Smellyann Strikes Again

Wordless Wednesday - More Easter Faves

Here are some more shots from this past Easter Sunday that didn't make it into my new header (which, by the way, do you like?!):

So which is your favorite?

Link up here if you're Wordless today! Thanks for hosting, 5MFM! And thanks for looking!

Fin.

Chloë Raine Turns The Big 1-0!

All right, so check it out: on Wednesday, my oldest baby in all the world, the one and only, Curls, aka Clorox, aka Chlo-Bo, aka Chloë Raine, turned TEN years old! This is her in the morning before we headed out to our Christian Military Homeschooling Co-op's "Not Back To School" Breakfast Pajama Party. Yes, even I wore my PJs, which were about eight sizes too big, but it was either that or the skimpy stuff, and well, you know, it wasn't that kind of party. (And no, I have never been to that kind of party.) Anyway. She was, as you can see, entirely too excited about turning ten years old. Well, "too" isn't the word. Omit that. Just plain excited is more like it. And who wouldn't be? Ten is HUGE, right??

There were myriad snafus at the party; it was just one big comedy of errors, all of which led to one giant omission: I didn't take a single picture of the occasion, even though I promised the absent-but-present-in-spirit leaders of said co-op that I would do exactly that. And we sang to Chloë and another birthday girl present at the party, and did cupcakes and the whole bit for it, and everything. Not one dang picture. Gah! But let's not dwell on that, because I took 94 pictures of the rest of her big day, and we shall focus on that. Not that I'm going to show you all 94 pictures, or this page would never load.

After the shindig ended around noon-thirty, we cleaned up our mess and headed right down to the Oceanfront to play miniature golf. My pal Ashley, for whom I have yet to assign a nickername (and I don't think she'd appreciate "Trashley,") had given me a Groupon for 4 people to play, plus two funnel cakes. What an awesome gift to start off our "Poor Man's Birthday Party," as I call our birthdays-full-of-freebies! Neither of the girls had ever played any kind of golf before, and I'm not sure if Jack has with the Cubs, but they all pretty much stunk. Know what, though? I stink at it, too. So, the four of us were fairly evenly matched, except that I had to teach them the rules of the game. The miniature game, that is. Don't ask me about the rules of an actual fairway, 'cause I haven't got a clue.

I did find it interesting that Sophia, a Southpaw, stood the same way as the rest of us Righties to hit the ball. I tried telling her she might want to try the other direction, but she wasn't interested. It's all good.

I couldn't convince Jack to (a) hold the club properly, (b) hit the ball gently when he was a foot away from the hole, (c) not stop the ball when it kept moving past where he thought it ought to be, or (d) not pick up the ball and put it back where he did think it should be. He kept saying, "oops, sorry!" every time I reminded him of any of those things, which was, like, every other five seconds. Since I was in Birthday Mood, I just laughed it off, or else the competitive spirit in me might have gotten fired up about it! Although I admit I might have said "freakin'" once or twice, as in, "Stop touching the freakin' ball, Jack!"

On this particular hole, my ball was the first (and second) to go into "the drink," as my gran'pappy would have called it - although I could have lied and said that never happened, as there is no photographic evidence of such events. But that wouldn't be "Honest and Fair," which is the part of the Girl Scout Law my Daisies and I are working on this week, so I'm telling y'all the truth. Chloë was second to have to fish her ball out of the drink. (Speaking of balls, I never tired of saying, "Stay off the green, and don't touch your balls!" whenever it was my turn to give my bright orange ball a whack and I couldn't watch the youngsters. "Don't touch your balls!" I'm so mature.) Chloë also had to fish her all out of the drink two times. Team Odette rocks at putt-putt, y'all.

Twice fishing for Jacky, too. Haha! We so suck at this game, but since all four of us sucked equally, it was fun for everyone. They had a total blast. I don't have pictures of Sophia's ball in the drink, which makes me think hers didn't go in - but She of the Amazing Strength kept whacking her ball so hard it would fly clear across three or four holes and into some other form of golf-related trouble. Once, we even had to replace it, because it was lost completely. She'd probably give Tiger Woods a run for his money!

I didn't let them win, but this is Chloë's reaction upon my adding up the scores and announcing that she won amongst the kidlets! Fair and square, the birthday girl did the best. This, even after discovering on the third or fourth hole that we were, in fact, aiming for the LOWEST score and not the highest. **Snort**

After our four balls (hee) plunked into the hole (hehe) at the end of Hole 18, the kids discovered a "pirate ship" playground, complete with a fireman's pole-type, uh, pole, which kept them occupied for about 72 days or 15 minutes or something. They really liked that thing. We'd probably still be there if it wasn't hotter'n blue blazes that day, and we were getting all sweaty. Oh, and if I hadn't conveniently remembered the matter of the free funnel cakes we still had coming to us. Heh heh. (Hey, I was bored. Maybe I shoulda gone down the fireman's pole, too.)

Here's Sophia oh-so-patiently awaiting the arrival of the funnel cakes. Not.

I discovered that the kids' hands and feet were all orange from the fireman's pole, so I sent them to wash up before the funnel cakes arrived. Jack came back first and dug right in. I admit, I didn't wait for Birthday Girl and had some before she returned, too. Mmm, mmm - good stuff!

But, it doesn't look like she minded much, does it? She got plenty and there was some to spare. Too bad Daddy wasn't with us or it would've all gotten eaten fo' sho'!

What kid doesn't love these things? I don't know, but mine go nuts for them. Nuts, I tell ye!

Love. They LOVE these fool things. (Btw, what is up with cornhole boards? Are they all the rage now or something? I seem them advertised everywhere. What's the deal?!)

I had a few extra quarters, so I let each of the kids get one of these piratey-themed bouncy balls, after confirming that's what they were and not, in fact, gum. Jack's the only one who can have gum (Sophia never throws hers away in the proper place, and Chloë can't have it with her dental appliance), so that wouldn't have been fair. In any case, all three are probably long lost by now!

Here's my eight-year-old boy saying goodbye - a few dozen times - to the super-cute girl behind the counter. Can you say "first crush"? Yeah. He's eight. Is it time for that stuff already?!

After we finally finished at the golf course, I called my homeschooling pal Jenny From the Block to have her and her kids - sickly though they were - meet us at the mall to ride the carousel. When you join their birthday club, you get to take 9 friends with you for free, not including parents, who are free anyway. Sweet deal, right? So Jenny FTB hopped in the shower, and we drove past the mall to pick up a Victoria's Secret gift card I'd snagged on Freecycle that morning while we waited for them to get ready. It was for ten bucks, and when we got to the mall, we found all kinds of perfumes on sale for - wait for it - ten bucks! So I let my tween birthday girl pick out her favorite scent (read: the bottle she found most appealing), and we didn't owe a dime. Sweet score! (And she made a point of telling me that - see those skimpy blue undies in the back? - that those wouldn't look good on me right now because of all my extra skin. Thanks, kid. LMAO)

I'd gotten a $5 birthday gift certificate in my email inbox for both Chloë and me, so I of course gave her mine, which made $10 in free money for her to spend at Build-a-Bear Workshop. We headed down the mall hall after Vicki's to spend it. She already knew she wanted a pair of rollerskates for her BAB kitty, and she kept praying out loud that they wouldn't be more than ten bucks. Lo and behold, they were only six bucks! She found these silky undies for her kitty - complete with a rose decoration that her hand is covering - for $3.50, so after tax, we owed mere pennies for these two otherwise free presents. Yep, that grin was genuine. She was having a grand day.

Team BB (Jenny from the Block and her two kids, G and M) texted me to let me know they'd arrived at the mall, so we scooted over to meet them at the carousel. There was no wait and no charge for the ride, so on we went. Sophia and Jack stayed on the lower level, while the rest of us headed to the upper tier. Here's my birthday girl on the horse she picked, looking cute as a button, no?

Whoops, I didn't realize M blinked during her photo op. Sorry, M!

My loverly friend, Jenny from the Block (who has nice teeth, I just noticed), and her adorable son, G

Sophia was already having a blast spinning her spinny thing downstairs, before the ride even started. Goofball.

As it turns out, so was Jack, in his. Goofball #2. The ride started immediately after this picture was taken, so I was stuck sitting nearby on a bench instead of on the horse next to my birthday kid like I'd planned. Ah, well. Can't win 'em all, right? No one showed up to ride - it was in the middle of a school day, after all - so I'm pretty sure they gave us an extra long turn on the ol' carousel for the birthday girl. Nice, right?

Another cool thing about the carousel birthday club thing is that each rider gets a free punching balloon - at least at our mall. Who doesn't love a punching balloon? That's like, high on my list of Favorite Things in the World. Punch, punch, punch. Chloë, notoriously immature for her age, suddenly acted the part of the growing-up tween in many ways, including this one: When M's balloon accidentally popped shortly after receiving it, almost immediately Chlo turned to her and said, "You can have mine!" and handed her the balloon. I was bursting with pride over that smooth move.

For my birthday, I got a BOGO Free coupon for Auntie Anne's pretzels, so the seven of us walked down there to get a couple cinnamon ones. Team BB shared theirs, while Chloë shared hers with her siblings. I neither got, nor wanted, nor should have had any, especially after eating the funnel cake earlier in the day. (Besides, I like the ones with crushed almonds, so there.)

When yummy snacks are involved, this oft-squabbling trio somehow manage to get along. Amazing.

I don't remember if M got any pretzel - I think she opted out - but G sure enjoyed his!

Oh, my Jenny FTB, you are so silly!

Speaking of my silly Jenny, she later texted me this image of her in the new shirt I gave her. See, I had a $10 birthday gift certificate to Torrid (because I'm a Diva), and these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirts on clearance for $9.98 were pretty much all that appealed to me in the "get it for free" price range. The shirt didn't fit me, but I figured I could use it for a comfy nightgown around the house, y'know? So when I showed it to Jenny FTB during our pretzel-engorging time, she was all raggin' on me because it wasn't my size. Turns out it would be her size, however, so after mucho back-and-forth, I convinced her to take it as my thank-you for coming out and sharing some of Chloë's birthday fun with us, despite not feeling so hot. Doesn't it look super cute on her?! I think so, too.

These rides were right next to the pretzel hut, and I still had quite a few quarters on me, so what the heck? I treated Sophia and M to this ride, and...

...Chloë, Jack and G squeezed in together on this one. Jenny FTB tried to give me her sole quarter, but I made that big spender keep her cash. LOL!

Then we headed over to Charlotte Russe, where I'd gotten a $5 Gift Certificate for my birthday, too. Jenny FTB immediately found a wallet in that price range that she loved, and since she rilly, rilly needed a new wallet, I was all, "Here, take the $5 GC." And you know what? Giving feels really good. I felt pleased, and she was happy, and the new wallet works for her, and yay yay!

And then we went over to the JC Penney Portrait Studio to use my coupon for a free sitting fee and free 8x10, thinking the seven of us could take a silly picture or eleven together. But you know what? Unlike Sears' coupon, the JCP sitting fee apparently only covers ONE person, which is lame. So JFTB and I looked at each other, scowled, and then decided to just let Chloë get HER pictures taken. I mean, it was her birthday, right? It only made sense. I can't copy any of the pictures off the site or I totally would, but hopefully you can see them here. If Slide 1 is of a close-up of her face with the balloons around it, that's the one I ordered for my free 8x10. Which would you have chosen?

 

After that, we were pretty much mall-tired, so we all trucked down to our closely-parked vehicles and hugged each other good-day a hundred bunches of times. I'm so glad they were able to come out; it was a blast hanging out with them, and I know Chloë would agree! (And yes, I was making them say, "Happy Birthday, Chloëëëë!" for the picture, and yes, Jack was rolling his eyes about it. He was being a total punk that day!!)

We returned home, then, and woke up Daddy, so that he could come with us for the rest of Poor Man's Birthday Party. He changed out of his uniform lickety-split, and off we went again, for more fun!

First, we went to Sonic for our two free Wacky Pack kids' meals. I had a coupon for two, for my birthday and Chloë's. We let Sophia and Jack eat those. Happily, they both picked the apple slices as their sides, with no encouragement from the 'rents. Booya!

Then, we went to Ruby Tuesday for a free burger, fries and some other side (green beans?) that I got for my birthday but obviously wasn't going to eat, so that was Rob's dinner.

Silver Diner gave Chloë a free meal for her birthday, so she chose the mac-and-cheese entrée with a side of strawberries (again, no prompting!), and a strawberry shake. My kids LOVE eating at Silver Diner, but since only Chlo got a free meal, we took it to-go, like everyone else. Yep, I let them eat in car after just getting a car wash (for a mystery shop, natch). I'm a glutton for punishment. Guess I'll have to take another such shop soon!

Chick-Fil-A was right next to Silver Diner, and I happened to have a coupon for a free chicken sandwich from probably over a year ago, so I drove over and redeemed that without a hitch. I ate a third, and then Sophia ate a third, and I think the other third went into the round filing cabinet. I would've eaten it later, but whatev.

From there, we headed down to Chuck E. Cheese's to redeem Chloë's birthday coupon for 20 free tokens. Twenty isn't a lot, but they made it go pretty far and managed to spend about 40 minutes in the place, so it was worthwhile. I doled them out, giving six each to the Littles and eight to Chloë, with surprisingly no complaints. Now, looking at this picture, I'm wondering what was so fascinating on the side, there!

The three kids went off in three different directions, so I'm always thankful for their blacklight kid-numbering system when we go! Jack always heads for this shooty-thingy, so it wasn't too hard to track him down. In this picture, what I see, though, is how tiny he still is. (He still fits into some 6-month baby swim shorts, if that tells you much!)

Sophia was a little harder to track down, since she zipped right away from me and is good at finding hidey-holes. But find her I did, for once not riding the bike-helicopter ride that goes up and down. That's her favorite thing-a-ma-jig.

I pretty much followed Chloë around after that, waiting for good birthday photo ops. Found one!

Make that two! :) After this, I kicked her butt at air hockey. I play a mean game of air hockey, and by that, I mean, "against ten year old wimpy girls."

The kids all crowded around to watch Chloë play her last token, while Rob and I stood back and made jokes about honey pots.

One of the things the kids enjoy the most at CEC is feeding the ticket muncher machine. They fight over it! I'd get in the fray, too, if it wouldn't be juvenile, because that thing is F.U.N. With their 20 tokens - half spent on rides and not games - they managed to earn exactly 50 tickets. Not too shabby.

It's hard to divvy up 50 tickets amongst three children, so without my even asking, the ticket redemption counter guy said he would round it up to sixty, to make it even. Thank heaven for small favors. (Although, 50 doesn't really "round up" to 60, but I'm not complainin'!)

Sophia picked a 20-point pink rubber spider (hence the scary face). Chloë chose a sweet tarts a top, and Jack opted or sweet tarts and a sticker sheet. Hey. They were happy, and once again, you can't beat free!

We ran across the street after that, so I could redeem my birthday coupon for a free Homewrecker (well, that's what I chose, anyway) from Moe's. Welcome to Moe's! Love that place.  It took me three or four sittings to eat that thing, and I think I puked every time anyway. Le sigh.

 

The fun wasn't over yet. We stopped at AC Moore so I could run in and redeem my free birthday coupons there, and I managed to get these Crayola markers and glue sticks for practically nothing - both hot commodities around here, so woot!

Our last stop of the night was at Chili's, to get our free birthday brownie sundae. It was mine, by rights, but I gave it to Chloë, who shared it with the rest of Team Odette. Except me. No thanks, can't do it! Here she is, eagerly awaiting the treat.

I had to take this picture fast. The brownie sundae disappeared in a flash. Oh, hi, iPhone.

That was the end of our freebie tour for the day. Chloë wanted to go home and, indeed, so did I! There were mini cupcakes leftover from the PJ party that morning (and I got some ribbing for bringing store-bought cupcakes when I'm supposed to be the baker!), and I wanted to do candles and sing to her, so we did that. Only Jack and Sophia had a cupcake, though Sophia probably had three when I wasn't looking...

She's either praying or thinking of a wish. Or both.

I hope ALL your wishes come true, Baby Doll!

It wasn't really intended as a birthday present, but since I'd gotten the flute at the co-op party that morning (to be paid for later, in installments - and I got a good deal to boot) from another homeschooling mom, I presented it to her as such. She's been wanting flute lessons. I'm going to try to find a tutor from one of the local colleges, for cheap lessons, though the same mom gave me a lesson book from which to learn, too.

All you musicians out there are cringing at this picture, eh? We have lots to learn. Lots. Although I did teach her how to put her mouth and lips, because this was killing me!

All in all, it was a splendid day, and she proclaimed it, as she does every single year, "The Best Birthday EVER!" but, "And this time I mean it!"

********
As for me, I spent my 35th birthday yesterday writhing in headache pain, lying down and letting the kids chill, until it was finally time for me to get up, shower, and prepare my plan for the Daisy meeting two hours later. Thankfully, Rob came home early, so Jack could stay home with him while we girls headed to Girl Scouts for the first meeting of the year. I thought it went really well, all things considered. I only have five girls (so far) this year, which is a much more manageable number than the eight and nine we had at various times last year! I do miss my "old" girls, but I love having my five familiar little ones back again, too.

The headache lasted throughout the evening and into the night, but I was cheered considerably by the sight and sounds of Sophia reading to Chloë, with minimal help from Big Sis. And when Big Sis did help, she was pleasant and considerate, not bossy or critical. It was absolutely a wonderful sight to behold, and I loved every minute of watching and listening to them. Sophia's reading has improved by leaps and bounds in the past month, and I know she is so proud of herself, as she should be!

And that, my friends, is the end of the birthdays for 2011. Thanks for reading and commenting as a birthday present to me! Hehe - see what I did there? ;)

Fin.

 

 

VLOG: Chloë's Tap Open House

 

That's a quick one, plus here are a couple more that I don't think I ever showed you (did I?)...

 

and an impromptu song we made up one day recently:

 

Don't listen to that one over and over... it gets painful. Haha!

More later? We'll see...

Fin.

I Think I Like It

 

 
If we're not friends on Facebook (and why not? I'll take ya), then you haven't seen this self-picture of me before. I was up late, sorting out all my make-up, since I have amassed large quantities of it with all the drugstore "deal shopping" I've done this year... and got to playing. I don't usually wear eye-liner, and if I do, I almost never wear it on the bottom lid. It smudges terribly on me, and creases and makes me look older. I want to BE older, but I don't want to LOOK older, know what I'm sayin'?

Anyway. Despite the Big Gulp and other crap in the background, and the funky bangs, I like it. I like the coloring in this picture - and I like the rarely-seen-on-me eye line-age. What say you? Do I look good for 34, or what? (Don't say 'or what,' my ego is fragile. Unless your 'what' is better than 'good,' in which case, by all means, have at it.)

Okay. On to a real post. I mean it this time. Pinky swear.

Fin.

Picture Perfect

Weird, but this post about pictures isn't going to contain a single one!

Anyway, have you heard about Groupon? Look it up and see if they are participating in your area. It's an awesome site that offers a (usually) steep discount, once per day, to a local business. I've seen everything from restaurants to spa services to photography, and more.

The photography was the one I jumped on. I'd been wanting to get our family portraits taken professionally by someone other than our old standby, Sears, but it has been too cost-prohibitive for us. So when Groupon popped up with a deeply discounted offer from the folks at JL Keeney Photography, I hopped over to their website, decide their style would work for us, and snagged a great deal!

On Sunday evening, we met with Jeff & Lisa Keeney - a husband and wife photographer team - at a local park to have our pictures taken. They took us all over the place, by the duck pond, next to some trees, on a pier, to the playground, etc., and shot 7- or 800 pictures. The kids really showed off their personalities: Chloë was "on" for the camera, posing away the whole time; Sophia was the fearless daredevil; and Jack was our little Nervous Nelly. We had a great time and enjoyed the shoot, and I couldn't wait to see the results.

Today, we met at the Keeneys' house/studio to look over the pictures. While I can't show them to you here, you can click on over here for a glimpse at one their shots, and hopefully soon the rest of the ones that we chose will be online for your viewing pleasure.

We have severely limited funds, so while I would have liked to purchase the entirety of the collection - or at least more than we did - we limited ourselves to the small package that the Groupon deal included, for a family picture, plus one of the thee kids and one of each of them individually. I am going to get the disk with all of our images, too, but that will take a while, as Jeff and Lisa generously offered to allow me to make payments on it.

I really have to say, we've been truly blessed by this whole experience. Not only did we get a great deal on some fabulous family portraiture, but we met a wonderful family in the process. The Keeneys are parents to three beautiful children, although we've only been fortunate enough to meet adorable, 3-month-old baby A so far. They are kind and, like I said, generous, and we have had a great rapport. They even read up about CARE Package and are wanting to add their professional skills to the cause, helping to photograph these beautiful angel babies before they are laid to rest. I'm going to contact the children's hospital where most of our donations go, to see what I need to do to get all that set up. I'm ecstatic; it's what I've been wanting and meaning to add since the beginning, and they are just the sort of people who should be involved with that.

After we selected our pictures and finished chatting, the Keeneys met us out front by our car and gave us some of their extra tomato plants. Jeff even ran into the garage and came back to hand Rob a bag of potting soil to get them transplanted at our house. How nice is that?! Just one example of the kindness of these former strangers.

So, if you're in Hampton Roads and looking to have a wonderful experience with getting your family's pictures taken, call JL Keeney. You won't be disappointed.

Fin.

 

Saturday, What A Day

Not really.

But you know I'll still be able to find something to blog about!

It was a two-nap day for me yesterday. So that right there knocked out many precious hours of daylight, which will limit how much I can talk about. Breathe a big sigh of relief, folks!

Most of the rest of the time was spent doing laundry (me) or cleaning up (everyone else). The kids' "suite, as I think of the area of the back of the upstairs that includes their hallway, bathroom, and two bedrooms, is a disaster. It's always a disaster. They are forever having to clean it. Well, no more. After spending Friday and Saturday playing rather than cleaning, I am really getting on top of them today! I have my last load - of about 20!! - in the washer, so I will be back upstairs in a li'l ol' while to monitor their progress. We're taking it small chunks at a time, rather than try to eat the whole elephant at once. I know it's overwhelming for them.

After my first nap, I decided it was time to go take our Christmas picture for our cards. Vistaprint is running a 75% off special on all holiday items until Monday, making their 10-pack of photo cards only $1.99 - hello! I needed to jump on that.

I'd had my outfit picked out for weeks: red sweater, black pants, and I'd also long since decided that I wanted the girls each to wear one of the Christmas tutus still in my Etsy shop. So that made our wardrobe color options black, red, green, and white. It wasn't hard to find a sweater for Jack (I think the same one he wore last year; oh well) and black pants, and the girls found shirts to wear... but Rob had a dickens of a time coming up with something suitable. In the end, his shirt was burgundy, which made my eye twitch a little... but whatcha gonna do?

When everyone was dressed and we girls had our hair done, we headed down to the oceanfront with camera and tripod, to git 'er done.

I took a couple test shots to make sure the focus was right, the timer was working, etc. and then we only two took shots before we got one that we all liked! It was hard to tell on the small LCD screen, but when you see the final picture, you'll realize that Jack's goofy smile is back, like I did when we got home and I pulled it up on my computer. Eek! This picture, here, is just one I wanted to take for shits and giggles. So, giggle (or shit, but please, not on me).

It was FREEZING down there, so everyone was glad it only took a few minutes. Passers-by kept stopping and admiring our little family, smiling and pointing. That was kind of fun.

When we got home, I realized that I never put mascara on - my number one make-up "must." Oops. I asked Rob, jokingly, if we could go back and do it again... but I got The Look.

We went to church after that, and I'm really glad we did, because it was the start of a new series on analyzing Christmas carols. Last night, we - and I say "we" when really it was all Pastor Andy - talked about "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." It's a song I really don't know all that well, but now I'll be listening for it and really paying attention to the words. The music team - not what they're really called, but I can't think of the word right now - sang a beautiful rendition of it, and it made me envious of their ability to perform on stage. I can sing okay, but I'm too shy to audition!

Oh! One more thing. I can't remember if I mentioned here that I lost my engagement ring several days ago, while I was doing the laundry. I knew for sure it was in there somewhere, but I hadn't discovered it yet, and I was getting really upset about it. Welp, last night while folding, it popped out of a child's shirt and done got found! Yippee!! Now, I either can't wear my rings or will have to wear my one-size-smaller anniversary ring over the wedding and engagement rings, so I won't lose them. Time to get them resized!

Fin.

Bunny-Like

As in, quick. For me. We shall see...

I've jumped back into the grind at work.  The Z-pack has really kicked the pneumonia/sinusitis/pharyngitis/bronchitis' ass, and I'm feeling pretty good. Except for having to run to the bathroom every so often to hack up a lung, that is.

And three things have happened in the last two days at work that have me feeling pretty good about myself:

1. A sweet old man, after telling me that he was doing "so-so," told me that if he was a "cute young chick" like me, he'd be doing fantastic. Did someone say "cute"?
2. A much younger man, maybe five years older than Rob (so early 40s), told me today that I had a very nice smile.
   
3. A much younger man, maybe my age, maybe younger, and sexy as hell, winked at me from three or four registers away. Take that as you will, but Rob's interpretation was, "Hey, you're a cute girl!"

So apparently, losing 140 pounds done wonders not only for my outward appearance but inner self-esteem. I'm liking things right now. I'm liking them very much.

When work is slow, and it often is, we are supposed to stand at the end of the check-out lane and wait for customers, to invite them in. Sometimes, 20 minutes will go by in the early mornings, with no takers. So I have lots of time to daydream. Thinking about my weight loss, and having talked to one of my managers about my surgery, I imagined a conversation wherein she asked me how I'd gotten so fat in the first place. And I'd give her the several reasons/excuses/explanations, not the least of which is that I really ate my way through my depression for the years following Robby's death. And that started me thinking about the depression and the suicide attempts. There were many. At least six, I think. And the kids remember the last one, although they do not know that that is what was going on. They bring it up from time to time, and it pains me. So then I was thinking about how, despite being broke as a joke, happy I am in my "new" body, how good I'm feeling (thanks in no small part to my bipolar diagnosis and nightly meds cocktail) mentally, and how awful, just how awful, it would have been if I had been successful.

How much I love those kids. How much they need me. How much I need them. How I would have completely devastated them, their lives, their futures...

So I'm grateful, very, very grateful, to have failed at that singular aim. I wanted so badly to take Robby's place. I was trying to die for the one I lost instead of living for the three I still had. I'm so thankful to have stepped out of that cloud and come back, if you will. I'm a lucky girl, in so many ways.

So much for this being a quick one.

So Rob is working nights now - did I mention that? He started last night - and it completely sucks. I was not cut out to be a single parent; I have said that before. I like sharing the duties, having someone to complain to and commiserate with about the hard parenting stuff, and you know, sharing the good, fun times, too. But mostly I miss having someone to split up the chauffering duties with!

Today, as soon as the kids got home from school, I had Chloë change out of her school clothes and into her dance leotard and pants. We headed back to HT (my work) to:

1. Show my pre-surgery picture to my manager, C, whose jaw completely dropped,
2. Buy the Pink Ribbon 99¢ cookies (which had been discounted 75% and which were apparently pretty nasty) for the kids' after-school snack,
3. Buy Tic-Tacs and get a dollar back, for Tooth Fairy duties tonight (yes, she struck again), and
   
4. Talk to same manager, C, about changing my availability, now that Rob is working nights.

That was a quick in-and-out, during which each of the kids acquired a free helium balloon. Two of them, the younger pair, let theirs go as soon as we walked out of the store. Scoundrels!

We headed straight over to dance class then. Chloë went in to dance, and Jack came up front with me to do his homework. From his homework folder, I pulled out his School PIctures and had the horrified-yet-amused reaction to this awful pose:

Uh.Muh.Guh. Is that awful, or what? I showed it to Jack, and he burst out laughing! I was amused at his reaction, but geez.... it's terrible! (And look how yellow his teeth look! They really are not that yellow IRL). Since I never took his 6-year pictures at Sears, I was just going to let his end-of-kinder pix and beg-of-1st pix suffice, but, holy cow. I think I will keep some of these just because Jack thinks they're so hysterical, though!

Chloë's is much nicer:

I like it, although Rob absolutely detests that dress, and her face looks much rounder here than IRL. I can see Robby in her when I look at this picture.

So. Homework progressed, and he did pretty well. He farted majorly stinky farts the whole time and kept cracking up at himself. Ugh. Such a boy!! He couldn't decide what he was prouder of, smelling like shit or that awful photograph!

He still does NOT know how to write the numbers from about 11+, so I am constantly making him write them and then tell me what they are. It's just not sinking in and is becoming very frustrating for both of us. I'll have to come up with a much funner way to do it.

Anyway, dance ended, and we went directly to IH*P for dinner, for a shop. That went pretty well, although they seat all parties with kids in the same section, and some of the rowdier kids in the bunch got mine going, which annoyed me. My kids KNOW how to behave in a restaurant, but when they are hyped up, it all goes to pot. Guess I know why they seat them all together in the back!

There was a very nice family seated right behind ours, and there was a lot of cross-chat between our two families. So it was with no hesitation half-way through our meal that I got up, tapped the other mother on the shoulder and whispered, "Can you please keep an eye on my kids? I have to go throw up!" yeah, I'm still doing a lot of that. She was more than willing to help, so I went off to do that, and when I came back, after questioning me about my okay-ness, she informed me that they basically shared their whole lives in five minutes. Mostly about school, phew! At least no one blew our cover.

Back at home, I suddenly remembered the massive day I have tomorrow. I'll tell you about it now, just because I'm doubtful I'll have time to blog much about it after the fact:

1. To my PCP for my PAP, the first one since my hysterectomy, to make sure the bad guys haven't returned. (I think I will absolutely scream if anything comes back abnormal again. Cross your fingers! Or your labia!)
2. To Newport News for my 9-month post-surgery check-up, which will take an hour or so each way to drive, 15-30 minutes in the waiting room, and 5 minutes, max, with the doctor
3. To the bank to finally deposit the remaining Brownie troop dues
4. To the post office to mail three tutus I just made tonight after Etsy orders came in and re-mail Jack's 2T wardrobe (which was returned because I used an alcohol box the first time, wasting $12. Bah!)
5. Home to bake something, anything, for
6. Collect the kids and take them to Troop Leader's house for Juliet Gordon Lowe's birthday party (and bring my entire XXXXXXXXXXL wardrobe to M to try on later)
   
7. Leave early to go to Chloë's soccer practice (which we missed on Tuesday b/c I felt like utter doodyballs)
8. Leave early to go to Sophie's soccer practice
9. Leave early to go to Jack's den meeting (or is it a pack meeting? I forget now, it's almost 2 AM), where they are NOT to wear class-A uniforms but instead must come in costume and bring their pumpkins from the pumpkin patch visit a couple weekends ago.

So. After we got home from dinner, Chloë started her homework while Jack, Sophia and I carved their pumpkins. I made them rip out the innards - which they hated and bellyached about to no end - before I would carve them. They did a half-ass job, though, so I found myself arm-deep in gourd guts anyway. I am a crappy jack-o'-lantern maker. Observe:

It didn't matter, though, because they were both thrilled with the results and said they were exactly what they wanted. Great! Who could ask for anything more? (Sophia went to the Farmer's Market with her preschool class last week, and they all got a pumpkin there. Chloë doesn't have one yet.)

After the pumpkins, they had a quick dessert, and the littles went to bed. Chloë and I finished her homework and worked on getting the soccer gear ready for tomorrow's tour-de-Virgina Beach, and had a conversation that left me in tears. She was telling me about a classroom assignment today, wherein they had to choose a word to describe themselves, starting with each letter in their first names. She chose caring for the "C" and loving for the "L" and I forget what for the "E," not able to think of anything for the "H" or "O."

I said, "What about 'happy'?" To which she broke my heart by replying, "But I'm not happy. I'm mad. All the time."

Oh, my God. I knew she was stressed out, but I did not think she was NOT happy. I don't care if my kids are cute. I don't care if they're smart. I don't care about any of that, as long as they are happy. Above all, I want my kids to be happy kids. My heart broke when she said that, it really did.

She came over to me, and we had a very long conversation about it, a heart-to-heart. There were lots of details, but basically it seems that the crux of the matter is that she doesn't like Sophia, wants to be an only child, and wants her own room back. When she said she didn't like Sophia, I bawled. Why does that hurt so much? I know it's normal. I know it is. But I'm pretty darn fond of the kid, and I want her older sister to be, too. Pain.

I told her I'd talk to Daddy about putting her back in her own room, and we'd go from there. I hope that solves things. She really is stressed out. Mommy yelling, Daddy yelling, problems with friends, problems with school/schoolwork/tests/the gifted class, etc., don't seem to be the matter. I worry about Jack and Sophia sharing a room, but I care much more about Chloë's mental health than I do about more destruction of physical property.

Phew. Heavy stuff.

On a lighter note, no sooner did Chloë go up to bed than she came running back down to tell me, "Jack climbed up on the dresser and then peed a fountain out into the room!"

Good golly, where is my husband when I need him??!!!?!

S'late. I'm out.

Fin.

Come See The Softer Side

Today, we had an appointment at Sears for Chloë's 7th birthday portraits. Normally, I go one day and get the package, and then go the next for wallets in additional poses and outfits. I haven't been doing that lately but changed my mind today when I found a coupon for a $4.99 package - best deal I've seen in a while. So, we'll go back again tomorrow.

Our appointment was at noon, and we got there just in time. Ellie, or normal photog, is at a different store right now, so I made the appointment with Angie, the store manager. I don't trust the other girls (or really even Angie) with my portraits; as far as I'm concerned, Ellie is our star. I can't wait for her to come back, but the other store is in a bad area, and I do not want to take the children there.

Well, it turns out if I have good reason to mistrust the other girls: whomever I spoke to did not record our appointment! We had to wait a full hour before we were seen. Highly annoying, especially since the kids were getting antsy and starting to act like wascally wabbits for the last of it. When I made my appointment for tomorrow, I made sure to double-check that it had been recorded!

Anyway, on with the show (keeping in mind these are the unedited photos):

Her shoes were bothering her, so once again, we went with bare feet.

Not my favorite look. What's with the hunching over?

Sweet. Perfect. I chose this one.

Interesting, laying down the "7" like that, but I don't like the look overall.

She is wearing one of the headbands I made; it just happened to be the exact same shade of lavendar as her dress.

  This look is weird to me. I don't like the odd angle.

I thought this was cute and more grown-up looking, so when Angie offered me a free sheet of wallets in any pose to make up for the appointment mix-up, I chose this one.

More show tomorrow!

Fin.

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To

Ohhhh. It's been a long Tuesday.

I woke up a little late and had to rush Chloë to the bus stop without a lunch, handing her two bucks to buy instead. I always hate doing that, because I like to know exactly what the kids are eating - and what they're not. Especially in these days of puking. She had a serious cough again. This is the bug that will not go away!

When I got Jack up, who was still way sound asleep at the appointed time, he cried and said he didn't feel good and his head hurt and he didn't want to go to school. Again? Okay. So I went to my room and called the school to let them know he wasn't coming, and he pitched a major fit. Hysterics, the works. He changed his mind, he said, he wanted to go. I know what it was: he hated not to right on that school bus! So I pondered and thought and thunk about it, and I decided to take him to school. They could always call me to come get him back again, right? But he ended up staying the whole day.

Sophia and I ran home just long enough to get my shop folder, and then we ran out to Laskin to do an Office Depot shop. It went well but took the better part of an hour; much too long for such a boring shop, IMO. We came home and watched a little PBS Kids until Jack got off the bus. Then I finally got a much-needed shower. Feels so good, especially because it means scrubbing this dang all-over itchy rash that's driving me apeshit.

When Chloë came home, the kids had a quick snack, and then we took her to ballet class. We got lost on the way there, thanks to a utility work detour, and I drove around half of King's Grant. No clue where to go there. I finally called the studio and got directions. Should've just started with that.

Rob was home when we got back, and he fed the kids dinner while I did some work, and then he put Sophie and Jack down for naps. We had pictures in the evening, and we wanted to make sure they were well-rested this time so nobody would be cranky. (Ha!)

I took Chloë for an audition with Karen Whitlow, the local agent we really want to have instead of Sylvia Hutson, whose actions concern me, the more I think about it. Yeah, she got Chloë the print job for tomorrow, but she went about it all wrong.

Despite Chloë's bad cough and general malaise (wink to Rob), she did well enough that Karen wanted to represent her. Oh, shoot, I need to wing her an email with Chloë's head shots. Thanks for reminding me, self. So after the shoot tomorrow, I'll let Sylvia know that we're, uh, booting her. And stuff. Not looking forward to that!

We came home and got the kids ready in their Christmas outfits, and we headed back to Sears. They looked so adorable, all of them, individually and together. I proudly watched other people glance over and admire them as they walked through the store. Yep! Them's mah bebbies!

At home, I had been asking Sophia if we could go back to the store where we were last night, and take her pictures. She kept saying, "Yes, sure, sure!" So I thought we were golden. But no sooner did we enter the portrait studio than the waterworks began again in full force! Ahhh, it's just the age of it, I guess. Jack didn't like going there at two, either. We tried and tried, to no avail, to get her to stop crying and smile a little. We finally took some with just Jack and Chloë, and then we threw Sophie in for a few at the end, just to mark her presence in the family for our holiday cards. I wanted to make it all silly, like, "haha, our kid is crying for Christmas cards," and throw in a bunch of wacky props that had nothing to do with Christmas, but they weren't game. So this is what we ended up with (always hard to see on the computer, I know):

   

I don't know why it leaves those big spaces between pictures sometimes. That's so annoying. And it cuts off the pictures, so you have to click on them if you want to see the whole thing. Bah.

Fin.