and cooking and NOT cleaning (ugh) and volunteer work and boys.

Always boys. I do like them there boys.

What I don't like is chicken.

(how's that for a seg way?)

Fortunately I am not famous like Oprah, so I don't have to worry about being sued for not liking chicken.

But I don't like chicken.

I am not even going to get into why I don't like chicken, but it happened a few years ago and we'll just leave it at that.

I do; however, like cows. And the fact that they give me pot roast.

=0)

What other randomness can I write about today?

Last night Alex and a friend went to the gym. I was assigned the duty of picking them up, but in the midst of cleaning up from supper and a husband who wanted to talk and an 11 yr old's meltdown over the lack of chocolate chips in the house (it was intense, I tell ya), I kind of forgot.

I was sitting on the couch in my jammies watching the Olympics when Alex called.

"MOM!"

Because no one ever says the word mom, at least in my house, in a soft gentle voice. It's always well articulated.

"MOM!"

So out I went to pick them up, wearing my red n black santa pj bottoms, a lime green t-shirt and brown clogs.

Oh, and there just might've been a barrette on the top of my head. I'm not positive because I can't see the top of my head. Good thing.

Not sure, but that very well may have been on my list of things that I would never EVER do as a mother.

Oh well.

=0)

New Do

I love Mondays.

I love Mondays when I have something exciting and fun to share.

See the new Bella Michele Jewelry button? ------------>

Check it out!

(makes me very happy!!)

=0)

Mt. Laundry

My life, in a nutshell.

Which makes me think of Tammy, who called and left an 8 minute (yes, EIGHT minute) voicemail on my cell. At the end she said, 'ok...that's my life in a nutshell. (pause) I guess it's a pretty big nutshell.'

=0)

Almost drove off the road, I was laughing so hard.

Anyway, my life in a nutshell. Laundry. Lots and lots of laundry.

See these white clothes? They've been in the dryer since MONDAY people. Monday.

And today is ????

SIGH.

Lucky me...it's not just piled up in the laundry room. It's here:

And here:

And if I'm not mistaken, it's piled pretty high in my bathroom, too.

Who's in charge around here anyway?

I was concerned that I might get fired, so I made breakfast this morning...potatoes, peppers, onions, avocado and tomato topped with a couple of over-easies.

It's a temporary fix (but I still have my job as Queen at least) and now my day will be spent trying to get it under control...there's not a clean sock (or other unmentionables) in this whole houseful of boys, so I can't put it off any longer.

At least I'll have the Olympics to keep me company.

=0)

Summoned

A few weeks ago I was assigned to jury duty...the call in kind. And I faithfully called in on Friday and Monday and Tuesday and then completely forgot about the rest of the week.

It's all these boys, I'm tellin' ya.

Turns out I was due to report on Thursday, but I didn't know because I didn't call, so I was a no show.

When the postcard came in the mail, I got scared. Though not as scared as when I saw the other envelope that came in the mail that day...the one with the 3 capital letters.

IRS.

But we're not gonna blog about that because it makes me cry. And then laugh. And then rock back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.

However, the jury duty summons I could fix with a phone call and I chose to report today. I'm off work, the boys have school, seemed like a good plan.

That is until Alex was up all night long with bad stomach pains (which I thought might've been appendix, but I now think is just the flu. I hope.) and I was up with him, worrying. And if you know my Alex at all, then let this sink in...he woke me up at midnight in PAIN.

Not good. Not good. Not good.

He finally slept at 4:30am. Poor pobrecito.

=0(

I had to leave him and hang out at the court house. Grrrr. He slept until I woke him on my lunch break and he ate a little soup. He's now on the couch waiting for me to come home...I had to back at 1:30pm and just found out I will be dismissed by 3:00pm.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Praise God for WiFi.

So here I sit, watching people. And playing on Facebook. And blogging. And wanting nothing more than to go home to my 16 year old, who needs his momma.

Sigh.

Growing Up

My youngest shrub, Brian, is the younger brother by a few years.

There are pro's and con's to being the youngest by a few years, with one of the con's being that he has spent a pretty good chunk of his life in the 3rd row of the car driving one brother or the other to activity after activity.

But the biggest pro? Pretty soon it became his turn to be driven and taken on fun outings with just his friends.

This morning is a day off of school and while the 16 yr old slept, Brian and a friend hopped in the car for a few hours at the beach.

And I noticed that he needs new flip flops for summer.

=0)

Brian is a fish...the child grew up in a swimming pool and loves all things water. Even when the water is cold and the waves are big.

As long as the sun is shining (gotta love February in California!) it just doesn't matter.

But the other really, really exciting news is that Brian made the city honor orchestra...it's a BIG deal and he worked hard on his audition piece. He gets to perform in a huge concert hall and miss a day of school to perform at Disneyland in May.

My baby is growing up.

Sniff.

=0)

Friday

I never thought I would be one of those mothers who raised each of her children with a slightly different creative license.

Mainly because I used to judge mothers like that.

(she admits while hanging her head in shame.)

But I am.

Take the science fair backboard project. My oldest son's project consisted of the most perfect, most colorful, most creatively put together project of all time.

Fancy paper and stickers and stamps, oh my!

He got an A. Of course. And I held my head high for him.

Mind you, he didn't care one single bit...but that project? I wore it like a badge of honor.

Enter son #2. His was not quite the most perfect backboard in the room, but we were dealing with a failure to thrive toddler who did. not. sleep and while his project was colorful and artfully done....it just wasn't the most creative one in the room.

Alex? He didn't care one single bit about it...in fact, he spent most of that evening running around with his friends.

Enter son #3. No longer failure to thrive, he has a mind (a very strong mind at that) of his own. Asked how he wanted to do his backboard, he replied, "Mom...I've got it handled." Never one to miss an assignment or not study for a test (sooooo refreshing, let me tell you!), I let him handle it.

Not a single piece of colored paper. No stickers. No stamps.

Just his own idea of how it should look.

I walked into our multi purpose room and saw all those great backboards...and all those proud moms. Brian's stood out. I even had another parent say that their child wanted to do it on their own, but there was no way...after all, the science grade is at stake!!

6th grade, people. 6th grade.

But he did that board 100% on his own and was SO proud.

=0)

It's the same with hair.

I mean, it's just hair and it's just 6th grade...right?

(ok...and I won't let him do it for school or church, which leaves Saturdays, so he really only has free hair reign one day a week!)

=0)

New in the shop!

Strawberries, grown right here in my little town, smack dab in the OC.

=0)

The absolute best chocolate fondue recipe in the world....perfect while watching the opening ceremonies.

(which I fell asleep during. long week.)

Anyway, this fondue is the great...perfect with stuff to dip, including fingers.

=0)

Feeling Sappy

I love the campus where my husband teaches...it is green and hilly and tucked away (many in our own city don't even know it is there) and quiet (during quiet hours) and just....beautiful.

All the buildings are similar, except my husbands office...which resembles Space Mountain.

But most of all...I love his students. Past, present...all of them.

Sigh.

Just feeling sappy today.

=0)

This week has been freakishly cold here.

Yes, freakishly.

40 degrees yesterday morning in my car.

40. Degrees.

In southern California.

The land of 'sunny and fair.'

But here is what I love about where I live...Monday (a holiday for all except private universities!) is supposed to be sunny. And warm.

Really warm.

Not sure my toes are going last until then!

Something amazing happened on Tuesday evening. My boy...my #35, emerged from the clouds.

Not literally, you know.

But bombarded with knee injuries and self doubt and lackluster guidance (I refuse to go there...it'll remove my sappiness), I took matters into my hands.

We were home alone on Monday night for a little bit, discussing heavy topics like The Bachelor and being a middle child and Italy, all while dipping our ginormous spoons into a bowl of cookie dough...and I slyly brought up basketball.

"hey...what's going on with you on the court?"

(how's that for sly?)

"whaddya mean?"

(he's 16, remember. grammar'll come. ok, maybe not.)

"well...you're kinda playin' sorta...I dunno...like you're bored. or tired. or disinterested."

(how's that for beating around the bush?)

He talked about what he was feeling and why and I gave him advice.

(It's important to remember that I have never played basketball a day in my life, mind you.)

I told him to do what he does. Skip all those outside shots. Drive the ball in. Take it to the board. Grab that stinkin' rim.

(and a bunch of other things that I thought made sense, but by his body language (rolling on the floor laughing hysterically) I am not sure how much sense they made, but to me they did...and that's all that counts, eh?)

=0)

Fast forward to the next night. Alex's team had an away game and we drove in the rain to watch. And watch we did. We watched our Alex...the boy who LOVES to play basketball, PLAY BASKETBALL.

It was so fun.

On the car ride home, that guy that I like so much said, "I'm glad my talk with him last night worked."

"YOUR talk?"

"Yep...I told him to start playing like he knows how to play. That he could do it."

So I guess we inadvertently submarined the kid. But it worked.

=0)

Monday

My boys had the day off today; however, the district right next door does not...so I was out bright and early harassing crossing guards.

And I didn't really harass them, so no hate mail please.

But I am having to re-teach every single one of them and that whole 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks' is kinda sorta true.

=0)

We then had a lazy day...in fact, when I walked back in my door at 8:35am, my boys were still sleeping. Kinda nice.

We then putzed around...they played football and video games and ran in. And ran out. And ran in. And ran out. All afternoon.

I sat at my kitchen table with a girlfriend...me making jewelry and she (or is it her? ugh...it's going to bug me now!) editing my website, the front door open wide and our kids running in. And running out.

Didn't I already say that?

I haven't checked it out yet and she did a lot of muttering, but seemed happy with it at the end.

Or maybe it was because she walked out with this?

This little one is my new favorite...BLOOM is my word for the year and I'm loving the whole square thing. Fun.

=0)

Supper tonight is going to be pasta...I've got gravy in the freezer that I'll pull out and warm up. That guy that I like so much is only home for a little bit on Mondays before he has to go back for choir, so it's a fast kinda meal for us.

But later tonight I'll stuff and steam a couple of artichokes because it is the Bachelor night...which I am embarrassingly excited about.

Can't wait.

=0)

I Did Not

I am pretty sure I just hit an all time low when I asked my husband which book of the bible was the verse, 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'

Yes, I did.

(It's not a bible verse, by the way...I knew as soon as my husband started choking on his wine.)

I tried to save the whole situation by saying 'oh, I knew that...I was just testing you...' while secretly still thinking that maybe Jesus did say that? Or maybe Moses? Or Lot?

(testing my church worker husband on his bible verses...yep, that's what I was doing.)

By this time he was laughing so hard that he was crying, which I wish I could say was not a regular occurrence in our house.

I know for a fact that he did not laugh on the very first day we met, but I am pretty sure he has laughed at/with/about me most every day since.

Which is why I like him so much.

=0)

Tis The Season

Basketball season.

Oh, how I love thee.

Although this has been the most interesting seasons of all, and one that I am not quite sure of what the outcome will be.

Yes, our team is undefeated in league...which is cool. And fun. But other things are brewing, which aren't so cool. Or fun.

God knows the game plan and we need to trust.

(but it's hard. really, really hard.)

Before I get into all the reasons why I have NOT been blogging, I'll share with you a little of my rainy day today.

I went to see my 'almost not a teen anymore' son at his school and dropped off a care package. A food care package.

And then he surprised me and invited me to see his room...complete with the Friends style of decorating.

See?

A foosball table in the kitchen!

He even cleaned for me.

=0)

I especially love how his roommate sleeps with no sheet on his bed...the sheet is being used as a curtain on the kitchen window.

College aged males are very resourceful.

=0)

A Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY:

February 1, 2010

Outside my window...sunshine. Low 60's and sunny...gotta love winter in southern California. Never thought this is where we'd end up, but God planted us here and you can't beat the weather!

I am thinking...about my oldest, who has a birthday coming up. Matthew is back at school and I'm missing having him around, especially since he won't be home this summer. He also won't be home on his birthday this year, but he will be on a long bus ride with his dad...they're heading north on choir tour for that week.

I am thankful for...this past weekend. We had the most amazing Saturday ever...no sports. No concerts. No parties. No big projects. Just a whole day at home hanging out with that guy that I like so much. Life is so crazy busy right now, so Saturday was a gift.

From the kitchen...lots has been cooking, but nothing today. This weekend I made chicken scaloppine one night and pasta with gravy another...tonight I am helping to co-host Alex's team dinner (there is one the night before every home game) and all I am in charge of is soda, water, ice and brownies. The other family is picking up KFC...our boys choice. (ick) Brian, Alex and I will be at that...Michael has choir late, so he'll grab something at home before he goes back.

I am wearing...jeans, a tie-dyed flowy kind of hippie shirt (makes me homesick for Boulder) and bare feet. Clogs for when I go out in a bit.

I am creating...lots of Valentine orders this week. I need to get them shipped by Thursday, so I have some work to do.

I am going...to Costco for a couple of things and to the grocery store for tonight's party. I've already been out early to work and to the gym.

I am reading...the book of Luke for bible study. Nothing else at the moment!

I am hoping...that I can get everything done and be everywhere I need to be this week. I choose to not look ahead in my calendar beyond tomorrow, but I did and now I am stressed. Lots going on and I need to just take a deep breath and chill.

I am hearing...the TV in the other room. Alex has the day off today...he's already been to practice and is now doing a very uncharacteristic Alex thing, which is lay on the couch and watch TV. He's a mover and shaker, but his body (and his mom) have told him to take it easy today...he has a big week, too.

Around the house...lots of little messes. Oh well. The kitchen is clean, the boys bath is clean...I really should make my bed!

One of my favorite things...strawberries. They are grown locally here and it is strawberry season!

A few plans for the rest of the week: Lots of basketball, which I thankfully love.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...the only picture on my camera from this weekend! =0)