Just a little bit of time for me

As most all mom's can identify with, I have very little time alone. Between work, school, and the family I ususally feel as if I am spread much too thin.

I'm off work today and tomorrow. I have a lot of the normal stuff to do.....homework, catch up laundry, dishes, housework in general. But, I have decided to take just a little bit of time for me. I'm going to get a haircut and maybe spend a little bit of time reading a book. Next week I have 4 days off ( Mon- Thurs) and I am going to make a point to spend at least a little bit of time each day doing something for me.

I feel myself getting so stressed most of the time, and allow myself to feel guilty when I do make some down time for myself. But, then I realized, by not giving myself some time to rest and rejuvenate, I am hurting everyone. That is why I get irritatable. When a person doesn't allow time in their lives to even think, how can we expect to deal with the millions of day to day details that come in the life of being a wife and mother?

So, here I go to sit and acutally enjoy a cup of coffee before I start laundry. I may even watch my soap opera today without doing 5 other things at the same time. And I am going to TRY to put all the housework and stuff aside when my husband gets home from work so I get just enjoy spending some quiet time with him. I need that.....we need that.

So, fellow moms out there, take just a little bit of time for you today. Remember that to care for our families, we must also take care of ourselves.

Finally...a productive weekend

On my work schedule, I am off for 3 weekends, then work for 3 weekends. This is my 3rd and final weekend off for a while.

The first weekend was rainy, and well, I was just exhausted so we were lazy all weekend. Last weekend, we were at the beach Friday thru Monday, so again, not a thing got accomplished. This weekend, we've been in full swing. Tim has installed 2 new storm doors on the house. I did some serious cleaning, planted mums, panies & Asters, and have been working on homework. While, I hope I do get at least some R & R before I go back to work, it is satisfying to see some things gets accomplished.

Today is officially the first day of fall, though as is typcial in North Carolina, you can't really tell it. It is 86 right now and the only sign of autumn is a strong breeze blowing. It is close though.....we've had several cool nights and days in the 70's. Only a few more weekend and fall should arrive in its full glory and color.

I think we are going out to eat for dinner tonight. I like eating out way too much. It just seems so much better than cooking, then having to clean up all the mess. In honor of fall, though, I am going to make the season's first meatloaf tomorrow. Then, I'll have yummy leftovers to take to work next week.

Happy Autumn!

Bomber Squirrel and Crazy Cat

We had a wonderful trip to the beach. The link at the bottom of the page will take you to some of our pictures. Just click on the pictures to see them bigger.

I've got 2 funny animal stories to share. First of all, we have a bomber squirrel in our neighborhood. In our yard in fact. This little rascal sits in a tree over our driveway, takes a few bites of an acorn, then throws it down on our van. He even hit my ex husband in the head one day when he was picking up the boys. ( Now that was funny!) The tree he sits in is enormous, but he chooses to sit in that one spot all the time. You can sit and watch him. I swear he doesn't just drop the acorn, he throws it down. You can see the little teeth marks in them where he takes just one or two bites, then hurtles it down below. Needless to say, I'm pulling my car further up the driveway now.

OK, and now about our cat. Oscar. He's proven many times before to be quite inventive. Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting here in the gameroom taking a test online and the back doorbell rang. It was POURING down rain and I just couldn't imagine who would be ringing the bell. Our tests have a time limit, so I ran to the backdoor, peeked thru the blinds and didn't see anyone. I was perplexed, but worried about my test so I went right back to it. A couple of minutes later the doorbell rang again. This time I went out the front door, and looked around the corner of the house.

Our cat, Oscar. was sitting at the back door, in the rain, obviously very distressed about the weather. He looked like he was patiently waiting for me to answer the door.

All we can figure is that the crazy cat was jumping up trying to hit the door handle and ringing the doorbell by accident. At least we hope so. None of us are excited about Oscar rining the doorbell at 2AM wanting to come in the house.

Hope you are all doing well. Watch out for those acorns!

http://community.webshots.com/album/554212609NPKcLA

Almost outta here

I just got home from work and we are leaving for the beach in about 4 hours. I am going to lay down and try to sleep for at least a little bit. It's hard to sleep when you are excited!! The good news is, Tim is going to drive down there for a change, so I can sleep along the way. IF the kids will be quiet, that is.

Today is my Tim's birthday. The trip to the beach is his main present. I also got him tickets to see the Broadway musical Monty Python's Spamalot and a new pair of sunglasses. (the musical will be in Charlotte, not in NYC)

Also, today is the anniversary of the first time Tim told me that he loved me. 6 years ago today. We went to dinner for his birthday at Copeland's. Then, later in the evening, he just blurted it out. LOL It was so funny because I knew there was something he wanted to tell me but didn't know how. We've been wrapped up in each other ever since. :-)

I am SOOOO looking forward to spending time by the pool and in the ocean. Just RELAXING. The past 3 weeks have been really exhausting. I am just ready for a little break.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I'll think about ya while I'm dozing on the beach.

The Whirlwind

There is a phenonmenon happening at our house, that perhaps has always occured and I am just now noticing. Or perhaps something has changed.

This school year, when my kids get off the bus, they come thru the front door and it is honestly like a hurricane blowing in. They are loud and hyper. They are excited and full of energy. I love their enthusiasm, but honestly they are grating on my nerves about 2 minutes after they get home.

I'm trying to figure out what is different. Have they changed or have I? Could it be that afternoon is now my morning? Because I work at night, to me 3:00 in the afternoon is like 8:00 in the morning to most people. Have I mentioned I am NOT a morning person? LOL

Or could they really be more excitable than they used to be? They love their new school. And they have a longer bus ride home. So maybe, they are excited about school, then are cooped up on the bus for an hour, so when they get home they are ready to explode.

Maybe I am just more tired in general, therefore more sensitive ( cranky ) when it comes to loudness.

Well...there is their bus. Time to brace myself for the storm....... :-)


The Word of the Lord is a light to guide you, a counsellor to counsel you, a comforter to comfort you, a staff to support you, a sword to defend you, and a physician to cure you. The Word is a mine to enrich you, a robe to clothe you, and a crown to crown you.
-- Brooks, Thomas

Football Season

My husband LOVES college football. From September to January, he eats, sleeps, and breaths Georgia football. Try as I might, I cannot develop a passion for football. Growing up, I had season tickets to Wake Forest Football and Basketball. For whatever reason, the basketball stuck. Football flopped.

I can't really complain to him, because I know that I am every bit as exasperating when basketball season rolls around. But, gosh, already I am sick of football. This morning he listed all the games on today and all I could do was sigh. Which he found very amusing. ;o) And while Georgia is the only team he really cares about, he thinks he has to watch every game that is on TV.

In some ways, I try to take advantage of it. I am able to do more stuff on my own. I can get more things done, because he's glued to the television. I can play games on the computer without feeling guilty. I can take a little nap in the afternoon without him bugging me. Today I am washing 6 ( yes, 6) loads of laundry and browsing online for our ideas for our bedroom. We are redecorating this winter...new floor, walls, furniture, etc.

But at the same time, I get kinda bored. I love autumn. I want to be able to get out and enjoy the outdoors without scheduling it around football games. ( Yes, I know, during the winter everything is planned around Wake Forest basketball games )

Well, I am off today, but work every night this week. Then we are leaving for the beach on Friday. I'm already doing some packing just so I don't have to worry about it later on. I've got a lot I need to get done tomorrow morning...we will see if I'm able to squeeze it all in. I need to take the dogs to the vet, get a hair cut, get a pedicure, get groceries for the entire week. Hmmmmm, that is not ALL going to fit in a 4 hour time frame tomorrow. Guess I will need to spread it out all week. I usually have about 2 1/2 hours in the afternoon between when I get up and the kids get off of the bus.

Life is rolling along

Things are going pretty good here. We had a really fun Labor Day. We went to a cook out with all my mom's family. It was nice....good food and good company.

Though I have to admit there was a shadow cast on the day because of the death of Steve Irwin. Our family loves him. I don't think there is one episode of Croc Hunter that we haven't seen. It is just such an incredible tragedy...and his death a fluke. I would have expected a snake bite, or even a croc attack. But a sting ray? Even my parents have been swimming with sting rays.

Tim & I watched Larry King's show about him last night. Tim kept sniffing and had tears in his eyes. It really touched me that he has been so moved by Irwin's death.

I haven't cried yet, but I will. I was the same way after 9/11 and the death of Dale Earnhardt (yes I am a NASCAR fan). It's like after any public tragedy, I have to ponder it for a few days. I read lots of articles about it on the internet, watch it on TV. And in general, am just sad. Then, finally, something will trigger the tears (most likely a song played for rememberance) and I will bawl.

So, I know the tears are coming. They just haven't gotten here yet.

We are going to the beach for Tim's birthday on Sept 15th. WHOO HOO. I've let myself to get a little bit stressed because I work every night the week before we go. When am I going to wash clothes and pack? I guess I will sort clothes one afternoon next week & actually ask Tim to wash them while I am at work. He helps out around the house some, but never does laundry.

Oh well.......with me back to work everyone really needs to step up and help out more. I spend most of my days off doing laundry and cleaning house. YUCK.

I'm off to take a nap because I go back to work tonight.
Have a great rest of the week. Autumn is on the way!!!!!!!!

Fooey on Labor Day Weekend

As most of the country prepares for a lazy weekend of cookouts and spending time with family, I am preparing to work the entire weekend. I guess it doesn't really matter one way or the other.....we wouldn't do a whole lot if I was off. We do have a huge family cook out planned for Monday afternoon. On my mom's side of the family there are 7 people with birthdays in September....my dad, my husband, my cousin, my grandma, a couple of aunts, my uncle.


So, for Labor Day every year we have a birthday celebration for them all. Those of us not born in September do not have our birthdays acknowledged. :-P At any rate, I am looking forward to it. We are expecting about 25 people to be there & the weather is supposed to be great.


Speaking of weather, Ernesto has now come and gone. We got tons of rain, but nothing really serious. There was some flooding, downed trees, etc, but nothing big on a large scale. That is, unless you are trying to get to Carolina Beach for the weekend. I understand Interstate 40 on the way to the coast is closed for flooding.


I hope you all have a WONDERFUL long weekend. Think about me while you are having your fun. ;o) I will either be sleeping or working between now and 1:00 Monday afternoon.