Vacation

I have been in need of a vacation since about mid January when we found out that we were expecting. Not just any vacation but an escape!

Then Paintboy decides to put the house on the market. After completing the 100 or so things that needed to be done the "escape" was never more necessary.

As we speak, I am sitting in a lovely condo on Longboat Key. It is the same place we have visited before, the average age for the island would be 82. The Publix closes at 9pm, but don't worry they serve their people well, 6:30am they are open again. I am not kidding, the whole island rolls up early. No excuses for the kids to do anything but swim and Mommy gets her book and umbrella on the beach. Beautiful!

All that's missing is a fabulous cocktail. That will have to wait until next year, I've already booked my "escape" time!

Where have you been???

I know you have been pondering, "Where did Hair Girl go?"

It has been crazy busy over the last 2 months.
As you all know Hair Girl is knocked up! We have also found out that its a GIRL!!! She is very healthy and kicking away in utero. Her name is Anna Elizabeth ( after my mother and grandmother) we are going to call her Anna Beth. From here on out we shall refer to her as AB. She will be the first granddaughter on both sides of the family. Can you say spoiled?
Yes, my boys are 13 and 7.
No, this was not planned.
Yes, we are so very excited.
Yes, we need to move from our 3 bedroom home.
Yes, I realize that I am 5 1/2 months pregnant and insane!

Valentine's Day

Paint Boy and the boys headed down to Daytona yesterday for a VIP race weekend. They are red neckin' it up! 2 days at the races, box seats and "meet and greets" with some drivers. The best part (besides the fact that I didn't have to go) it is completely FREE! My cousin is a Daytona Beach detective and has worked track security forever, he totally set the whole thing up. Such a great guy!

In honor of Valentine's Day and the fact that I had time to blog, I stole this from Clemsongirl off FB.

This is kind of like the 25 things - except there are pre-decided questions and it's about you and your spouse, not just you. Come on, play along - inquiring minds want to know! ;-)

♥ What are your middle names? Eric and Marie

♥ How long have you been together? 17 years, married 14 next month

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? We met at a pool party at the end of Spring quarter and reconnected at a keg party the weekend before classes started in the Fall

♥ Who asked who out? After sleeping on his couch after the keg party, he walked me home (one building over) and asked if I wanted to grab some lunch

♥ How old are each of you? 36 and 35

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most? His, he is very "family oriented" or as most people call a "momma's boy"

♥ Do you have any children together? C is 12 and J is 6 and #3 is due in August, I am trying to see if I can get the world record on time spent at an elementary school volunteering

♥ What about pets? Buddy the Basset and Lucy, chihuahua/ miniature dachshund mix and Carley the hamster

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? we "disagree" most often about money, but don't most couples?

♥ Did you go to the same school? Yes, met in college

♥ Are you from the same home town? Nope. He married a city girl

♥ Who is the smartest? I am more book smart, lots of useless knowledge. He has way more common sense.

♥ Who is the most sensitive? me

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Tuesday at La Parrilla, its margarita night and Nana has the boys ( I no longer partake, just eat a lot)

♥ Who has the craziest ex? Neither, we met at 18 and 19 there wasn't time to create drama

♥ Who has the worst temper? Him. I am a screamer but he holds it all in and then blows a gasket

♥ Who does the cooking? I do. Except for the grilling

♥ Who is more social? Me, definitely. It bugs him that I draw people to me like moths to a flame

♥ Who is the neat-freak? Him. I have been known to come home to a "cleaned out" house. Once even furniture was moved out into the garage

♥ Who is the more stubborn? Him

♥ Who wakes up earlier? me 6:30 to get J ready for school

♥ Where was your first date? That lunch date he asked me on was to a campus pizza place ( so he could use his meal plan)

♥ Who has the bigger family? Him. His mom is one of 8 kids and his dad is one of 9. I am still meeting 2nd and 3rd cousins. (people in the country keep track of these things, so they know who they can date!)

♥ Do you get flowers often? couple times a year, 2 dozen orange roses yesterday

♥ How do you spend the holidays? We spend every other Thanksgiving with his mom's family or my dad. Christmas is spent at home with my mom joining us. we see his family the weekend before and my dad the weekend after. ( Gotta love divorced parents!)

♥ Who is more jealous? Him. He checks my cell phone bill to see what I'm up too. (Just sayin' that the Lawyer's wife and I are planning on running away together as soon as we get these kids raised. That is what the 17 phone calls in one day are about, our plot to freedom. Yeah, right!)

I think that in every relationship one party loves the other more. I am very blessed to have found the man that loves me a teensey bit more. I like it that way. Its very nice to be loved. Its harder the other way. Think about it...

Tag, I'm it!

This tag instructs the blogger to do the following:
Go to your pictures
Choose the 6th Folder
Choose the 6th picture in the Folder
Tag 6 Bloggers


I was tagged by the Lawyer's wife. The picture she posted is the one that I use as my "comment picture". How funny that it would be her 6th?
BTW, we got pregnant in November, before Thanksgiving. Not after the Party of the Year!

This shot was taken during our trip to Arizona during Spring break 2008. Those are my children standing under that cactus. I loved this shot and posted about it after we returned. Wanna trip down memory lane?

I tag-
Green Magsterpie
Mad about Plaid
Caffiene Court
Biscuits are Never Boring
Peyton Place
Card girl

Have fun and show me what ya' got in your folders, girls!

Rockin' out in utero

Paintboy and I enjoy music. We have attended a million concerts over the years. According to PB being pregnant should not stop you. "It exposes the baby to music early on." C was exposed to a LOT- PB worked for A&M records, he was in the developement field. He went to concerts nightly, trying to find and sign new bands. J got to attend some mega shows, U2 and Madonna. "Bebe" needs to rock out! We have 3 concerts this spring.



We went and saw The Killers on Friday night. It was super fun! I love this band, as much, if not more than PB. It was a great night. The music, the people ( median age 33) there were way more cocktails flowing than beer. I stuck to the bottled water. It was a good vintage.

I totally got a workout at the concert. There is no way you can just stand there, I had to dance. The dancing was fun, the jumping- not so much. It seems that when you are almost 11 weeks pregnant, there is some trickle action if you should jump around too much. After that , both feet on the floor.

Who's sleepy?

I picked Jack up from school today and I was immediately informed that it was "Jumpits" day.

You know the event. A jumpy place with 4000 smelly kids and 2000 parents standing around chit chatting. The school will get $1 for every kid that shows up. I would rather send the school $20 rather than go to this "special night".

Jack started begging immediately.
"Please, you never take me."
"I'm the only one in my class that isn't going to be there."
"We never do anything fun."
By this time, he is in tears.

I am trying not to laugh at the insanity in the back seat and explain that Mommy is very tired. His response to this-"Do you think that I'm NOT tired after being at school all day!"
That would be why we aren't going... Just sayin'.

7 1/2 months towards 12 steps

I don't do change.
I like my life. Its easy and smooth sailing (most of the time.)
2009 has brought CHANGE. I did mean to capitalize the entire word, its that big. I need a 12 step program to get myself through all its going to take.

These are the basic rules I am going to need to follow-
*admitting that one cannot control one's addiction or compulsion; I have no problem admitting that I don't do change, I am working on the contentment phase-CHECK
*recognizing a greater power that can give strength; God has always been in my life and He isn't going anywhere now-CHECK
examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member); I am going to need a sponsor, I am going to sign up the Lawyer's Wife. She always has good advice and mint tea-CHECK
making amends for these errors; this is going to take work,
learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior; I have years to work on this one
helping others that suffer from the same addictions or compulsions. Give me a few years and I will be your sponsor

So are you wondering what is changing?
First, One of my favorite product lines is being pulled from the Southeast. This is very rare,usually they will switch to a different distributor, not drop an entire region of the country!
I now have to experiment with new product lines, find new favorites and then convince my clients that they love this new line more than the old one. HUGE!

Second, my assistant of 4 years has decided that the new commute she has is too far.(She recently moved way out into the country) I knew it would happen sooner or later with an hour commute, but damn this week? I have had to place ads, sort applications, interviews applicants, and now train a new assistant. Thank heavens the new girl wants to do everything perfectly, so that the transition is easier for me. Bless her heart! I won't miss the old ones family drama. You would die if I shared half of her crap. She has 6 kids+ their spouses+ 10 grandchildren= a lot of phone calls and drama. BTW, she is only 43. Yeah, drama.

Last but not least. In March, I had a procedure attempted (read this) to not have any more babies. One of my tubes is blocked and the other is very narrowed. God had other plans for me.
I got an elliptical machine for Christmas. I thought that my waist should have been getting smaller from working out, but it started to spread and my chest started to ache. It had to be the arm workout.
I even had a period this month, it was short, but still there.
My tubes don't work.
All the signs were there, but it had to be ectopic. My doctor convinced me that there was no way.
I took a test and like lightning it said POSITIVE!
I laughed, Paint boy laughed. We knew it was a miracle, but probably ectopic.
I went to the doctor on Monday morning. No exam room, straight to the ultrasound room.
Let me tell you when your doctor's response is, "OH My!" you know you are in trouble. The nurse said,"Oh my goodness, how old are your boys?" That would be 12 and 6.

Well people, Hairgirl is knocked up!
10 weeks pregnant. Not a little pregnant, almost through her first trimester.
We saw the little legs and arms wiggling, the little heart beating. A true miracle.
A BIG CHANGE!
Now all of you start praying for a girl.

Did you think I had died

in Tennessee?

Not quite.
I was told that we were going to Gatlinburg, try Pigeon Forge.
Even more painful.
The cabin was knotty pine. On all surfaces. Floors, ceilings, walls, furniture.
I was in a coffin. By Sunday morning, the the knots were forming evil faces. Not kidding.

When we go on vacation, the only rule, is that we don't eat at any restaurant that we have at home. Well the "family" doesn't do the unfamiliar. We ate at Red Lobster, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Cracker Barrel. I was told to "just deal and go along with what they wanted." Seriously, we waited 45 minutes to eat at Red Lobster and rather than wait for a table for all of us to eat together, I ate at a table for 4 with Paintboy and the boys. If I would have known the seating arrangements I would have left and went somewhere else.
While standing and waiting for our table, SIL said,"I love this town! Its so white. I mean there isn't even any white trash." Priceless statement, as that you instantly become white trash by crossing the county line. As far as the eye could see, people excited about racing go carts, shopping in outlets, eating pancakes and attending dinner shows by "has been" country music stars. This statement was made by a woman that gives here children coffee in their sippycups. I don't mean cream with a splash of coffee: real coffee, splash of cream 2 splenda, just like I take mine. Her youngest walks around in the morning with his coffee and a sour expression. I think he needed a cigarette, he looks like a Winston Man. I am in Hell.

MIL ordered PizzaHut for dinner- 2 large. Did I mention that there are 8 adults and 4000 children? Paint boy ran through Taco Bell for SIL kids(at her insistence) and picked up an extra dozen tacos. I seriously ate the crust off my kids pizza for dinner.

The list goes on and on, but at one point I was asked if I was "too good" to be there. The honest answer-YES!
As we left town, PB said that we should find the cabin for next year.
After about an hour, he said that maybe we could find a place somewhere else.
Another hour and he is still contemplating where.
By the time we get home he says that next year we are going back to exchanging gifts and to forget the entire trip thing.
He also promised to never take me back there again!

3rd ring of Hell

"I'm goin' straight to Hell, just like my momma saaaid. I'm goin' straight to hell."
If you went to college in the South you know that song like the back of your hand. Thank you Drivin' and Cryin' for many a sing along in the bars. Seriously people, I think they may still be playing the college bar scene!

I am headed today to Hell.
Yes, that's right. Gatlinburg, TN.
I know that some of you love the quaint little village.
Love the outlet shopping.
Love the "dinner shows".
Love the go carts and the putt-putt.

I do not share the love.
I am going to a large cabin with my husband's family.
12 IL's and NO alcohol.
Hell.
Its all I'm sayin', pure Hell.


ETA- I am still sitting here blogging at 11 am. I haven't packed the first thing and the SUV will roll out of the driveway at 12:30. A little passive aggressive this morning???