I'm a spaz by nature, and it's really hard for me to relax. I’ve always credited my husband, for making me stop and smell the roses, but last night the roles were reversed. We've both been really busy, and have worked really hard this week, and from the moment I left work yesterday, I was determined to take the night off. Unfortunately, I couldn't escape all chores. I helped Cody mow grass(until I was stung by a rabid sweat bee on my elbow, hey it hurt, okay). Before, I let Cody finish the mowing,I asked him to put together the grill we got him for Father's Day. He was in full on working mode, and looked at me like I'd just asked him cartwheel naked down Main St.

Cody: Why don't you have Maddie fry them?
Me: Because she's an 11 year old girl, and I don't feel comfortable having her "fry" stuff.
Cody: Why don't you go fry them, then?
Me: Because I want to sit around the grill and drink beer.
Cody: Why didn't you just say so?

I didn't say it took much effort convincing the man to stop and smell the roses, I simply said roles were reversed.

(By the way, LOVE the new grill. It's electric, and while it took some convincing from my brother to go this route, it was great advice. No charcoal, no lighter fluid, no gas tank, you plug it in, and voila perfectly grilled hamburgers. Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I will go as far to say, while I don't let my 11 year old "fry", I'd consider letting her grill electric. And am I allowed to put all of the stuff I just wrote in parenthesis like I just did?)

After our wonderful meal of grilled hamburgers, corn on the cob, homemade macaroni and cheese, and fried potatoes (while it doesn't take much for Cody to stop and smell the roses, it doesn't take much to get me back in Angie spaz mode, either)Cody suggested we take a four-wheeler ride. It was right around dusk, and while my head was screaming:” KID’S NEED A BATH, CLEAN UP THE KITCHEN, MADDIE NEEDS TO PRACTICE PITCHING!!!" my heart said,” Why not?" Cody hooked up the four-wheeler trailer, and put a hay bale in it, so the kid's could have a mock-hayride. The humidity had gone down a bit, and it felt like such a perfect night. Scratch that, it was a perfect night, by my definition.

While it was a bit chaotic with baths to give and kitchen’s to clean, it was worthwhile bonding time. The kid’s didn’t bicker, just took in nature. Maddie even put her cell phone away, which I’d thought was a permanent fixture to her thumbs. Hopefully, one day the kids will look back on nights we shared together like this one, and say to their children, “Those were the days”.

Day off?

Yesterday (and all Wednesday's for that matter) was my day off. But I use the term "day off" very loosely. Usually, on Tuesday nights, sometime in the conversation my husband will say, "oh, yeah, your off tomorrow". For someone reason this makes me cringe, a little. It's not like I'm hopping the next flight for the French Riviera. Here's a little inside look to my day off.

*Slept in until 7:15 a.m., and started my first of 5 loads of laundry.
*Made smoothies ('cause someone got a new blender!) and french toast for the kid's.
*Swept/mopped/vacuumed every room
*Stripped the bedsheets
*Dusted the living room
*Power cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms.
*Made the kid's pizza for lunch
*Stopped everything for a moment to take the kid's swimming at my parents house
*Put the little one down for his nap
*Did more laundry
*Cleaned out the pantry-there was a sack of potatoes that was on it's way to being vodka
*Made all of the beds and put laundry away
*Washed living room windows...not because I wanted to, but in my children's effort to help...they used my "dusting" rag, on the windows therefore smearing them to the point I thought my blood sugar was low, and my vision had blurred.
*Made an incredible recipe that I will post in the future, for dinner...baked chicken with artichokes, tomatoes, and pesto
*Walked 3 miles
*Went for a 4 Wheeler ride with two of my children and noticed that the blackberries are ready..pleasant surprise.
*Played catcher to my daughter (who pitches)
*Made brownies
*Cleaned up kitchen
*Made my husband's lunch for the following day.
*Watered my flowers
*Gave baths.
*Tucked in my two older children, kissed the husband who was watching t.v.
*Read Cash a story about whales....(bonus points)I didn't even pull the trick where you turn 2 pages, instead of one, so that the story gets over faster, even thought the material was less than thrillling.

Now I'm at work today, and while it's busy...it's a little bit of a vacay compared to ahem....my day off.

Un Margarita, por favor.....

Who is the new owner of an incredible smoothie maker??!! Um, this girl, right here! Last week, my husband had to make a quick run to his shop, based in Jefferson City, and proposed we eat at a local Mexican restaurant,since he'd won a 50.00 gift certificate in a golf tournament fundraiser. Does he know how to wine and dine a girl, or what? "Hey, baby, I have to run by the shop for material, wanna go get some free chimis"? He knows the way to my heart! Anyway, being the lightweight drinker, I am, or being that our waiter was incredibly impressed with my 3rd grade level Spanish...the tequila in my margaritas got the best of me. And what does Angie do, when fueled by liquor...uh, apparently she goes to Wal-mart(the new one, and how fun is that new circle yield thing they have going on?-no I wasn't driving just enjoying the ride)and buys a really fun blender. How I managed to get home without the husband noticing this fantastic purchase is beyond me...because it wasn't like I was trying to hide the fact I bought it.I mean it's not like I was....shoe shopping or anything. Where I leave them in the trunk until the coast is clear, and sneak them up to the closet with lightning speed, and the stealth of a ninja.

While sometimes he rolls his eyes at my purchases, he's never really complained about my need(compulsion) for kitchen gadgets. After a few nights of smoothies and vanilla milkshakes I think I can safely say, he is liking the blender very well.

Just Wondering

You know how your supposed to be a "good Christian"? Love thy neighbor and all of that? I'm wondering why God would set this rule, and then create PMS? Not only do I not necessarily love thy neighbors at the moment, I'm pretty sure to my "neighbors"...the feeling is mutual. How am I supposed to lead this Godly life, when one week out of the month-I have incurable road rage, cry at Gatorade commercials, eat my weight in chocolate, and just feel downright unlovable? It's just one of those unanswerable questions, along with why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle? But it does make me wonder how I can live a good life, when my emotions are completely askew this week!

My life's calling...

...is not beautician extraordinaire. I've been incredibly lucky that when it comes to haircuts for my boys, both big boy’s (Cody) and little boy’s (Gavin & Cash)...my very talented and generous mother-in-law cuts their hair. I figure 3 boy's x's say 10.00 (10.00 per child, per hair cut) x 8 (number of haircuts per year at a rate of 1 haircut every six weeks) = 240 annually. That adds up over the years. My mother-in-law is always ready to give a haircut, if she has the time...but we don't call in and make appointments like we would if she were doing this for a living. And much of time, when Cody decides he wants his hair cut...he wants it cut right then! Which leads me to my story...

Cody was in desperate need of a haircut (or so he thought) Saturday morning. His mother was unavailable, so he looks over at me, and said, "Why don't you cut my hair" (and I'm not really sure what punctuation to even put here, because while his question started with "why" he didn't ask, it was definitely more of a demand). I answered,” No, because we all know how I did in art class." And yet he somehow convinced me that my lack of talent in the art department didn't mean I couldn't cut his hair...Oh, boy was he wrong.

I actually did pretty well, until the very end, when I was evening up his sides...that's when the major faux pas occurred. He now looks like Hitler on his left side. To make matters worse, after I committed this awful mistake, and he told me to just do the same on the other side, I was laughing so hard, that the right side looks even worse..if in fact that is EVEN possible! I'm so glad he had such a great sense of humor about the whole situation. At any rate I told him he must wear a hat everywhere until his hair grows out, and was excused from church as well, since that's pretty much the only place he goes without his hat on. And I'm pretty sure, I'll never be asked to cut his hair again.

I'm needing my outlet back (my blog), and I REALLY want to stick with it, not go M.I.A. for months at a time like I've done in the past. I love being able to type my feelings, and with the click of a button post my cares away! I would also like to start honing my writing skills again. It's something I love very much, but with having a job along with motherhood, it gets put on the backburner more often than not. When I feel the (self-induced) pressure of not posting enough, or not finding the time to post, my stress-reliever starts to...stress me out!

It's no big secret stress-management and myself do not go hand in hand. Just the other day, I was having a mini-meltdown over the list of toiletries I needed to buy for the family. The husband has no idea how much thought goes into the buying of everyday items! Soap for instance....I need somthing that will wash all of my family's "2000 body parts", without "leaving a sticky film that won't rinse away"-one child needs extra moisturization, one's got extremely sensitve, yet extremely kissable skin, and 3 don't want to smell like a girl, something about when you sweat and emit the oders of Island Breeze, apparently not so manly! When buying detergent, I need something that won't balk in the face of grass stains, chocolate, or Gasconade River mud, but smells good...just not too much like a girl. I used to use Febreeze scented fabric softener, but it seems in the summer when sweating occurs, lavendar-while calming- just doesn't cut it on the workforce or the ballfield! And Cody wonders why, I sit at the table, surrounded by pink post-its and sale-ads before going shopping...it's tedious and stressful..and if I ever hit the lotto, I would definitely look into a personal shopper, or a personal worrier. I don't want to stress out over toilet paper, and how Spider-Man toothpaste, doesn't taste as good as Spongebob toothpaste, and which child prefers which! So, for all of you who are reading my nuttiness----I'M BAAACKKK!

I'm so proud....

I received a phone call from my sister-in-law on Monday, wanting to know if we would like to accompany her family to St Louis to see Elmo. Now, I'm not sure if Elmo is "on ice" or what, but my first impression was "hell to the no". The thought of a two hour trip to see Elmo, kind of sounded a bit like torture. I nicely explained that I would run it by Coad and get back with her.
So our conversation went a bit like this.

Me: We were invited to St Louis to see Elmo.
Coad: (blank stare, might have become slack jawed and drooled a little)
Me: Is that a no?
Coad: Do our kid's even know who Elmo is?
Me: I'm not sure, and that disturbs me, because they know all the words to "Down with the Sickness". I think our parenting is a little out of whack. I think we need to take one for the team and go see Elmo.
Coad: (blank stare, might have become slack jawed and drooled a little) Do our kid's even know who Elmo is?
Me: (to Gavin as he passed thru the living room) Gavin, what do you think about Elmo?
Gavin: (afer pondering this a few seconds) Sounds like a drunk guy to me.

I, then got the "I told you so" shrug from my husband, and we politely declined the invitation.