Viva Las Chicken?

Well, we made it without a hitch. Okay, maybe there was one little hitch. You all know by now, that I can't do anything and have it just go perfectly! That would make it way too easy for me, and that just isn't in the cards! LOL

All in all, Vegas was a wonderful experience. I had a ball and was really sad to come home (except that I missed my kids and my feet will probably love the rest they are getting), but to tell you the truth...I would have stayed another week or so, if I had the opportunity. I definitely will be going back in the future!

Everything was just even more grand than I had imagined. My favorite places were...The Luxor with it's huge pyramid and sphinx in front and the beautiful interior, the Paris which really made you feel like you were in Paris...even the bathrooms were just exquisite, and Barbary Coast which wasn't by any means grand, but that's where we had a ton of fun.



We took in a few shows while there. Both were really great, though I'm sure Brian enjoyed the Folies Bergiere more than I did, considering he was staring at titties (from front stage), for over an hour! He had a smile on his face the whole time! But I must say, those almost non-existent boobs just weren't making me feel the slightest bit self conscious! LOL The Legends show was awesome...Elvis, Garth Brooks and The Temptations, couldn't have done a better job.

His mom and dad did pretty well on the slots...his dad was the big winner and won about $2,100 in one day. Not bad, for a few hours of fun!

As for Brian and I, the biggest we hit for was $500 in one of the first nights we were there. The last night, we put $40 on red and $200 on black on the roulette table and just let it ride...we ended up doubling our $200 and walking out of the casino for the last time with $400 in our pockets..that was nice. So, I'm trying to remember all of the casinos that we hit....

1) MGM Grand
2) Rio
3) Palms
4) South Coast
5) Hooters
6) Imperial Palace
7) Circus Circus
8) Luxor
9) Barbary Coast
10) Venetian
11) Paris
12) Red Rock
13) Gold Coast
14) O'Sheas
15) Mirage
16) Tropicana
17) Four Queens
18) Binions
19) Golden Nugget
20) Fitzgeralds
21) Fremont
22) Wynn
23) Excalibur
24) New York New York

We tried to get to 'em all, but there was just no way that we could! I guess we will have to hit the rest next time we go!

As for the one little hitch...we rented a 2007 Suburban for the trip. It was beautiful and people would stop and ask us about it, "how's it drive?"..."do you love it?", etc. On our 5th day there, we stopped at a 7-11 to get a newspaper before heading out for the day. Upon trying to back out of the parking spot, Brian kinda didn't see a 32 foot motor home that was sitting at one of the gas pumps and he backed right into it. His sister and I were in the 3rd row of seats, and had no idea what was happening when there was a huge commotion, and glass started flying everywhere. Yep folks, Brian who's never had an accident in his 36 years, took out the entire back window of a brand new Suburban, while on vacation in Vegas! Nice!

As for the title...Viva Las Chicken? One night (I should say morning, because I believe it was about 3 a.m.), we were heading back to the condo and were all exhausted and a little loopy...out of the blue, his mom (who had been singing 'Viva Las Vegas' for days), says..."I just saw a sign that said Viva Las Chicken!" We thought that she was just a little overtired and were accusing her of seeing things and laughing histerically at her. We told her that we would be looking for that place the next day. And we did! The next day and the next day and the day after that. On the day of the accident...we finally spotted it. That became our favorite place for sweet tea and a ritual before heading out for the day, the rest of the time we stayed in Vegas! Their chicken wasn't bad either! LOL

So, that's the gist of our trip. I had a ball and it was definitely something that I would want to do again! Wish you could have all been there! Now that would have made it even more fun...

The hand in the cookie jar and Vegas...

I had a long heart to heart with Corey the other day. After a few minutes of cajoling him, he did admit to taking the fundraiser money back out of the envelope.

While I was upset with him about doing that, I'm relieved that he at least told me the truth...albeit after having solid proof (and a mad mom) staring him in the face. I'm still glad that he fessed up. I did tell him that I think much more of an honest person, than someone who I know lies all the time, and that how can I believe anything he says to me, if he's only rarely honest??? I hope that got through to hit a wee bit! Probably not, but at least I'm trying.



THE COUNTDOWN TO VEGAS, BABY...

Okay, I think it's safe to say that I have most of my ducks in a row and we are off to Vegas in less than 24 hours! I'm finally getting a little bit excited and am confident that we will have a great time on this vacation!!!

If not, there will be hell to pay! LOL








Have a great week, and will catch up with everyone soon!!!

xoxox

The beasts are back in town...what would you do?

As you probably already guessed....yes, I'm talking about the boys. It's not even that they've been terrible lately. They really haven't. It's just this feeling I have of discontent, when it comes to them anymore. I hate to even allow myself to think along those lines, but it's just always something. Always issues, and lies, and drama with them. Always into something or doing things that they just shouldn't be. It's so frustrating!

So, this weeks fiasco involved fund-raiser candy. I agreed to do a fund-rasier for Corey for his band class. This would cover his fee for using the instrument for the year. Ok, no problem. We are given a box of 52 assorted candies, to be sold at $1 each. That should give me a grand total of $52 dollars...correct? I sit down the other night to count the money and make sure that the correct amount is there. Well, guess what? I'm $7 short. Now I know darn well that I have collected all the cash for everything that I have sold. So, where is the other money missing from? As is the custom, when something like this happens...I call the kids over....

First was Tyler...he comes strolling out of his room, in his usual nonchalant manner...

Ty: "What mom?"

Me: "Well, I'm counting up the candy money and seem to be short. Do you have any idea why?"

Ty: Scratches head and diverts his eyes.....

Me: "Tyler, did you take any of the candy out of the box without paying for it?"

Ty: Weighs his options for a few more seconds...and then finally proclaims..."Yeah, I did!"

Me: "Okay, how many?"

Ty: "Ummmm.....1."

Me: "Just one? Are you sure, because I'm short by about $7!'

Ty: Diverts eyes again...looks over the whole kitchen and livingroom...never stopping to actually look at me..."Well, 3! Yeah, that's right 3." Is pretending to count them off on fingers...like he's remembering the exact moment he had those 3.

Now, in walks Corey....he had no idea, he was about to be blinsided as well.

Me: "Hey Corey, you wouldn't happen to know why I'm short on candy money, would you?"

Corey: He looks puzzled and proclaims right away..."NO!"

(Note: Corey is a teenager and nothing is ever his fault, nor does he ever know how anything ever breaks, falls, gets dented, comes up missing, etc. Teenagers don't have to take responsibility for anything.)

I go on to tell him that Tyler has already fessed up to 3 of the missing 7 and Corey says that he has had 3 total, and even paid for one of Tyler's the day before. He even goes and shows me the bills he used, because one had his name on it, (yes I know, that's another lecture), one had red ink on it, etc.

Hey, I'm falling into his little trap...hook, line and sinker. I am his mom! And even though mom's claim to be much smarter than our children, we are still gullible as hell! LOL

After this exchange, Corey runs in his room for a minute and comes back out...he has a bit of an attitude and says..."Well, I guess I WILL JUST PAY FOR THE MISSING CANDY BARS!" He takes 4 dollar bills and shoves them into the envelope. I'm taken back, and say, "wow, that's very nice of you Corey!" He's like, "yeah", and walks off.

So, it ends up that I tell Ty he is going to work off what he owes me. He is ashamed for a few minutes and runs and cleans up his room some, trying to calm the waters, appease me for the moment. By the time this weekend came, it was pretty much pushed to the back burner of my mind...I had other things more pressing to think about..

This weekend, I've been trying to stay on task and get as much done as I can. Vegas is just days away and I don't wanna be scrambling to do everything at the last minute. Which brings me to the near conclusion of this story...

While doing laundry yesterday, I pulled a pair of jeans out of the dryer. They were Corey's jeans and while folding them $4 happen to pop right out of the pocket. I didn't really think a whole lot about it at the time. My kids are always leaving rocks, money, shells, bottle caps in their pockets. No big thing.

Tonight, when the kids got home, Corey and I started doing a jigsaw puzzle on the kitchen table. The fundraiser money is due tomorrow though, so I stop working on the puzzle and start to count this money. In going through it, I'm right back where I started from....$7 short. I never replaced the $3 from Tyler and once again...the $4 that Corey gave me, was gone once again.

I said to Corey..."Geez, I'm short $7 again...how can that be?" He looks at me quizically..."What?" And he goes on to say..."How is it that we keep coming up short?" I tell him that I'd like to know the same thing and he says..."well, I have absolutely no money at all right now. The only thing I have is is half of a $5 bill that I found at dad's this weekend!"

I just found $4 in HIS jeans pocket, he wore them about 3 days ago. Tell me a 13 year-old doesn't remember his last $4???? That sounds like a crock of shit to me!!!

I let it go for now, but am in a predicament where I just don't know what to believe. I know that Corey may feel like it wasn't his responsibility to put his $4 in there in the first place, if he didn't do it. And then he went and took it back. If that's the case, then that would be very hard to tell me. But I would understand that, if given the chance.

Or the other scenario is that Tyler is lying, and actually took all 7 of them and was just standing there letting Corey take half the fall. Which really really upsets me too.

These are the kinds of almost daily struggles that I have with these two. The story almost never adds up and neither claim to have done anything wrong. It's maddening!

So, what would you guys do in this case?? What do you think is right? Who do you think is telling the truth???

Doing well! =)

I posted the other day, that my brother was having a pretty serious surgery. He came out of just fine and is improving each day. He's still in the hospital, and may be for a few more days....but he's certainly on the mend, which is a big relief. It hasn't been without some minor mishaps, but all in all, everything has gone well!

Thanks for all your support and well wishes, it was appreciated!

Wish us luck!~

As I type this, my brother is in surgery to have a bowel resection! I probably won't be able to go up and see him today either...just too much going on. So hey, if anyone would like to send a prayer his way...we'd both be pretty grateful!

Have a great day!

Still walking the line!

Well, I reported that the kids would probably fall off the wagon soon, but they haven't. Things with them, have been relatively calm. They have been doing their chores without question and getting along pretty well. I haven't heard them bickering and fighting, nor have they been doing any yelling and screaming, which has been a great thing. Now that I'm putting all of this in writing, it's sure to backfire on me...but hey, I'll take my chances!

I want so badly to believe that something good has actually come out of this and hopefully, them working together instead of butting heads and trying to get each other in trouble all the time, is all part of the past! (No, I'm not counting on it! Do you think I'm that stupid?)

My sister still isn't really speaking to me, but I'm working at not letting that get to me too much. This too shall pass, I believe!

Otherwise, things are okay...could be better, could be worse!!! I'm possibly looking at a little foot surgery in the near future and the countdown to Vegas trip 2006 is commencing (soon)! It was definitely a struggle to try and find someone to keep my kids for me...but after a small amount of bribing, Bri's sister has agreed! Woo hoo. I'm still not getting my hopes up too high about actually going because you just never know, and I'm my life, I can usually always count on the most whacked shit happening, so I won't actually start the countdown now, but will wait until the week before! That might be a little safer.

Well kids, that's about it for me...this is Jellybean signing off! Have a great night!

And P.S. Happy belated birthday to my good friend Liza!! Love you bunches and hope you had a wonderful day!!!! (oh, and miss you....you little bugger!)

Overcoming...

There has been so many things that have transpired over the course of the past few weeks, so much stress and just plain overload, that I don't even know where to begin.

I may or may not have told you about the arrangements that I had made for my kids, while I was to go on my boat trip. It wasn't easy to coordinate at all, (a big thank you goes out to the ex for that), but I thought that I had everything covered.

I was to leave on a Wednesday and they were gonna be staying with my sister until that Friday. On Friday, they were going to my brother's house and staying there until Sunday. Unfortunately, my brother went into the hospital on Friday night, so my sister got them back after only 1 day. They stayed with my sister until that following Thursday night, and then went to stay with two of their friends from school until Sunday morning, when we got back into town.

For some reason, which I can only conclude is since I didn't threaten them with their lives, they thought it would be okay to destroy everything in their paths. They tore off a cupboard door in my sister's kitchen, they ripped off her railing leading down her basement stairs, they de-magnetized my nieces tv, my oldest busted his brother's lip, got chocolate pudding on her carpet, had a food fight with cheez-its, and also managed to break down the center panel of my brother's couch.

After being gone about 4 days, I had my sister calling me just furious. She was telling me that I needed to call and talk to them and try and put a stop to all of it. She's also telling me that my bro's in the hospital and that he looks very frail and hadn't been able to eat anything in 4 days and that they might be doing surgery to drain an abcess and that he will have to have a colostomy soon, once his diverticulitis heals up some.

I can't even tell you how frustrating it is to look forward to a trip for a year...have to scramble to find someone to watch your kids for that long of a time, only to have it turn out the way that it did and then to learn that you are hundreds of miles away and your brother is really ill. There was nothing that I could really do about any of it and it just sucked.

I did talk to my brother, when I could. Phone calls weren't even an easy task because where we docked the boat, of course we didn't have service. What I had to do every time I wanted to use the phone, was to jump on my jet ski and head out of the cove we were in, to the middle of the lake. That wouldn't be a big deal, if it wasn't raining the past 4 days we were there. So there I sit, in the middle of the lake on a waverunner, in the rain...only to hear news that just kept getting worse!!! Not to mention, hearing that the dog was peeing all over Tina's house....RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER!

There were a few days of total rest and relaxation, and I did try and make the best of the time that I had...but let me tell you, I've certainly had better vacations!

Since coming home, the boys have been doing tons of chores daily in exchange for cash....cash that will be handed right over to my sister, for all the crap that they pulled, I have lit up both their butts (talk about making them feel humiliated), and we have "discussed" at length about how they WILL start behaving! So far, their tails are still tucked between their legs and they are walking on eggshells! I see this lasting about another week or so...

Let the good times roll...

Vacation would have been perfect if:
1) My brother had not been hospitalized for almost a week
2) My kids would not have been total/complete monsters
3) My dog wouldn't have peed all over my best friends house!

Ever feel like somebody is just trying you to see how far they can go before breaking you?

Explanations to follow!

Out of here!

Well, I'm leaving work in about 1/2 hour and won't be back until Tuesday September 5th. Hope everyone has a good couple of weeks!

Dale Hollow here I come...

Can you help those who won't help themselves?

Well yesterday I bit the bullet and did it! I went somewhere I hadn't been in a very long time. It may have seemed like one of the longest hours of my life, I was very uncomfortable, and it kind of gave me an "eeeewww" feeling, but I went there anyhow.

No, it wasn't the gyno's, or to a nasty drug dealers house. It wasn't anything of the sort. Actually where I went was about 5 minutes from my house and somewhere that I know I should go much more often, but just can't! While it really should also be somewhere that I enjoy visiting and hanging out, in all actuality, it's one of the places that I dread the most!

It's my oldest sister's house! Going there usually makes me sad and just plain depressed. She isn't quite the person that I used to know. Of course I love her very much, but her whole aura just irritates the shit out of me. She is ALWAYS, (and I mean that very literally), crying about how bad everything is for her. She is ALWAYS down and depressed. She is ALWAYS drunk, or on something. It just really makes me sick.

On the one hand, I would love to be the one to walk in there and tell her that I love her, that I worry about her, that I know that she can do so much with her life, and that she deserves so much more. To be there for her, to comfort her when she has a bad day, to pick her up off the ground..but on the other hand, it's like I truly believe that she's somehow content with things as they are.

I'm grateful to her for many things; for being the cool sister when I was growing up, someone that I could always turn to when things got really hard or confusing. For taking care of my dad when he was nasty and mean to her every single day, as soon as she stepped foot in that door. For showing up again the next day, to do it all over again. For giving me 2 beautiful nieces and of course for just being my sister. But even after all of that, I still have resentment towards her.

There are many reasons for it, but at the forefront is; for putting herself before her kids, even when they were very little. I babysat more times than I could count, so that her and her husband could go out and party. For always just "settling" for things, when she could have done so much better. For taking trips to visit my dad (before we knew he had cancer) and going out and getting drunk WITH him, basically condoning it! For blowing her exhaled pot smoke in his face, when she knew that he would get irate and call her a loser and shit for it! And my number one reason; is for yelling and screaming back at him, when he'd say the things that he said to her while on his death bed!!!

Now, I know that it took alot for her to drag herself out of bed and head over there to take the abuse that he would dish out to her, but I just can't fathom, EVER EVER EVER talking to my dad in the way that she talked to him, NO MATTER WHAT would come tumbling out of that mouth of his! I didn't live it, so I can't say exactly how it would have felt to be treated the way that she was. Just the opposite held true for me. No matter how bad my dad felt, when I walked into the room, a slow smile would spread across his face and melt my heart each and every time. They, on the other hand, were worse than an old married couple and would just bicker back and forth. My other sister would sometimes walk in the door from work, and just turn around and get back in her car and just drive. She couldn't take it.

I'm kinda getting off topic here, but what I'm getting at is this...
She may sit around crying to this day, about the relationship that her and my dad had, but when I really think about it...it was her own doing. She doesn't like authority (which, I can relate to that, I really don't like it too much either), but she really likes to do things to shake things up. At my niece's graduation she rolls up on a Harley, with Kahlua on her breath and a man 20 years her elder. He's drunk as a skunk and trying to make conversation with each and every one of us as we are all trying to plot our escape route because we don't want to be around the two drunks. It's just pathetic.

Her boyfriend right now, you know, the one that she kicked her 2 girls out because of? Yeah, you heard me right! He's the biggest most obnoxious loser I think I've ever met. He can't hold down a job, or even try to get one. He always seems stoned out of his mind and he has laid his hands on her, on more than one occasion. Yep, she says he's out of there, "in 2 weeks", says that she's just done with him. But she won't be! That's what I'm talking about. She has no love for herself!!! She would rather stay with someone that has no job, no ambition, treats her like shit, doesn't do anything for her, than to just be by herself. There is no way that I can comprehend this!

So, on the one hand, I really feel compelled to step in there and help her change things up a bit. To do things to show her that she is worth something, that things can get better, but I know in my heart of hearts that some people just are what they are, no matter how much you want them to change or to see that there is life out there that is so much better than the one they are allowing themselves to live right now! And I'm pretty positive that she's one of those latter people!

I know that each and every one of you will say that she is still my sister and that I should do everything in my power to stop her from destroying herself, but unfortunately I know that it's a losing battle. That it won't ever work...Ugh!

Off for now! Laundry and a cute boyfriend await!

Stress no more!

I have made a decision! I'm done stressing out. Whatever will be, will just be and I'll deal with it as it happens. Money is very very tight and I'm sure that I will find a way to make it. I've done it before and made it through, and will again. So, that's that!

That's all for now.

My life!

Last week I probably would have written much more, had I not been stressed to the max. It seemed that everything that possibly could go wrong, absolutely did! I was frustrated and stressed to the point that I was starting to have major anxiety attacks. My brain, no-matter how much I told it to, just would not stop, and it was literally making me sick! My ex has lost his girlfriend and his house and is now determined to make my life a living hell, once again. I am leaving for a 10 day vacation in a matter of 9 days from now. Last week, he drops the..."I have nowhere for the kids to stay while your on vaca", bomb. I was furious, and we ended up reverting back to our old ways with much screaming, yelling, and me hanging up on his loser ass! I was mortified that he knew about this for a year, reassuring me this whole time that it was no problem, and now just 2 weeks before the fact, he was doing this shit only because his life sucks and he wants me to be miserable too. I know he COULD have made arrangements if he wanted to. The fact remains, that I am his EX-WIFE and he feels that I should live as miserably as he is at the moment, and that really pisses me off. His life affecting mine at all, pisses me off! I thought him worming his way into my life was all a part of the past. Funny how he will always find a way! So, I had that to contend with. To top it off, money is very tight right now (due to lack of child support and income taxes being due soon). So what that means, is that Brian is gonna have to foot the bill for both of our upcoming vacations, and to help out by way of utilities, the house payment, etc. Now I know that there's nothing wrong with him contributing, while the fact remains that he does live there. What's really bothering me, is having to ask for his help. Of course, he says that he doesn't mind at all...that it's absolutely no problem. But I still feel needy, for some reason. Kinda like a charity case. It takes me back a few years ago, when I was ready to beg, borrow, or steal in order to just get by. (While the divorce was going on). When often, I had to rely on everyone else in order to stay afloat. I DO NOT LIKE THIS FEELING! It really messes with my psyche and my ego. While I realize that it's necessary right now, it still eats away at me. Am I wrong for feeling like this? How would any of you feel?

~~ON THE LIGHTER SIDE~~

Last week I said that I had another funny to tell about the trip. So, without further adieu, here's my story...

I already mentioned that Bri's nephew and his gf came up for a few days. On the first day that they were in, we drove to the little BP that's about 10 minutes away. It has racks of magazines, that are all bundled and sold in packs of 3's for like $4. They are good magazines, but they are a month or so old. We didn't care, it was reading material for the week. We got a few packets of magazines and that was that. There was redbook, cosmo, allure, oprah, etc.

Well, the following day, Brian's mom starts reading Cosmo. You know what kind of articles are in there, don't you? I'm sure that I don't need to draw a picture for you...most of you know that lots of their articles are sexually oriented. So that next afternoon, she's in the cabin reading, we are out on the jet skis. We come in after a few hours and here comes Charley's gf, she's laughing hysterically and saying, "Oh my gosh, you guys just missed it!" I ask her what she's talking about, and she says that Brian's mom has "done it again". Now this woman, while one of the most loving people that I've ever met, she is possibly one of the blondest (if that's even a word) women too! She does some really funny shit on a regular basis!

Apparently, she was reading Cosmo and had the book open on her chest when she fell asleep. They didn't think much of it, but happened to glance over at the article that the book was open to. It happened to be, "Does your relationship need a vibrator?" After seeing that, they were all trying to contain their laughter (and failing miserably) and running around trying to find their cameras, without much luck. She woke up from all the ruckus and was wondering what was going on. When she looked up at the article laying there on her chest, she figured it out pretty quickly and slapped the book shut.

Pic

1-06
Originally uploaded by jlybn1234.

Just a pic of us taken on Superbowl Sunday that I wanted to upload to my profile. I'm having serious issues with trying to do that though...any suggestions?

~~BROWN SNAKE SIGHTING~~

I don't know how it slipped my mind, but while recounting everything that was happening while on vaca, I forgot to mention our brown snake sighting. Talk about scary.

One day while on the lake, Brian and I take off to beach the skis and check out what's on the other side. There was a sandy area, where no houses were on either side for a ways, so we decided to go there. We were walking around; pondering over how large the deer probably were cuz of the tracks we were seeing, checking out the shells and marveling over how large the sandbar was. When all of the sudden Brian says to me, "Oh my gosh, I'm in pain!" I was a little scared for a second, until it dawned on me...earlier in the day, he had told me that he hadn't been to the bathroom in days and that he was really starting to feel its effects. I ask if he can make it back across the lake to the cabin, he says that he can't. Great! I start looking around the beach and see this huge log and tell him that he can go perch there. He walks over, sees that it's literally covered in carpenter ants, and decides to come up with another plan. He tells me to start walking the other way, which I do. I really want no part of any of this and didn't even really care how he was gonna take care of business, I was really grossed out!

So, I'm walking along the shore for a while and decide that I'm gonna take a peek at what he is up to. When I turn around, I am appalled to see that he is perched on the ledge of the back of MY MACHINE! I start screaming..."get off of my machine!" I could see, even from a distance, he's cracking up. He says, "this is perfect!" So yes, I'm standing there watching the man I love and adore, pooping in the lake. Just the vision, makes me shudder! So, I turn around and keep walking, still with nightmarish visions of him putting his bare hiney on MY MACHINE, and a few minutes later I hear him calling my name and saying something about a snake. I turn around and he's motioning me over, so I start running through the water over to him. I get about 5-6 feet from the scene and he's standing there with a huge satisfied grin. I ask what he was saying about the snake and he turns, right arm extended outward and says..."look". I turn to look (like a dumb ass), and see something floating on top of the water. I was freaked out that a snake was swimming around in the same water that we had been playing around in for days, and then it hits me..that's no snake, that's his poop! OMG! How gross is that? Not only do I know that he was using my machine as a perch for his butt, but I get to see the end results too?

I really don't think that I want our relationship to be this close!

Ok that's it for now, but I have another up north funny for tomorrow. Stay tuned...

~~LAKE MILAKOKIA~~

Well I know that it has taken me forever, but I haven't had too much time to get on here lately. As I said before, vacation was wonderful and just what we all needed. We stayed with Brian's sister and bil at their cabin on Lake Milakokia. I was a little hesitant about going at first, because there were supposed to be a ton of people headed up there and I just didn't think it would be too relaxing with too many people stuffed into one cabin, but it actually worked out great!

We left on a Sunday morning and arrived about 3:30 that afternoon. The weather was beautiful and we immediately got the jet skis in the water and went out on the lake. The lake isn't huge, as you can see if you checked the link...but it's big enough that you can ride around all day and not get bored with your surroundings. I have some beautiful pics, which I may try and download at work. But my camera has been having serious issues and I don't know if it will work or not.

The cabin is all log and surrounded by a huge wrap-around porch. There are floor to ceiling windows that look right out onto the lake and it has a nice sized loft upstairs, that also gives you a great view of the lake. Brian, the kids and I, all slept up in the loft all week, which was perfect. Sitting up in bed in the morning to look out at the lake, was one of my favorite things about the whole trip. It's just so peaceful being out there on the water.

The days were filled with jet-skiing, tubing, lots of sun, great food and company. His mom and dad came up, along with his nephew and girlfriend. Most of our nights were spent playing euchre late into the night and on one night we actually made it to the Kewadin Casino. His nephew recently turned 21 and had never been before. So, that was kind of exciting. None of us left there with any type of profit, but we had a great time playing roulette for the first time ever. I had a ball.

There was one "incident" that I will not soon forget. One day in-between swimming and tubing and all of that, we were letting the drive around on the 4-wheeler. (This is a small kid sized 4-wheeler, at that). There really isn't much to it...you push the throttle to excel and hit the hand brake to stop...no big thing. Well, Tyler jumps on this thing and decides that he's not gonna slow up very much to go around the curve...in doing so, he just missed running right into a tree. I run over there, give him the dangerous "talk", and send him on his way, hopefully a little more careful this time. He makes it about twice around the loop and does the very same thing again (only with a different tree). At this point, I'm grateful that nothing happened to him, but quite perturbed at the same time. So I get him off the thing and say that I'm going for a ride. Keep in mind, the kids are only allowed to basically do circles on the driveway.

So, I take off down the dirt road, which leads to a little side street. I figure that will give me lots more room to turn around (and I wasn't about to just do a circle in the driveway). So, I'm making my way down the road, make a right turn onto the side street head down a little ways and decide that I'm gonna turn around. I cut it as hard as I can to the right and then start making my left turn. I look across the street and see there are probably waist high weeds and figure that I can turn a little ways into them, it won't hurt anything. YEAH, AND THAT'S WHAT I GET FOR THINKING!!!

While turning into the "weeds", I wasn't aware that under those weeds, was actually a 3-4 foot ditch. Before I can do anything about it, I was too far over and the 4-wheeler was falling right on top of me. My leg is hurt, I am 5' tall and up to about my boobs standing in a ditch IN A FRICKIN' BIKINI WITH NO SHOES ON!!! OMG!!!! My head was racing. My leg is pinned and there's absolutely nobody around. I heave the 4-wheeler off my leg and then am left with the dilemma of how to climb out of this thing. I look around for a log, a thick root...nothing. Duh, I need to stand on the 4-wheeler. I stand on the sideways 4-wheeler and climb right out. As I'm hobbling down the path to the cabin, I'm thinking..."man is he gonna be pissed off". Instead, I come hobbling up and he is freaking..."where's the 4-wheeler?" "Are you okay?" "What happened???" I tell him what happened, we check out my leg, him and his nephew grab the video camera and head down to what they call the 'scene of the crime'. They are laughing all the way. I show them where it is and it takes all 3 of us to pull it out. We catch it all on video and I get right back up on the horse and drive it back to the cabin without incident. LOL

My dear sons words when I first pull up..."I thought you told me to be careful mom, and look what you did!" Out of the mouths of babes! I think we all learned a little lesson that day. The last few days of the trip...I was way more careful of that little "kids" machine and Tyler banned himself from it completely, stating that he's a 'bad driver'. LOL

So, that's the gist of my little vaca. It's been just shy of 2 weeks and I still have a slight bruise on the inside of my left calf and a red burn on the opposite side. Daily reminders of my 4-wheeling stint. Will keep you posted as to just how long a bruise can actually last. (I'm thinking maybe another week or so.)

~~HOME SWEET HOME, BABY!~~

Just got home a few hours ago...took a hot shower and now don't feel like doing much of anything. Vacation was wonderful and I have the bruises to prove it!! Will fill you all in later, when I have a little more energy.

~~HEAVEN~~

That describes my past few days! Work has been busy, but at home, I have taken the time to chill. My sister and nephew have been over the past few days and Tyler and I have swam until our hands and toes are all wrinkled and we just can't swim anymore. It's definitely a great way to relax and I am truly loving it. I do have tons of things to do before leaving on Sunday, and probably won't have another day this week to just hang out at the pool, but these past 3 days have sure made me feel much better! (Tyler has been a very happy camper to boot!) Wish I could share some pics/videos of the dog trying his hand at swimming, can't though...it's all on my phone.

Hope that you all have been getting some down time too!!!

xoxox

~~DUNNO WHY I WANNA CRY!~~

It’s been a fairly busy and productive day here at work. It hasn’t been too bad, crabby people wise (though there have been a few of those too). Lunch was great…Jet's Greek Salad. (Peanutt and I are so addicted). So, why am I sitting here feeling kinda sappy and blue all the sudden??? I got pretty good sleep last night, my man and I are doing just fine, I’m down one kid all week (the other is at camp), my pool is finally up and running, and I have the urge to sit here and bawl! Isn’t that always nice? I so love being a woman!!!!

Things have been really hectic for weeks now; I think I’m getting quite burned out from it all. Maybe that is what’s making me feel kinda blue. I miss my weekends where I could just hang out for one of the 2 days and watch movies or nap and just watch Lifetime girlie movies all day. I miss just having some down time before going to bed every night. Now, things are so busy that I fall into bed, only after doing a million things that just ‘have’ to be done!

Tonight (and all week), Brian is working late and I am changing my pace. I promised Ty that we would go swimming as soon as I get home from work. It’s smoking hot out and he is so excited, he is literally counting the minutes. I’m talking to him as I type this and he just sounds miserable. Says that 2 hours is way too long to wait for me to get home! LOL I do have laundry and packing to do, we’re leaving this weekend for a week, but you know what???? Do ya??? All of that crap will eventually get done and I’m just finished worrying about it!

So hopefully after relaxing tonight, I will be in great spirits tomorrow! Cross your fingers for me!~

xoxo

~~VACATION RECAP~~

As is the trend for the summer I guess, the craziness has pretty much been relentless. I did take Tuesday through Friday off last week and had lots of fun! But at the same time, it's really catching up with me too. Going back to work Monday, I kind of felt like I needed more time off, just to chill a little bit.

On Tuesday the 4th, the kids and I went with my sister and a few other friends to the wave pool. It wasn't the prettiest day, but very very hot. We then met Brian and his family for a pool party.
Corey ended up getting really burnt. Ugh, talk about feeling like the worstest mommy in the world!

Wednesday, we took all the kids, (meaning mine and his twins) to the zoo. It was a perfect day for it, about 74 and sunny. I don't know how we did it, but we ended up missing a few of my favorite exhibits, (the polar bears, and the aquarium), and by the time we realized it, we were almost to the exit and we were just too tired to turn back.

Thursday, we all packed up and went to the lake. We laid in the sun and did some waverunning and took the kids tubing for the first time. They had a blast and absolutely loved the tube.

On Friday, Brian took his kids home and mine went with their dad for the night. I can't even remember what we did that day, but we did go to the Taylor Fireworks that night. Afterwards, he had to take his mom and niece to their condo 8 tenths of a mile from my house....took him almost an hour! Traffic was terrible and lots of streets were closed. While I love the festival and fireworks, the traffic is chaos. When he got back, we attempted to make our way to Meijer for some electrical tape...let's just say, even after midnight, it just wasn't happening! They still had way too many roads blocked off and there was just no way of getting there, ugh!

Saturday, we headed to the lake with 2 of his sisters. We went waverunning again, had a picnic lunch and also all tried our hands at tubing. His sister got thrown off backwards, almost immediately. She wasn't hurt at all, and it was hilarious. She's very tall, and to see her long lanky legs fly straight up in the air was definitely a sight to see! When I took Brian out, he actually got the choppiest water of the day...it was like a wavepool and it beat him up good. His sister Cindy rode without incident. Now, I've saved the best for last...my ride. At first he was really gentle with me...then I guess he decided that I could take a little more! Yikes! He started going pretty fast at one point and then took a turn a little too tightly...at first, my body flew off of the tube and then as it came back down, the tube starting flipping...I didn't see this coming at all, and it took a minute to orient myself...all I kept thinking was, 'just hang on'. The tube did flip completely over, all of the sudden I was taking water in my lungs, I felt my bathing suit bottoms slipping down into the water, and I was still holding on to those damn straps. It finally dawned on me that if I let go, I would be able to get a hold of my bathing suit and would pop back up out of the water and be able to breathe again. After gasping for air and yanking up my bathing suit, the first thought in my head was, "ouch!" My right thigh and the bottoms of my legs felt like I had run into a brick wall! After getting back on the tube, he drove me into shore and I didn't dare ask for another ride. I think I might be done tubing for a while. Waking up with new bruises every day for a week, really doesn't do much for me! LOL

Sunday I must admit, was somewhat relaxing. Brian and I went out to lunch (all alone), and to see the movie RV (all alone too). We came home and watched another movie and just cuddled and spent the day chilling out. It was one of the best days I can remember in a long time.

So yes, vacation (except for one day), wasn't all that relaxing and I'm tired as hell but I admit, I did have some fun!

I'm packing Corey for a week up north with the scouts, he's leaving on Saturday. The day he comes back, we are leaving to go to a cabin in the Upper Peninsula for a week. There are supposed to be many people going (plus our 4 kids), I don't know how relaxing this will be, but I'm gonna try and make the best of it and make it a point to have at least a few, "do nothing" kinda days.

Might try and post a little next week, not sure. Until then, have a great weekend and hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

xoxo


Edit: Okay, for anyone who saw that there was typing below my closing line before...please forget you saw that...I'm having lots of blonde moments lately! LOL

~~THE WEEK THAT I THOUGHT WOULD NEVER END...~~

As the title suggests, this has been an endless week. I think I've had about 2 hours to relax in the past 6-7 days. Today is Sunday, and as it stands right now, my house is still a wreck...my kitchen table is in the middle of the livingroom, my stove is also in the livingroom, my microwave cart is sitting in the middle of my hallway and everything is just a mess. I've picked up as much as I possibly can, but it's still driving me crazy! It will be pure bliss to have everything back to normal around here!! As I type this, he is finishing up the last of the grouting, which after allowing it to dry for a few hours, will allow me to put things back where they belong. Yay! I so can't wait!

On Tuesday our clinic closed at noon, due to some possibly harmful fumes coming from the roofers working there. We started smelling some pretty powerful stuff on Monday afternoon. By Tuesday, it was making most people light-headed at the very least and some people were having some problems with their asthma. They told us that we had to call all of our patient's for that day and just head home! Bonus! Peanutt and I headed to lunch and then I headed to home to try and catch a few winks...couldn't, wouldn't, didn't happen! Instead, I ended up doing a bunch of stuff around the house and worked on the pool.

Wednesday was my birthday and I worked and then went out to dinner with Brian and the boys. We also did some running to get everything we needed for the floor the following day. His parents came over for some cake and then we called it a day.

On Thursday and Friday, Dennis came over to work on the flooring and my sister, Brian and I worked on the pool. We got the pool to change colors from deep sludgy brown, to a light greenish. Woo hoo. LOL We have shocked and vacuumed the crap out of it with days of this left to go. I'm hoping to have it finally ready in the next 4 days or so.

I did have a little time yesterday to take the kids to the pool at Brian's mom and dads house. We then ate dinner and came home, I was done. Today, I haven't had much energy or motivation, but I did still manage to wash all the walls in the kitchen and to help Dennis with the final buffing of half of the floor in there, along with a little laundry and running once again to Home Depot. Yikes. I'm tired and still need to get out and attend to the pool.

After working tomorrow, I will then be off for the rest of the week. We don't have big plans really, just going to the wave pool one day and maybe to the lake a few times. Corey's birthday is also coming soon, with Brian's the day after and then Tyler's 2 weeks after that. Oh yeah, and Corey's going to camp in a week and a half and then we are on vacation in the Upper Peninsula the week after that!

My oh my, these days are flying by....while it's a little hectic and stressful, I know that it will all be worth it in the end!

Don't know when I will be able to update again. I hope that all of you have had a wonderful weekend, and if I don't get the chance to check back in here...a beautiful 4th, as well.





xoxox